Wishing everyone a perfect year

It is now the 31st of December here in the Philippines and in ten hours time we’ll be saying goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011… And as I look back to the year that was, 2010 for me gave me a fair balance of good and bad times  and I don’t discount the fact that this year it gave me a lot of good starts from working freelance as a web content writer and earning big, I rekindled my passion for Photography and was able to buy myself a brand new Nikon D3000 DSLR with the money I’ve saved and after a very long hiatus from making comic books I got to jam again with my long-time buddies from Bedbugs Comics. But according to one saying, “Life is a bed of roses which come with thorns” and I too had my share of lows this year… My freelance work lasted for only four months due to irreconcilable differences with my former American boss and eight months later here I am, still a bum and my bank savings is starting to dry up, and yes, I’m singing the blues once more… Oh well, that’s life for you… and all we have to do is carry on and look forward to the future.

Reflecting on the year that was and promising to make amends for the new one is a never-ending cycle for mankind, we are all but human beings and we do make mistakes, and at the end of the tunnel, there’s this shining beacon of hope that we can do better and correct our flaws next year. But as the dawning of the new year fast approaches, let me be the first to wish each and everyone of you love and peace of mind this 2011 and this time, may all of us be granted that one simple wish that we get that perfect year we have always wanted to happen once in our lives…

Have a wonderful 2011 guys!

Cute and naughty hentai figures

Cute and naughty hentai figure (censored)

I have been a big fan of anime and manga characters ever since I was a kid and even up to this day I still appreciate and adore these lovable Japanese creations even though I’m in my mid-30’s. Ah yes… times are a-changing for me and I have moved on with my taste for anime/manga when all I ever wanted in life as a kid was to watch giant super robots fighting off evil invaders from other planets. But as I grew older, I began to expand my horizons and explored the world of anime with other interesting characters with equally interesting storylines along the way. I remember back in college when I went back to manga and my fascination with it grew to greater heights when I later found out about the quirky and sometimes lurid world of Hentai! I guess a lot of you out there knows what Hentai is all about, but big ol’ me just couldn’t get enough of it and I did buy once in a while several issues of Hentai comics at these specialty comic book shops until I had my own small collection. But again due to its graphic nature and availability, these adult comic books are way too pricey for me and since I was still studying and I solely depended on my daily allowance, I eventually stopped collecting hentai comics for several years now and I went on to collecting other stuff and focused more on my drawing skills which led me to the formation of Bedbugs Comics, an underground comic book group where I write and draw my own stories at the same time… But that’s another story.

My new weblog name

Hi guys, don’t get confused with what you are seeing and reading… and if you’re looking for “Mekanda’s Blog” then you’re reading it right now. It was a few days ago that I’ve only decided to change my weblog name and now it’s officially entitled “Of Photography, Toys and other stuff.”

I’ll be giving you more blog entries that will tackle everything from toys, Photography, movies and other stuff as they spill out of my head and into my weblog for you to enjoy (hopefully) reading. Thanks guys and have a great day!

New babies: Transformers’ T-AI, Sky-Byte and Super Fire Convoy figures

Transformers’ T-AI bathing with Sky-Byte while Super Fire Convoy naughtily peeps from behind

Merry Christmas guys! Hope you enjoyed the yuletide season celebrating with your friends and families… I’m back once more with a new blog entry and with another toy figure I would like to share to all of you. Christmas spent with the family was rather quiet and simple at home and since I had nothing to do ’till I go and visit my girlfriend at 4 p.m.  I decided to whip out my camera and take some photos of my other toys that are waiting in line… I was so tempted to open my tightly sealed Flying Big Guy and Rusty figures but I suddenly had second thoughts about it and immediately I veered my attention away from it and looked for other toys to photograph. I looked inside my light box and found a few anime figures lying around and it didn’t take long before I finally made my decision…

More toys waiting in line…

(Back L-R) Debbie Stevens figure, Big Guy and Rusty from Ban Dai, Freddy Krueger figure (Foreground L-R) Gaiking vinyl figure, Ultraman Tiga Dyna Gaia chibi figures, DC Universe Crisis Shazam! action figure

As soon as I was done typing my last blog post yesterday, I decided to clean my room and clear out some of the stuff that I don’t need while I tucked away the other toys lying on the floor back to my display rack. It was only then that I realized that there were “a lot” of my toys crammed in one corner that I haven’t photographed yet! I got them one by one and placed it on a small black television rack I’m now using as a second tabletop platform. Actually these are the bargain toys that I bought in the past and most of them are in good condition since some of them are still sealed and I’m trying to find a way to open them properly so that as soon as I’m done taking their photos I can place them back into their respective packages… talk about being O.C. and all but that’s how I take care of my stuff, most especially with my photography gear and my toy collection. Since finding my niche in Toy Photography, finding new toys to photograph can also drain your pockets big time most especially if you are the type of hobbyist who goes for the rare and expensive ones. And if you look at the photo I took above, you can say that these belong to the same category of toys I’ve mentioned… but all it took was sheer perseverance, patience and a lot of research to find these toy figures and get them at “more-than-reasonable” prices.

I’m back from my photo studio grave!

Hello blog world! We finally meet again after more than four months in hybernation… well, not exactly, I was kinda busy and focused in setting up my small tabletop studio (which I mentioned on my last blog entry last August.) I was doing a lot of self-study and photo practice at home since I decided to tuck away my dad’s Nikon FE film camera for the time being and spend some quality time with my Nikon D3000 and focus more now on digital photography. Ever since I left my job as a freelance web content writer for my American client last April, I spent so many hours learning and practicing the basics for digital photography but unfortunately I never got to use my DSLR whenever I went out to shoot some photos and instead my Nikon Coolpix L20 did all the hardwork for me. I guess I was not yet prepared to bring my D3000 along whenever I went out since I get this sense of paranoia that there are prying eyes locking their sights on my camera bag and God-forbid what will happen next! But that doesn’t mean I did not use my D3000 whatsoever at all, in fact it became a big turning point for me with my fondness for photography and eventually I’ve found my niche as an amateur shutterbug through the wonderful world of Toy Photography.