Photographer’s Guide to Sinulog
Last year we are free to choose what shirt we wanna wear. This year we are forced to wear their shirt.
After 3 Sinulogs, I have finally decided to make a brief guide to how to take photos in Sinulog. I will be covering up topics such as Best camera settings for Sinulog, and best lens to use for Sinulog.
Gear
A.Bags and Slings
For general clothing, one can refer to my post: A guide to Sinulog. Being a photographer you can consider bringing with you two bags: one backpack and one sling bag for easy reach of lenses or accessories. For tripods make sure you have some sort of contraption to easily sling it over your back or side. Going for more than two bags put you at a security risk. It becomes too many to remember and thus become an easy prey for the thieves. (yes,amongst the thousands of innocent people there’s bound to be one of them)
B. Camera
Last year, I experimented on Videography and Photography at the same time. The result? Both compromised each other. Choose one field and focus on it. How many camera bodies should I bring? If I can afford it I would ideally bring 3. (1)For wide angle lenses. (2) For Zoom lenses (3) For Kit lens or 50mm Prime lens (NEVER underestimate the power of a kit lens. But if you do bring 2 cameras then one wide angle and one zoom would do.
C. Lenses
Now comes the question, what is the best lens for Sinulog? There’s really no Best lens when it comes to Sinulog. There are several ways for a lens to become useful in certain situations. Let’s start with the Kit lens. Most photographers have the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens which is most of the time, laughed at by people with lenses like the 200mm f/4L. The kit lens however may not be as super sharp as those 4L lenses but they do you good especially in bright lighting. Try shooting in f/8.0 for the kit lens and it can give you a pretty impressive result. After all, f/8.0 is the sweet spot.
Next you have the wide angle lenses. These can be like those of the 17-40mm f/2.8, 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6, or even fish eye lenses. In general, these lenses are good when it comes to shooting floats, Higantes (giant puppets) and Contingents. But when you are in the grandstand you ought to have the Zoom lens.
Now you have the zoom lens. The zoom lens will help you when getting around the Grand stand because you will be situated far away from the dancers and festival queens. It also gives you and edge over the other photographers who will be crowding around the dancers and even possibly give you a chance to shoot at angles which you don’t normally have within your eye level. Another advantage for the zoom lens is for the Sidelights category. Capturing those rare candid moments requires a good distance between the photographer and the subject so that the essence of the subject’s unawareness to the shoot is preserved.
Prime lenses such as the 50mm f/1.8, 35mm f/1.8, or even more delicious: the 50mm f/1.4 are all very helpful in terms of Shooting single subjects. Because of the really wide aperture the tendency of the background is to go blur. This is one highly desirable result when shooting single subjects.
D.Flash
A big part of the Sinulog Festial parade will be under the scorching heat of the sun. A lot prefer to use the natural light. But as night comes the Flash guns often become quite useful. To bring or not to bring? I say if you stay till night, the flash guns can be quite a tool.
E. Others
My Sinulog look for 2009, photo by Rupert Tandoc
Umbrella has always been my bestfriend wherever I go. If rain happens then you don’t want to get caught in the act do you? A small umbrella will do. Something that you can easily secure on your bag and readily pull out when the need arises. Also, bring 2 pieces of cloth to cover your camera and your neck. I have a scarf and a neckerchief from my Boy scout days in High school days. Not only does it protect you from the rain or drizzle, it also helps against Dust and Sunlight. I also bring with me a water container, it helps when it fits easily in my bag instead of having to bring around a plastic bottle sold around the streets. During the break you can refill your container again. In case of heavy rain, a large plastic bag will become necessary to protect the camera.
FAQ 1. What time do I have to be in the streets?
Ready yourself as early as 7 am where you can still easily get around the roads and crowd is not
that bad yet. Around 8 am you’ll start having difficulty getting around. If you are not familiar with the streets of Cebu City then it will be good if you have a companion with you who is.
FAQ2.What is the best location for shooting in Sinulog?
Honestly, I wouldn’t say there is a best location. Some photographers take it directly to the Grand stand in Cebu City Sports Complex while others prefer to take it to the streets. I strongly suggest to move around instead of waiting for the contingents pass by. Move around, don’t wait for the perfect moment to pass by. Look for it before somebody else does.
FAQ3.How much money should I bring?
Unless you’re willing to spend a lot in terms of food and drinks then Php 1000 would be an average. But if you want enough for your quick breaks and drinks then php 500 is already sufficient.
Checklist
So as to help you get ready for the big day, here’s a small checklist to consider
__Camera(s)
__Lens(es)
__Lens filters
__Bag(s)
__Tripod/Monopod
__Flash (optional)
__Memory Card(s)
__Extra batteries
__cellphone(s) (soysal diba? may “s” pa)
__2 pieces of Cloth
__A plastic Bag
__Pocket money
__Official Photographer’s Pass
__Official Sinulog T-shirt for Photographers
__Cap
__umbrella
__Tissue
__Alcogel/Alcohol
__band-aid
__water
__Ladder (optional)
__Reflectors
For those who are still new to the whole Photography thing, you can check in this post: Photography Tips and Guide to sinulog. (coming soon)
Related posts:
- Photographer’s Guide to Sinulog
- A Guide to Sinulog 2010
- Sinulog 2010 Festival Queen Winner
- Camera Repair in Cebu
- The Sinulog Festival Grand Mardi Gras 2010
7 Responses to “Photographer’s Guide to Sinulog”
Leave a Reply
[...] nyoker named The Photoblogger posted this! Continue Reading… Share and [...]
i should’ve read this post before the sinulog event. finally met you EJ even if it was just a short time.
Wow.. it takes real passion to carry all those stuff in Sinulog.. we all know how crowded yet fun that festival is.
hell yeah it did. This year I carried two bags and an umbrella. whew.
sayang wala ta nagkita.. wla ka kapicture nako..hehe joke… Good luck sa entries Van…. I will remember this post for next year.. hopefully i can join you.. dili na ko magtinapulan..hehehe
Howdy there,Superb blogging dude! i am just Tired of using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.
PS:Do you thought putting video to your blog to keep the visitors more interested?I think it works.Yours, Lenny Tarry
thanks !! very helpful post!