Sony Singapore Digital Workshops: Your Backpack Photographers Featured

Lagal[og] conducting his segment on Northern Exposure at the Arts House in SG

It's not everyday that you get invited to talk to an international audience, much less share the stage with luminaries such as NatGeo photographer, Mike Yamashita, and renowned portraitist, Manny Librodo.  But Sony SG made that possible two weekends ago as your backpack photographers, I and my BP co-facilitator, Ferdz Decena, got invited to talk for the Sony Singapore Digital Workshops.  The company is as inspiring as the venue, the Arts House, which was the former House of Parliament turned into a museum and art events venue.  The weather was a wee bit moody, turning inclement during the afternoons, but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm to acquaint our participants with our ideas on travel shooting and introducing them to the idea of visiting Batanes.

While it wasn't a full house (maybe, the long weekend kept people out of the city), talking about photography and the Philippines came naturally over the course of the two sessions.  The time in SG also gave us the opportunity to test the Sony DSLTs on hand -- the Alpha A77 and the full-frame flagship, A99.  Lugging three camera bodies, five lenses along with a Macbook and iPad was no joke but it was well worth it.

Test shot for Sony A99, indoors, handheld, 1/160, f/2.8, 40mm, jpeg

I was particularly impressed with the A99's performance.  Paired with the 85mm, F/1.4 Carl Zeiss lens, the image quality is crisp, the bokeh very, very pleasing, the colors natural-looking.  Even test-shooting indoors, the images are sharp, with noise levels wonderfully kept at minimum. While the time we had the cameras was too short for me to adapt to the different controls and interface, I was surprised I didn't have to struggle adapting to the Electronic View Finder.  Many thanks to Arvin Orsua, the affable Filipino who heads the Communications Department: Training and Digital Workshops and his wonderful staff for making all these possible.  It's a privilege and blessing from Yahweh to be able to share our ideas and meet people who are enthusiastic about the topics at hand.  Having people come up to the podium to ask questions after the sessions is also gratifying, making all our efforts worth it.

Souvenir shot at the entrance of the Arts House, taken with the impressive Sony Alpha A99

If I may add, Sony's efforts in the region, particularly in Singapore, are commendable.   There are activities year-round to engage enthusiasts and newbies alike (the recent Singapore Flyer Outing and Vietnam Photography Adventure are the ones I find most interesting).  Should you find yourself in Singapore, do visit the Sony Digital Workshops site to learn more of what's in store.