On Getting Published and the Longest Day/Week Ever

But before I get to talking about The Longest Day Ever, let me talk about last week. SO many things happened last week, but the most important of them all was the 4 shoots that took place. Now, that isn't that big of a deal (I mean I remember squeezing in maybe 3 shoots in a week around 3 years ago) BUT the big deal about this is that half of those shoots were for work.

Work. YES WORK. ~*~WORK~*~ I KNOW RIGHT? I mean I never really get booked for those kind of things (yet it happened twice in a week, wtf right), mostly because... I don't even know why. Usually I point that to the fact that maybe my work truly does suck so nobody wants to hire me. A minuscule part of me at the back of my mind thinks it's because I don't market myself to the world. (Okay world, here you go: MY NAME IS REGINA INONOG. I TAKE PICTURES. YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS A PHOTOGRAPHER. PLEASE HIRE ME. Bow.) WELL ANYWAY, last Monday I did a shoot for an article in a local newspaper. For Young Star. Which is under Philippine Star.

I KNOW RIGHT? I MEAN NO BIG DEAL FOR OTHERS BUT THIS IS LIKE A HIGHLIGHT OF 2012 AND MY ENTIRE LIFETIME!!!!!!! The article was out last Friday (only getting around blogging about this because I was so busy last week); when I woke up that morning I actually completely forgot that I had photos of mine published in the paper. When my dad woke me up that morning I didn't even get up at first; in fact I just rolled over to my other side, picked up my PSP, and played a round of Bust a Groove 2 in bed. And then my dad comes back up and says, "The newspapers there na ha." and I was like OH RIGHT so I run downstairs with a stupid grin on my face and TA-DAAAA!!! I see the shots I took from the Monday of that week.

It felt so surreal. I mean this was the first time I had ever gotten published. Ever. (By that I don't mean getting featured in print; I mean my actual WORK getting published.) Okay maybe there was that one time during Preview's anniversary ish of this year where I snapped photos of the It Girls in their outfits pre-shoot, but those were just regular snapshots and there was no recognition due for that since I was just an intern for StyleBible. This time it was legitimate, with my name in the paper. Ohmygozaimasu.

Here are some shots from the article. If you weren't able to grab a copy of last Friday's Young Star, there's an online counterpart for your viewing pleasure. Anyway, clockwise from top left (this isn't everyone I shot by the way, I'm just sharing a couple of them): Ana Zamora (WHOM THIS BLOG IS PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH I MEAN HOW LONG HAS ANINA BEEN TOGETHER AGAIN?), Bruce Venida (who has the best style mantra ever I mean c'mon), Miah Legaspi (a schoolmate of mine and omg why are you prettier than me I'm the one with the estrogen here plz share some beauty), Kristine Dabbay (associate editor at Status and has the most amazing pair of pants ever), Mara Coson (whom I first met at the Preview Best Dressed shoot back in the summer when I was still an intern SHE IS SO ADORABLE AND PRESHUS AND HER AWKWARDNESS IS SO ENDEARING and man I wish I could write like her), and Mav Bernardo (the last one we shot that day and possibly one of the quickest but his shot was one of my favorites and also HIS SHIRT).

That Monday was a bit of a woozy too since we started shooting in the morning and ended midday, but I was late for an engagement I had with a blockmate (which was technically a shoot too, except I was the one in front of the lens this time OMG SO AWK RIGHT?) but it was all good. I had SO much fun shooting, you have no idea. I didn't even realize I had skipped lunch (this is worth mentioning because I hate skipping meals HAHAHA stfu) until we were done but I didn't even mind at all because I was just SO HAPPY. If I could do this everyday, I would. MY PASSION IS SHOWING WHOOPS

Anyway, the day after that I had a shoot again, this time for #THESISIT. I went to Alex's place to shoot; we started at around 11.30ish and ended at maybe 5pm? Not bad since we had three sets which meant three outfit and makeup and hair changes with just the two of us. Times like those are when I wish I had a team (all of my shoots are always just me and the model) to make things easier (i.e. MAKEUP AND HAIR RETOUCHES UGH I JUST CAN'T BE BOTHERED ONCE I'VE STARTED SHOOTING) but like I said before, it's nice having creative control over everything. It's just... there's a lot of struggling involved sometimes LOL.

Here's a shot from one of the sets we had. THANK YOU AGAIN ALEX!!! Especially with what I had you do to get the shots I wanted HAHAHA love you. And don't get me started on your face. Your beauty is insulting, I love it.

And then Wednesday night happened a.k.a. #THESISIT MELTDOWN NUMBER 94857349857305783087259353958. I met up with Terry the next day just to let off some steam and work on more #THESISHIT. Thank you so much for always taking care of me and making time despite your busy life, Terry. I love you.

And then Friday morning came around (and then I freaked out at seeing my photos in Young Star) and I got up early since I had to pick up a CF card from Ana's place for a photography gig the next day. Except something happened and I never actually got to see Ana at all that day, but I was able to get the CF card and give her my birthday gifts as well. That incident and everything related to it shall be known as "Kirara" for reasons known only to the Anina tandem.

And then Saturday came along a.k.a. The Longest Day Ever. I borrowed Ana's CF card for a shooting gig right? Well it was for a wedding. A wedding. A FREAKING WEDDING. OHMYGOD it was kinda scary having to document an important day for a couple you don't even know and I'VE NEVER PHOTOGRAPHED A WEDDING BEFORE! I mean I shot my sister's pre-nup a few months ago but that's my sister and it was an actual shoot, not documentation. I MEAN THE PRESSURE RIGHT? But I was really thankful for the opportunity and it was such a learning experience.

I sucked really bad though UGH. I remember going to sleep at around midnight the night/a few hours before call time, then got up at 3am because of the 5am call time. Then went to the hotel where the groom was (because that was where I was assigned, along with Kimpoi whom, might I add, was the one who got me for the gig so THANK YOU VERY MUCH KIMPS!!! And a special thanks to Ana, too.) We were done by around 1ish.

The lack of sleep knocked me out though and I had to take a nap by the time I got home. That same day I had a movie date with my favorite people (Rise of the Guardians a.k.a. JACK FROST BE THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN MY BODY IS READY), but Billie and I were planning to meet earlier as I was going to help her with something school-related. The only reason I got up from my nap was because I had to meet Billie, except that fell through so I was like NOOOOOOh well.

The day didn't end there though. After the movie I met up with Terry and Kevin to hang at Gitara Grill (forever so much patronage to them especially after this incident) in Ewud for some drinks and to meet a couple of friends. Alex and Jam were with us and omg it was so much fun!!! I love just chilling with drinks with my friends. And we just talk and have fun and Jam even sang with the acoustic jammer that night! Seriously whenever Kevin's in town there's usually a spontaneous text from Terry asking if I'm available for a night out, and we usually end up at Ewud.

So after that whole drinking and chilling thing we got home at around 4am. SO BASICALLY THAT SATURDAY STARTED AT 3AM AND ENDED AT 4AM THE NEXT DAY. Longest day ever riiiiight.

AND THEN THE NEXT DAY OMG the reason why I even met up with Terry and Kevin, besides their magical company of course, was because I was going to shoot the latter for #THESISIT. This was also why I slept over at the Domondon residence. Originally the plan was to shoot in the morning, but we ended up shooting from 3.30pm to 5pm. Kiiiiindov quick but I was a little pressed for time, but woah despite the brief session I nearly used up the entire memory of my CF card. Good job. Here's one shot from that shoot:

Yo blog, this is Kevin Wilkerson a.k.a. my fiance (we got engaged in March but we've known each other since 2007) a.k.a. YOU BETTER GET ACQUAINTED WITH HIM SINCE THIS WON'T BE THE LAST TIME YOU'LL SEE HIS FACE ON THIS BLOG. Speaking of his face, it's just as insulting as Alex's. This might've been the first time I've ever shot a male, come to think of it. As in on my own accord/not related to 'work'/my own initiative/etc. This was also Kevin's first shoot, I think! AND THERE WAS SO MUCH SHIAWASE IN MY KOKORO WHEN HE TOLD ME HE ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH. Namida in my eyes. I suki you, my ai. You are in my kokoro zutto.

And there you go. That's my post on my first ever published work ever, and the longest day slash week as well. It was such a busy week, not to mention a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but I am so happy and content.

Also excuse the mixing of Japanese words. It's a new thing my favorite people and I are doing and I cannot get enough. It's so subarashii.