Life: Canon 15 Years - What's Your Canon Story?

It is wonderful to capture a smile, but all the more when you witness that single smile bloom to a wide, happy grin! This is the very reason why I delved into videography together with my friends: to frame special memories as they happen 30 or 60 times per second ;)

History:
Two of my (many) hobbies are photography and videography. Surprise, surprise. I have special memories that surface when I look back at my introduction to photography when I was 14 years old. What I proudly thought were artistic photos taken using my sister's Vivitar film camera--the prehistoric camera that you need to rewind counterclockwise before the shutter button can activate anything--were anything but.

My photos were absolute crap, as you may have expected, but I was very happy whenever I got the chance to take it out and I always carefully saved my negatives (wow, I haven't used this term for so long) in an airtight ziploc bag, as well as my to-be-developed (!) rolls of film.

Covering a tearjerker prenup at the beach! The bride is relaxing

Now:
Now, I am a part of a new videography team. Solid Black Videos is composed mainly of four very close friends who love photography, videography and visual arts; In the picture above, that is Magsy, Mike, yours truly (Canon is obviously my best friend!) and Dan, at the right. We've known each other for pretty much a decade and together we embarked on a profound experience of capturing on video happy brides and grooms, local artists, and a lot of special events. We do all this and more using our Canon DSLR and digital cameras.

Videography is always more than just a profit-oriented business. It is a hobby, honed each time a camera is held. We're now even venturing into filmmaking. Hey, we're pushing the team's envelope here! Hahaha!

Goofing around while adjusting camera settings in a wedding shoot

Our team, Solid Black Videos, has but a good few videos under our belt and we have a lot of learning to do, and there's a lot of fun in store for us! Using Canon cameras have enabled us to be as creative as we can and to make people happy through presenting high-definition videos. There is no other camera we trust most. No other than Canon.

MTV Shoot with Davao's best local artist for the month of November - Photo grabbed from www.facebook.com/annemendozamusic

Canon has long been my constant companion and trustworthy friend to all my creative endeavors. I have one picture that I've held dearly. It was even used as my first profile in this BLOG! This is me back in 2009 at a cosplay event:

Grim face. Because adjusting f-Stops are srs bzns.

My journey with Canon just doesn't end there! In fact, I have an IXUS 220 HS Canon digital camera inside my bag all the time, my just in case camera. And it is so battlescarred like you wouldn't believe. :D

Do you have a Canon story you'd like to share? Any special experiences that you can tell with words and pictures? Join the "What's Your Canon Story?" online contest and win a Canon IXUS 125 HS by sharing your 500-word narrative with 1 to 3 photos to let Canon know how it has has affected your life in a positive way.

http://15years.canon.com.ph

Bright, Orange and Pulpy: Minute Maid!

Do you love oranges?

Because gosh, I sure do. :) In fact, I just ate one last night!
Greencross* bought like 4 oranges to share with our friends, but we might have gobbled it all by ourselves. Maybe. Don't tell them.

Another thing I LOVE is Orange Juice! But I hate powered ones with a passion. They're just too fake for my taste. I hate the powder that gets on the counter when you pour it into a jar, and the icky way some powder are left at the bottom of the pitcher no matter how many stirs you make.

Luckily, bottled orange juice was invented.



I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe... I will still give it a try. I may be just one of those that will try a healthier alternative to the usual softdrinks. To my surprise it tastes exactly like a fresh orange squeeze! It's cold, it's refreshing and it tastes fantastic!

I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added. So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED! That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens! Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I may just change my mind as to how I view bottled juices. For once I have found a natural home made fruit juice taste with no preservatives and no unhealthy carbonated ingredients!


So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right? Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means... that it's the perfect drink when you're craving for something sweet to guzzle down.

So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added - meaning it's THAT natural, it's almost like it's plucked straight from the tree, it's just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be, it's got nothing but the good stuff yes, none of those potentially toxic stuff that can harm your brain, kidneys, heart; cause tumors aargh- the list of preservatives' bad effects just go on!!! Anyway, just to prove a point on just how good Minute Maid Pulpy is 'cause it's got NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, I'm gonna quit drinking my usual soda drinks. I swear. I'm HUGE on sodas and pop drinks, but I know with Minute Maid, the transition will be easy peasy.

Feels good to know about the real pulpy deal, right? C’mon show me a smile on the comment box, and you might win yourself a Really Pulpy Deal! (That’s a chance to win a Minute Maid gift pack simply by commenting. Sweet! C'mon you just might be picked as the lucky 'commentor'!)

Love,

Aicha! :)

P.S. I love munching on the orange pulps, tasting the sweetness, and enjoying the tangy, fruity taste... It's like everything you love about oranges is in here!

Learn more about the Minute Maid contest here!