PhotoWorldManila.com

YKL Fujifilm are offering what they call their penultimate bargain at PhotoWorld Asia 2009. They are offering 3R printing (3.5″x5.0″) for only P1.95 per print, way below the regular P6.00 per print. Have your digital photos ready on a CD or USB drive, no more tweaking or other adjustments at the lab on the trade show floor. Each customer can order up to 100 prints, no more than that.

And while you’re at it, take a look also at their bargain offer of P3,950 for the Fujifilm Finepix A850, a very capable 8.1-megapixel shooter that features a 2.5-inch LCD screen and 3x optical zoom (never mind its 5.1x digital zoom).

You know the Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro DSLR, right? It’s the camera of choice for wedding photographers because its imaging technology results in more details in highlights and shadows, and it delivers faithful skin tones. Its double pixel technology features 6.17 million ‘S photodiodes’ (normal DR) and 6.17 million ‘R photodiodes’ (highlight DR) for a total photodiode count of 12.34 million. It used to cost a small fortune, but now, Fujifilm is offering it for only P45,000 almost half of what it used to cost. But hurry! This is only for the duration of PhotoWorld Asia 2009. See this flyer for details.

PhotoWorld Asia 2009 was formally opened Thursday, January 29 at the Activity Center of the Glorietta Ayala Mall in Makati. Photo above shows (L-R) Ramon Arteficio - President & CEO of Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc, U.S. photographers Jamie Hayes & Mary Fisk Taylor - speakers at PhotoWorld Asia 2009, Rina Falcis - chairperson of PhotoWorld Asia 2009, Ms. Bambi Harper - Administrator, Intramuros Administration and guest of honor at the event and U.S. photographer Hanson Fong, speaker at PhotoWorld Asia 2009. (Photo: Chris Malinao)

PhotoWorld Asia 2009 opened Thursday at the Glorietta Ayala Mall in Makati drawing photographers from Metromanila and various provinces in the Philippines. Three photographers from Qatar are also attending the convention and trade show.

The 6-day annual event (January 29 to February 3 this year) will feature a trade exposition at the Activity Center of Glorietta. Major industry players like Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm and others will be there to showcase their latest products for the photography industry.

PhotoWorld Asia 2009 features the much-anticipated master classes for professional photographers to be conducted by three world-renowned master photographers from the United States – Hanson Fong, Mary Fisk Taylor and Jamie Hayes. Details here.

They will be holding workshops on Wedding Photography as well as Glamour and Portrait Photography, two areas that professional photographers find most profitable. There will also be lots of pointers and advice on the business side of photography. The workshops, to be held at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati, are open to registered participants. The trade show at the Glorietta will be open to the public. The full PhotoWorld Asia 2009 schedule here.

Participating photographers will have a chance to shoot along with our featured visitors. Hanson Fong, Mary Fisk Taylor and Jamie Hayes will be on hand to offer their tips and techniques on effective shooting.

The Philippines’ own top photographers will also be there to deliver their seminars on the various aspects of photography. Vic Sison and Jun Rapanan will offer their techniques on flash photography. Both have perfected the art of shooting with strobes years before the word ‘strobist’ became fashionable.

Bobot Go and George Cabig will hold a seminar on capturing moments in Travel Photography, while Neil Confesor will delve on Sports Photography. Other speakers include Gutsy Tuason (Underwater Photography), Nick Tuason (Color Management), Nelson John (Photoshop CS4), Atty Rod Vera (Copyright Laws) and Fung Yu (360° VR Photography).

PhotoWorld Asia 2009 will also hold on-the-spot fashion photo contests with prizes to be awarded on Monday.

Earlier on opening day, the photo exhibit/contest "A Journey in the Avant Garde" at the Art Space, 3rd Floor of the Glorietta was formally opened for public viewing. On hand to cut the ceremonial ribbon were master photographers from the United States. Photo above shows (L-R) Willy Marbella, exhibit curator, Qatari photographer Ali Khamis al Mnsoori, U.S. photographers Hanson Fong and Mary Fisk Taylor, Rina Falcis, chairperson of PhotoWorld Asia 2009, U.S. photographer Jamie Hayes, Dr. Amado Castro, finance officer, FPPF and Glenn Peralta of the Dept. of Tourism Region 5 (Bicol), Legaspi City. Behind Mary Fisk Taylor is Qatari photographer Mohammed Abdullah Al Shafai. The winners in this mixed media contest, participated in by various photography clubs in the Philippines, will be announced on Monday. (Photo: Chris Malinao)

A total of P28,000 in cash prizes await the winners of the Fashion Shoot On-The-Spot Photo Contest during the 6-day PhotoWorld Asia 2009 convention and trade show at the Glorietta and AIM in Makati. This photo contest is open to everybody – amateurs, hobbyists, even professionals.

First prize is P10,000 in cash. Second prize is P7,000 and Third Prize gets P5,000. Fourth to Tenth Places will get P1,000 each.

The Fashion Photo Shoot will be held on Friday, January 30 and Sunday, February 1, 2009 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Makati Mall area. Registration fee is P150 per day which will entitle the participant to three (3) 5R (5″ x 7″) FREE color prints and one (1) registration envelop only from the YKL booth.

To participate in the photo shoot and contest, please register at the PhotoWorld Asia 2009 Secretariat at the Activity Center of the Glorietta.

Photos from the two days of fashion photo shoot may be submitted as entries to the contest. Entries submitted shall be of the models taken at the photo shoot area. A maximum of three (3) entries per day per participant may be submitted.

The Top 10 entries will be chosen and will be notified by photo contest committee, via phone immediately after judging which shall be done starting on Feb. 2, 2009 Monday 2:00 pm at the AIM Conference Center. The finalists will be asked to be present at the awarding of prizes on Feb. 3, 2009 Tuesday 6:30 pm.

Inkjet printouts not allowed. Print without borders. Submit prints with the corresponding data sheet attached at the back of each entry.

Alterations after exposure–digital darkroom, painting, airbrushing, paste-on or assembly–are not allowed. Only normal darkroom techniques such as dodging, burning in and cropping are allowed. Any creative effects must be done in-camera at the time of exposure, such as multiple exposure, flash fill, light painting, filtration, etc.

All the prints will be donated to the models. All decisions of the judges will be final.

For details, please call Tristan Yap, Tel: 357-0733, Cel: (0917)807-7761. You may also contact the FPPF at Tels: 524-7576 and 528-0371.

The FPPF is pleased to host our special visitors from Doha, Qatar who came all the way from the Middle East to attend PhotoWorld Asia 2009. Ali Khamis Al Mnsoori (left in photo), Mona Abdullah Al Shafai and Mohammed Abdullah Al Shafai (right in photo) are here for the 6-day photography convention and trade show and take part in the seminars.

Al Mnsoori, a professional photographer and camera technician, was here during the last PhotoWorld Asia 2008. “I liked it and made friends with a lot of people, and so I’m back with two more friends in tow, the husband-and-wife team of Mona and Mohammed,” says Ali Khamis Al Mnsoori. Mohammed, also a professional photographer, runs QatarGallery.com while Mona does photography as a hobby. Mohammed also has his newer photos at flickr. All three of them agreed to bring 10 more friends around for the next PhotoWorld Asia 2010.

Ali, Mona and Mohammed, who are members of the Qatar Photographic Society, are also here to promote a photo contest. Details of the contest will be discussed during a presentation they will make during Photographers’ Night on Saturday, January 31. They will be inviting Filipino photographers to join the contest. They will also talk about photography in Qatar.

One of our guest speakers at PhotoWorld Asia 2008, Clay Blackmore, was setting up his camera gear in preparation for a photo shoot. He was doing this (and greeting people who were milling around him) when the tripod on which his expensive camera and lens were mounted started to tilt over.

It would have been a total disaster – broken camera, unusable lens, cancelled photo shoot and a bruised ego – had it not been for the quick response from the gentleman who suddenly appeared from the left to save the day. That was Jun Rapanan, one of our photographers at the FPPF. Clay Blackmore, who heaved a big sigh of relief, gave Jun P10,000 for saving his expensive camera gear.

Video courtesy of Mr. Lito Beltran, FPPF Project Director.