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| Memories Of Manila |
By
Lester V. Ledesma |
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As a travel photographer, I have to admit that I find it hard to take a vacation. It’s not because I’m a workaholic, mind you (I’m far from being one) – it’s just that I have this urge to bring my big camera with me wherever I travel, just in case I come upon something worth photographing. It’s a habit that I’ve built up through years of professional work, and one that has served me well – except, of course, when I’m supposed to be on a holiday!
This being the case, it took a bit of willpower to leave the big black box behind when I flew to Manila, Philippines to take a short weekend break. Instead, what I brought with me was the Sony DSC-T50, a late-model digital shooter that I was told would be a match for my vacation photography needs.
I had to admit, despite its attractive chrome and silver styling, the sight of this tiny camera got me a tad worried about its shooting capabilities. A quick run through its features, however, was enough to impress me. At barely four inches wide and less than an inch in thickness, the DSC-T50 packed a surprisingly versatile 38-114mm zoom lens. This top-quality Carl Zeiss glass served a powerful 7-megapixel sensor that, paired with Sony’s patented Clear RAW Noise Reduction feature, served up images that were nothing short of excellent. Size issues aside, I’d say this was a camera that was much, much more capable than it looked.
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a larger picture. |
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A kite flyer prepares his monstrous toy for take-off. I chose a plain background - the blue sky in this case - to make my subject stand out, then I asked the man to pose for me. The DSC-T50's wide-angle setting did the rest to make this picture work. |
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Another blue-sky background portrait, this time of a kid. Children have short attention spans, so it pays to make the shoot quick and enjoyable for them. A second longer than needed and they might get bored! |
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Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's a kite! Putting my subject between the sun and me resulted in this silhouette shot. The intriguing shape of the kite, along with its owner's outstretched hand on the side of the frame, gave it a strong visual appeal. |
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Including a human figure in your frame adds a sense of scale to the picture. The woman's figure in this case gives us an idea of how huge the hot air balloon in the background is. |
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With burners blazing, a hot-air balloon inflates itself for a dusk flight. Since the burners are lit only for a few seconds at a time, I had to keep the DSC-T50 pre-focused and ready to take the picture the moment the fire comes on. |
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This low-light shot of the hot air balloon gondola was made possible by the DSC-T50's high ISO setting and its Super Steadyshot feature combined. Again I had to pre-focus the camera on my subject and then wait for the moment when the burner came on. |
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To get a sweeping view of these hot-air balloons preparing for their morning flight, I had to walk some distance away from them and use the DSC-T50's wide-angle lens setting. |
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Here's another version of the same balloons-against-the-horizon picture, this time with some people in the foreground. Aside from the sense of scale, these human figures also provide an additional sense of activity to this image. |
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More balloons against the clear blue sky. This time, I opted for a vertical composition to isolate these three airships from the rest of the flying flock. Again, the people at the bottom of the frame show us just how huge these things are! |
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These hot-air balloons floating off into the horizon quite slowly, so I had some time to wait for them to form a pleasing formation in the air. I decided to include the horizon at the bottom of the frame to add a sense of height to the picture. |
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