Ibyang
Ibyang

Photography

Hen’s Party at The Tea Room, Drinks at The Royal George

I had one of the most fabulous afternoons with my girls on Saturday (10 April 2010).

In celebration of our good friend Hilda’s birthday and upcoming wedding, we organized a Hen’s party for her at The Tea Room.
It was a High Tea affair so we all dressed up to the nines as we sipped our choice of tea/coffee and enjoyed delicious cakes, pastries, sandwiches and scones.
The pastries and sandwiches were served in three-tiered serving racks on very classy English-inspired plates. Not only did our table looked so alive with all the food but the dining ware and glassware made it more vibrant and abundant. It was so lovely.
The food was a winner. Not only did they looked inviting and cute but they tasted great too. Worth every penny spent. 
My plate: a slice of egg sandwich, a scone (it’s big!) and a mini-cupcake.
Since we were in a celebratory mood, we had champagne!!! Happiness is drinking champagne at 12 noon with your girlfriends haha! :).
I was the official photographer of the event but my Husband also came with me to the restaurant so he can take photos of the group for a few minutes. The minute the food were being served he left me to my own devices.
This was my first time to shoot a Hen’s party and I’m very challenged by the fact that the star of the day is a friend of mine. I have seen Hilda in so many different light and we have gone thru a lot of good and bad times together. There is a certain level of familiarity between us already because we practically treat each other as sisters. I was afraid that familiarity will make me take some things for granted when I’m taking photographs of her.


Days before this event, I had to think of different scenarios inside my head. I came up with a very concrete idea on what I want to capture that day. Other than the food, the place and the scenes that will take place, I wanted to capture her–her glow, her peace and her happiness.
And this was what I have captured. Here’s the lovely and glowing bride-to-be. I’m so so happy for her. 
The group gave her a tiara and sash to wear.
This was not the usual hen’s party where you have strippers or naughty games but nevertheless, we played a couple of games and we enjoyed it. Rachelle won on the first game, while I won during the second game. 
As a token for everyone’s presence, I made Girly Loot Bags and gave them to the girls. I called it a Girly Loot Bag because each bag contained body wash, lotion, lip gloss and nail emery boards.

After High Tea, some of the girls went home but some of us decided to have more drinks at a bar. My Husband joined us so he took care of taking photos so I can just focus on having fun with my girls.

Rache, Yons, Hilda and I walking in the streets of Sydney.
(This photo reminded me of the Sex in the City girls walking in the streets of New York. I love it!!!!)
We found ourselves a the Ivy (yes, that’s the name of the place). The Ivy is a compound of bars and restaurants. It’s one of nicest places to dine here in Sydney.
 
We had drinks at The Royal George. Talked some more…laughed some more.

It was one of those perfect Saturday afternoons with friends. We all had a great time especially the Bride-to-be.
Acknowledgements:
To all the girls, for the great time, the laughter and for joining in all the fun. We shall continue this party on the wedding.
To Michelle, for organizing the whole event and for bringing all of us together.
To Rachelle, for the bubblies.
To Abby, for the games that made the afternoon more exciting.
To my husband Chris, who helped me in preparing the Girly Loot Bags, for helping me take photos and for patiently tagging along with us after the High Tea Party. I know you don’t mind helping out but I’m truly grateful that you chose to spend your time with us instead of stay home and rest.
To Hilda, thank you for spending your Hen’s Party with us. Your friendship means a lot to all of us, no matter what happens, we are always here for you.

All photos by Chris and Ivy Sanchez, Copyright 2010
Canon 7D with 17-85mm lens and Canon 400D with Fujinon 55mm lens
Flash: Canon 430EX

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Holy Week and Easter Spent with Family

There are some occasions that I exclusively spend with family and relatives, one of those are Holy Week and Easter, for the simple reason that my clan usually have some activities planned during this time and it is tradition that we celebrate the Easter festivities together.

It is of normal occurrence that my Grandma’s birthday falls on the week of Holy Week. On Holy Monday, we celebrated her 81st birthday . 

On the morning of Good Friday, we were at the airport to pick up my uncle who vacationed in the Phils for a few days.

From the airport, we drove back to their place where my Husband and I spent the whole day catching up with our relatives as we enjoyed eating Baked Salmon, Ginataang Hipon with Kalabasa for lunch and dinner and homemade Turon for afternoon snack.

Black Saturday, since our goal is to have a more relaxing weekend with less household and cooking chores, we decided to have breakfast at one of our favorite cafes. We arrived at the cafe early to avoid the morning crowd and to have a more peaceful breakfast. We just shared a slice of toasted banana bread as we sipped our cups of Choffee.

Back at home for lunch, I cooked half a kilo of Green King Prawns in butter and garlic, dipped in Calamansi sauce. It was fresh and delicious, with a taste of sweetness.
For dinner, we had Blue Swimmer Crabs, again dipped in Calamansi sauce. Another winner. It’s so fat, we were so full after devouring them.

On Easter Sunday, we all trooped down to church to attend mass, then went straight to Prospect Reservoir for our Easter Lunch party.
Every year, someone wears the Easter bunny costume and we have our photos taken with the “bunny”. 

Other than chit chat, laugh and eat, we also played Bingo!

We went home happy and well-spent with lots of chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies in tow.
 

Photos by Chris and Ivy Sanchez, Copyright 2010
Canon 7D with 17-85mm lens and Canon 400D with Fujinon 55mm lens.

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Reflective “Me” Time on Maundy Thursday

Here in Australia, we still have work on Maundy Thursday but from where I work, we were given a free half-day if we go to work on Thursday. I left work as soon as I finished my morning tasks and met up with the Husband for lunch. For a change, I wanted to eat fastfood coz I craved for Hungry Jack’s onion rings.



After lunch, we walked towards QVB checked out this funky store called Bristol and Brooks where you can find designer gifts and amusing, cool stuff for the home


After a few minutes of walking along George Street, the Husband went back to work so I decided to hang out at Hyde Park. I especially brought along my Canon 400D with the Fujinon 55mm lens for some test shots at the park.

I took photos of flowers…

of trees….


of park benches…
of people sleeping on benches….

and the park.
 

I’m amazed at how powerful and sharp the vintage Fujinon lens is. I love it.


 
Stayed at the park for a while. Walked around and then at one point, sat in one of benches and just watched people pass by. Listened for the sounds of nature and life around me and most of all reflect. No matter how hurried some people were around me that time, I felt a certain peace coming out of me…of my heart.

 

Before I went home, I continued my “me” time at a nearby Starbucks for a cup of Cafe Mocha and a slice of New York Cheesecake to celebrate one of my recent achievements at work (which happened the day before).



It was one lovely afternoon of great weather. It may not be the ideal, quiet Maundy Thursday that I usually celebrate in the Phils, but nevertheless, my quality “me” time was filled with serenity, joy and gratitude for the life I have and the life I’m living.

All photos by Ibyang Sanchez, Copyright 2010.
Canon 400D and Fujinon 55mm lens.


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Sydney Camera Market

7 March 2010

Organised by the Camera and Image Collectors Society, the Sydney Camera Market is held twice or thrice a year. It is in this event that photographers, hobbyists, enthusiasts and collectors can find vintage cameras and lenses for cheap prices.


Other items that they sell: secondhand digital cameras (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony etc), lenses, flashes, polarizers, lens hoods and caps, bags, tripods, camera straps and magazines.

Other than finding “diamonds in the rough”, this is a place where one can talk to people with the same interest for photography. Most of the stall owners are very accommodating in discussing buyers’ question on gadgets and photography even if you are not buying from them.

The event is held from 10:00am to 3:00pm at one of the halls of the Ultimo Community Centre. The place is not that big so expect little room to move once you’re inside. We arrived before 11am and there was a crowd already.
Our friend Jon was already there. He was the one who told us about this event and I was glad to see him. He helped us try out some vintage lenses via his camera.
Now for our great finds. We were able to buy a vintage Fujinon lens (55mm, f1.8). Haven’t used this yet as I have to buy an M42 mount for my Canon camera. Test shots from this lens produced sharp images. Tag price on this little one was AUD$35.00 but the seller gave me a AUD$5.00 discount.
With the bargain I made from the Fujinon lens, I bought a cute lens hood for the lens only for AUD$3.00.

Our great find that day was a vintage Fujica camera (the grandfather of Fuji cameras) released in the early 1980s. The camera and lens were priced at AUD$42.00. My Husband asked the seller if we can buy it for AUD$35.00 and he gave it to us!!! What great bargain that was.

The next Sydney Camera Market is scheduled on 25 July 2010. Hope to see you there!

Here are some sample shots from our vintage Fujica. We just scanned the photos, no editing done so you can see actual shots.
Here’s a full body shot. Notice the vignette on the side of the photograph.
Here’s a more close-up shot. Notice the beautiful bokeh (eyeloveit!!!).
A silhouette shot. In the real photo (as in hard copy), the outlines are sharp and crisp.
To have this camera is a dream come true. Having to buy it at a very cheap price was a big bonus. No matter how digital everything are these days, using film cameras will always be love. I love the learning that goes with it, I love that you really have to think about settings because there’s no take twos (there is, but you know what i mean), I love the romance of waiting for your photos to get developed (one day wait here in our suburb), the anticipation and wondering (and fear?? hehe) what your photos really look like and the joy of seeing some good photographs when they’ve been handed over to you.
The Husband and I have already bought a couple of coloured films and some black & white films. The Fujica will be one of our cameras when we cover events now.


1st Photo courtesy of Jeanny.
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