Everyday Mobile Photography with Oppo F3

BARRIOTIC. This rough road is a luxury for everyone escaping asphalt and concrete. Some minor ISO adjustments, I was able to render the play of lights and shadow the way I want them to blend.

by Ghiellie Balan October 19, 2017, 3:44 am 1.9k Views

Mobile Photography with Oppo F3

Table of Contents

* All photos taken using Oppo F3

I have reluctance using smartphones and trust it to do jobs done by a laptop, a DSLR and a tablet. I know, at this time and age when the compactness and practicality that they offer and over the years, the modifications had them useful for business and leisure.

Don’t consider me a light traveler. I always make it a point that my bag is my portable office if I will be away from home for days. So when I was told to try out Oppo F3, well, why not? Since I will be heading to Villa Escudero, why not try it there? Sixteen megapixels front and 13 at the rear, well.

Let me say what I feel in these series of photos I took using Oppo F3, and yes, disclaimer, none of them are edited. I just did a few up and down sliding, pinching and tapping. Plus, the photos are taken at the following hours: early morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon and night time.

Mobile Connectivity

Since it is dual SIM, I attached both my SIM cards running on LTE. Since not all areas along South Super Highway are LTE ready, 3G is not bothersome at all. Mobile video calls were uninterrupted despite the shift in connection.

Inside JAC Liner Bus. A fare of P152/head from Buendia Station to Tiaong Quezon. Just tell the driver “Villa Escudero po.”

Upon arriving at San Pablo and Tiaong, Quezon Boundary and entering the resort premises, I still enjoyed the sights and my connection. But inside the resort, since the Coco Pavilion, Indigo Café, the pool side and the Mariposa Bar has fiber optic internet, there’s no need for me to use the mobile data.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE THERE. An extreme close-up shot of the resort sign. A bit grainy, though.

BARRIOTIC. This rough road is a luxury for everyone escaping asphalt and concrete. Some minor ISO adjustments, I was able to render the play of lights and shadow the way I want them to blend.

Battery life while on data usage is highly satisfactory, somehow meets most of my expectations since I had installed apps that I need and made it a point that I am notified for messages and updates.

Of course, the camera

Back in early days of digital mobile communications, most were bothered if the SMS messages where delivered on real time pre-unlimited calls and text promos. Thinking about it now makes it pre-historic. Now, we are bothered about how our photos would look like, in a jiffy.

Morning:

I arrived at 8am and really glad that the clouds did not upstage Mt. Banahaw’s view from the Coconut Pavilion. Overnight staying guests are having their breakfast while I asked the friendly staff for assistance. By the way, if you are on a day tour and arrive at the Villa hungry and early, you can have your breakfast added to the package. The breakfast buffet costs P500 per head and served till 9:30AM.

TYPICAL PLANTATION DAY. People keeping the place clean and in order is a 24-hours work for these well-trained staff. In this photo, I think, Oppo F3 agreed with me without adjustments.

Food Tes/asting

Since the trend is to share and to spread, some noted Instagram users, attribute their success with their phone’s capacity to act like their second brain. I must admit, Oppo F3 came in handy and it doesn’t made it feel like “scandalous” whenever I carry a bulky DSLR.

OMELETTE TABLE How do you want your eggs cooked? If you want them mixed with these add-ons, they will lighten up the usual sunny-side up. Here, I must admit that I was after the flame and its wavering.

VINTAGE DRAMA. Meet the people who will cook your eggs right. Request and they will surely deliver. I tried using the black and white filter here and I think, Oppo F3 delivered.

BREAKFAST BUFFET. Enjoy unlimited chicken arroz caldo (highy recommended) topped with fried garlic, spring onions, boiled egg and some calamansi. For some reasons, I know that I was trying to focus on the Arroz Caldo by tapping on the site on the scree sign but everything turned out blurred. I tried a couple of times but same results.

PAMBANSANG AGAHAN. What else could make your breakfast full? Daing na bagus! Going against the light, somehow Oppo F3 managed to auto adjust when I tapped the middle fish on top.

JELLY CLOSE. Mount Cristobal grown “Sampinit” or local raspberries has two ways of being served at the Villa Escudero. One, ice cream. Two, as a complement to kesong puti and pan de sal. And of course, both made in the resort’s kitchen. I am always obsessed with my subjects and want them close. This is somehow, satisfying for me.

SWEET. Balicucha from Ilocos and Mt. Banahaw from this angle? Who wouldn’t love this view from Coconut pavilion? I just love how Oppo F3 played with me on this landscape.

Mid-morning at the Waterfalls

Lunch buffets happen here at the waterfalls. In the tradition of the Escudero’s picnics, guests are made to indulge how the family lived and share their bounties with their friends and workers. All food served are from heirloom recipes. The lunches are homage to the Labasin River, whose waters powered the first hydroelectric plant in the Philippines.

LUNCH BUFFET TABLE. The quaint set-up is elaborately curated to welcome diners and let them know they are home. On this photo, I really want the focus on the boiled eggs because thet’s where the light is. One tap, Oppo F3 just know what I feel.

THIS IS CALDERETA. Remember how your grandmother used to cook this dish? Villa Escudero’s caldereta will definitely remind you that your favorite viand is cooked this way. For some reasons, at this close range, Oppo F3 agreed. The smoky details caught while the exact color stayed.

FOOT BATH. Guests can linger as long as they want after lunch. Again, I like the way Oppo F3 plays with landscapes.

NOON AT THE ANCESTRAL HOUSE GARDENS

Everyday Mobile Photography with Oppo F3

Let me remind everyone that the ancestral house grounds are off-limits to regular guests. They can only view from this range since this is a private resident built when the patriarch, Don Arsenio decided to move from San Pablo to Tiaong. With the loving guidance of his wife, Dona Rosario, they were able to build a loving home with the view of Mt. Cristobal as the residence’s background.

Aside from the Villa Escudero being a home to generations of Escuderos and their plantation and resort workers (each families from seventh generations given a space of 300 square meters), it also houses 100 bird species. According to Don Ado, when his father passed away, he left a big chest and everyone was anxious to open it. And when they did, it was full of “tirador” which Don Arsenio bought from kids so they won’t harm the birds. Also, Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) Laguna Pitbull Center where the rescued Laguna fighting pitbulls are cared for (http://www.caraphil.org/mainsite/tag/laguna-pit-bulls/).

Anyway, it was 12 o’clock and I was granted permission by Ms. Rosalie Escudero-Blume. I took the liberty to take photos of the statues inside the garden and the experience was so artsy I felt so ashamed why I never took my Humanities class seriously. And all statues in the lawn are collections of their parents and the landscape is a museum itself.

ALABASTER INNOCENCE. He graces the middle of the garden with his impish smile like any other toddler would. Oppo F3 caught all elements vividly here and despite the photo taken against the light.

THE SEVEN MUSES OF ARTS ALABASTER VASE. The details of jovial and forlorn. I was wondering who would put a vase like this in the middle of the garden?

A MIX OF FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY. Coral Pink has always been the house’s color since it was erected. A mixture of powdered red corals with calcium carbide (kalburo) and dissolved with water made this color possible. The mansion showed how Don Arsenio and Dona Rosario complement each other’s personalities –a bull’s head that symbolizes a strong foundation and the color of love that has wrapped the whole mansion’s exterior. Oppo F3 caught the rustic details I want to see and delivered the depth that I want to imply. — A MIX OF FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY. Coral Pink has always been the house’s color since it was erected. A mixture of powdered red corals with calcium carbide (kalburo) and dissolved with water made this color possible. The mansion showed how Don Arsenio and Dona Rosario complement each other’s personalities –a bull’shead that symbolizes a strong foundation and the color of love that has
wrapped the whole mansion’s exterior. Oppo F3 caught the rustic details I want to see and delivered the depth that I want to imply.

(to be continued)

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Written by Ghiellie Balan

Gilda CP Balan is a certified Gen-X'er believing in the ideals of the diskette is more powerful than the USB. Philippine News' Manila correspondent, trying hard photographer, wellness advocate and a cook -she has been indulging lately reviewing the correlations in the Game of Thrones (both the book and the series plus reddit assumptions) while figuring out how to carve human flesh into pies. Kidding aside, writing is her catharsis towards a meaningful life after decades of chaos.

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Everyday Mobile Photography with Oppo F3