Ferdz Decena

3rd party BLN-1 Batteries (iSmart Digi, left and DSTE, right) The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is probably one of the most successful cameras from Olympus to date.  With so many people having their hands on it, it wasn’t surprising that for a time their original BLN-1 battery got a shortage of supply making consumers turn to 3rd party manufacturers for that extra juice. Not to mention that these Olympus OM-D Third Party BLN-1 Battery alternatives are aslo cheap but with some drawbacks. We take a look at two 3rd party batteries I was able to use for a couple of months now – the iSmart Digi and the DSTE Battery BLN-1 and see how they fare.

The Twin Bed room in GoHotels Dumaguete Urban nomads looking for the comforting sights of a mall in a rural setting will find GoHotels Dumaguete an easy place to stay in. Like any of their branches GoHotels is usually accompanied by its big brother, the Robinson’s Malls making sure, guest would have all the comforts and needs just a few steps away. Their Dumaguete branch adds a gentle twist. Aside from its well manicured gardens and bright colored green and yellow walls, it’s the staff that also spells the difference. Somehow, the genuine smiles and friendly vibe does exude naturally for Dumagueteños.

My niece playing the Juan Tamad Game App Gotta hand it to the people at the local digital company TOOCH for coming up with a Apple IOS game based on a classic Philippine folklore. The Juan Tamad game is a puzzle game that hopes to introduce the classic character in a fun and interactive way to children. The game app is free at Apple iTunes Store so there’s no reason not to try it out. If you’re wondering how it goes, I made a run with the game also asked the kids to try it out.

El Nido spread from the Inflight Oct-Nov 2012 Cover Story It’s that time once again where a lot of magazines would feature destinations apt for the rainy season and also the Halloween. On the latest Seair InFlight Magazine Oct-Nov 2012 , their cover story “ The Isles of Thrills “, adventure specialist Greg Hutchinson takes you to the places in the Philippines where you can Kayak, Trek or Bike Around. On the Insider’s Guide section, Paranormal Expert, Frank Regis takes you to 10 Haunted Places to spook you. Somewhat a rehash of an old feature they did before. I included here some spreads and a page where some of my photos were used. So if you are flying Seair/Tiger anytime soon, check it out in-flight.

Goldbeyond.com responsive web design (mobile, tablet and desktop)   The client just wanted a single page website with everything on it. They needed it “yesterday” since they have the event in the next few weeks. So I got their brochures, soft copy of their text and materials and whipped out the easiest with the most presentable I can muster. Even if it was a 1 page site I wanted it to look nice and consistent with their brochure materials so decided to use their main image as the whole background. Used CSS3 and HTML5 to make it responsive to different browsers. Even it was a single page site, a navigation was still needed to reach the site sections so anchors were used within the page. As an aesthetic addition, I decided to add Javascript Scroll for a more fluid navigation. So there goes a single page website that has a responsive web design feature. Check out www.goldbeyond.com

A Spiritual affair on the October Issue of PAL Mabuhay One of my favorite images from Sagada is published on the October 2012 Issue of PAL Mabuhay Magazine . It’s this boy kneeling on the ground at the cemetery in Sagada during the Festival of Lights celebration or Panag-apoy during Halloween. I just can’t believe it’s been almost 7 years since I took this photo. I was still using my trusty Olympus C750 point and shoot at that time. No DSLR for me then but I thought this picture captured the essence of the festival, remembering the loved ones by burning a pinewood fire or saeng . Lori Blackburn writes about it more on this issue as well as the other Halloween traditions around the globe.