What a lovely couple. They're just so fun to photograph.

I wish that every wedding has dancing in the program and that more Filipinos actually love to dance in weddings. It's just disturbing how guests start to go home once they've finished eating. Sheesh.

Why miss out on dancing when it's definitely fun? This wedding had a lot of it. =)







For more photos, you can visit my facebook album page. =)

Worked as second photographer for Realstudio.













For more photos, you can visit my facebook album page. =)

Just sharing some of the photos of the wedding.













For more photos, you can visit my facebook album page. =)

I have a random photos album in my facebook and I thought they'd look good here in my blog as well, considering that I haven't been able to update mine lately. =)

Random photographs happen when photographers shoot out of assignment something that interests them. In a trip, it could be one, two or more photos.

It doesn't belong in a particular group, ergo the name random. But interest of subject would be the most drawing factor to capture it.

You'll find it interesting how in albums, many photographers would have some random photos sandwiched inside. Since I organize my photos per date, I just keep these type of photos sitting in albums. I have so many random photos to show. Here are few of them:


December 2007
20s f/22 ISO100 55mm
Nikon D200

Raindrops on a bus' windshield. The red lights of course are tail lights. The blue color are from building lights.

The reason why the lights are diffused is because they're out of focus and the focus is on the water droplets on the windshield. The bus was parked with the engine off (CR break yata nun) so long exposure didn't have shake.


Pool and view during my short stay at the CamSur Water Sports Complex for the 3rd Cobra 70.3 IronMan.
Aug 13, 2011
1/160 f/11 ISO11 12mm Nikon D7000


Some wakeboarding action at CamSur.
Aug 13, 2011
1/500 f/7.1 ISO320 300mm Nikon D7000

I finally got a chance to test out Nikon's 3D Focus Tracking using 39 Autofocus points. It's so simple to use and the focus really follows your subject once initial focus has been acquired. Best to use with AF-C (continuous focusing). Combine that with D7000's 6 frames per second (fps) shutter and you're bound to get a good shot in an action series. =)

Canon, show me what you've got at this price point? Hohoho. ;p


Nov 7, 2010, Nuvali
1/2500s f/2.8 170mm WB shade
Nikon D70 + 70-200 2.8 VR

Here are a few photographs from a wedding I shot on May 1 at Casa San Pablo. Don and I go way back in college. We attended the same church (that time Victory). I was so happy for him when he informed me of his wedding.

Of course, weddings are difficult to shoot alone. I had the pleasure of working again with Roi Francisco, who also did the On Site Slideshow. Seph Cabarteja was also with us shooting as second photographer.

It was a long drive for Sheebie and Bingkaw. Sheebie is my Chevy Optra, while Bingkaw is a stuffed toy; a cute, fat cow, who is always smiling and comfortably sits on my dashboard.















If you want to see the rest of the photos from this wedding, just visit my facebook page. Key in "Dan Cercado" in the search panel and add me up. Oh and don't forget to tell me why you're adding me up.

Sorry for the terribly long blog update. Anyway, I thought that a good way to start the year would be to show my favorite photos from last year. So here they are.

1. Work is suppose to be fun. If you're not having fun at work, something is either wrong with you or your work or the match might be incorrect. This photo reminds me that even though we are tired, a tad bit of humor can keep us up.

0.4s f/4 12mm D70

2. Erwin shakes the hand of Ptr Carlo in his first day in church. We've been praying for our cellmate Erwin to finally be able to attend the Sunday service and this day it happened. He was allowed to take a leave from work that day and spend the afternoon in church with us.

1/30s f/1.4 30mm D70

3. Network photo. When you begin taking care and discipling people, you will understand photographs like this more.

1/60s f/5.6 30mm D70

4. Man-made Forest, Bohol
On a very tight itinerary during a family vacation, we stopped over by the popular tourist attraction for a couple of photographs. Nanay's instructions to me were: "Make it quick. I'm giving you 2 minutes." It already takes 2 minutes to mount the tripod, and longer to take photos. I was able to take around 8 shots before we sped off again.

1s f/16 ISO100 12mm D200

5. Manila International Auto Show
This reminds me that when you post an album entitled Auto Show, what people are suppose to see in your album are cars and similar items and not chicks and babes. If you're attending an Auto Show to primarily shoot women in sexy clothing, there is obviously something wrong with you.

1/15 f/4 ISO800 12mm D200

6. National Geographic Earth Day Run
Many months ago, someone important looked at my portfolio and said, "He's good. But he's not a sports photographer." I almost believed him. But it's a good thing that I didn't. For the ensuing months after this event, I kept shooting one sporting event after the other. Whoever said I wasn't good at sports photography was totally proven wrong.

1/8s f/4 12mm D70

7. Cobra 70.3 Ironman
First time to cover an Ironman. I felt like I've raced myself. Got burned in the sun for shooting without sleeves. Awww. Looked crazy running around the race course with heavy photo gear. Did I mention it was tiring? But the photos were superb.

1/60s f/14 ISO400 12mm D200
direct flash, TTL

8. 2010 Philippine National G12 Conference, Araneta
The largest event I've documented - so many people in such a big place. This is so much work. After this I was informed that my photos are being seen in the international community. Wow!

1/5s f/11 ISO400 12mm D200 pano-stitch of 4 photos

9. Misfit by Ani Firmalo's (designer) first release.
Trying my hand at high fashion.

1/160 f/4 ISO320 82mm D200
multiple lighting

10. Dale and Anna's prenup
Going back to the same photo spot can sometimes be detrimental as repetition occurs. But with repetition comes perfection, if at least on the part of the use of location. On my next visit it'll take a lot for me to make a photo in the same location that would be better than this. Wew.

1/160 f/3.5 ISO100 116mm D200
single lighting

Enjoy shooting this year guys!

Sorry guys if there have been no blog updates lately.

On our April trip to Pagadian to see the fastest growing church in that city - Destiny Pagadian, we made a side trip to Osamis on our way back, and visited the famous Dolphin Island Aquamarine Park. If you ever get to visit Osamis, make sure you see the Dolphin Sanctuary and schedule it in the afternoon so you can bask at the colorful sunset.


On May, we attended Bro.Eddie's prayer rally in Luneta, an event which was packed by more than a million christians. Whoa!


On the first week of July, Destiny Manila moved into the spacious UP Film Center and we filled it up. Wohoo! God is good!


A week after, the UP Students of Destiny asked me to do their publicity photoshoot.


And then there was the Regional G12 Luzon Conference in Philtrade Center, another jump packed event. I'm looking forward to the National Conference planned to be held at the Araneta Coliseum at the end of the year.


Last week was a special treat, Breakfast at Antonio's in Tagaytay, which was in line with a client ocular. I had the breakfast regular which is mix of scrambled eggs, spanish sardines, hashbrown, and panini. Mmmm.. that was good food!


And I went back to edit the photo's of Kara Guioguio's debut from October last year.


So that's about the update I have for now. Keep coming back. I have more photos posted in my facebook account. Cheerio!

I have been getting some sports work lately, care of Anthony Yu, who honestly, is a better sports photographer than what I try to be. You can view his online portfolio HERE (www.pbase.com/tonyo). This guy has a longer and better experience in sports photography than I do.

Having friends who are professional photographers is often times a blessing, as they bring in additional income when their client needs an extra worker. It pays to have friends, literally.

Here's a couple of photos of myself at work.



Squinting makes you look chinky-eyed. Chinkey-eyed photographers gain added pogi points. Unfortunately, it only works in the Philippines where there is a strong cult following for chinitos.


I'm not sure if this should be part of what I should write about. But there was an occasion that a prospective client was looking at my portfolio, since he was looking for a sports photographer. I came in highly recommended. Well, he didn't see much sports photos in my work anyway, since I rarely shoot that. I remember him saying this of me, "I like his work, he's good, but he's not a sports photographer."

We can't win everyone's heart can we?

I didn't make that client's cut, but I did in another client - the Nat Geo Run.


It's sad sometimes, how when we begin to specialize in certain fields, that some people think we can not perform in other fields at all. The basic principles of photography encompasses all photographic fields.

I've often iterated to young photographers to continuously try different fields of photography and not to close down on a single field. I'm not sure if my efforts are working. But what I teach, I've applied in my life, and so far, so good.

There was a time that I thought I was sold out to becoming a wedding photographer (only). To make the long story short, God got hold of me, shook me up, and changed my plans. Now, although weddings is a primary staple in my events work, I still get to do other stuff, which I've found prevents me from getting bored (repetitive work is boring you know) and challenges my skills every time. And that is good.

So this is me. I like dabbling in a lot of photographic fields, but I've never really sat down and settled in only one. I have my favorites though, like church photography and candids, but I still enjoy other fields. When opportunities are given, I welcome them.

PS: I was suppose to end, but I'm adding something from another topic but is important because of the humor.

Auto Shows is not Sports. Being a fanatic of cars is not considered a sport. It's called a hobby. Sports require cardiovascular stretching (except for board games); it's an activity that is suppose to make you sweat. Let me ask you this. Do you sweat in your car (provided the A/C is working fine)? Are your fats burned when you ogle your car or other people's car for that matter? Nope! Nada. Not a zinch. Haha.

As much as the chubby men driving gorgeously set-up cars with a chick at the passenger seat would like to think they're doing sports as they drive, it's not (Hey if you're my friend and think I'm describing you, I'm not. I had a couple of strangers in mind. Hehe). I'm sorry to burst your bubble. You ain't gonna get thin by driving your car. You have to get out and get some real exercise man!

I like cars too. I'm just being funny here ok. No pun intended. Let me leave you with a photo from the recent Manila International Auto Show.


You can find more photos of the Manila International Auto Show in my Facebook. Cheerio!

The short answer to that question is this --> Facebook.

I've noticed that ever since Facebook came in, it literally ushered the death of Friendster and began a slow but sure migration of Multiply users to itself. Forget Friendster. It died because it was too late in adapting to the changing times.

My blog is a photo blog. What about posting photos in Multiply?

Well, surely Multiply has a better photo layout than Facebook. And you can even tweak the html to make a header appear like a short blog entry to kick off an album. Photo layout in Facebook isn't as tad as Multiply. But FB users care very little about the layout. It's quite an interesting matter really. But the reality is this - more people are in Facebook (if not everybody).

Facebook offers connection at a far higher level than Multiply can. Let's take the subject of photo tagging in FB. You upload an album, tag a photo, and voila, the person is 'coerced' to view your photo. Considering that a normal person would usually be curious of his appearance in a photo.

So why isn't my blog updated? Because, ladies and gentlemen, I am in Facebook. And that is where the market is. Among all social networking sites that I keep, I spend most of my time in FB.

Simply put, my Facebook account is the most updated of all my online connection accounts (excluding email of course), especially with regards to photography.

So if you're still not my friend in Facebook, just add me up. If we're not really related, it's better if you send a message along with the add request and tell me why you're adding me up. Don't worry, I don't bite. It's for safety reasons of course, since FB is technically my private life laid out to the online public. :)

See you in Facebook!

PS: I will try my best to update this site from time to time. =) See this note is an update. Hehe.

Click HERE to go back to my album in multiply.


Sherwin and Nette's Wedding in Abra. I travelled more than 8 hours, made 3 river crossings, hiked for 15minutes with my gear, and paid for my own trip just to document my cousin Nette's wedding. To top that off, I shot this pro bono. You may ask why. Because Sherwin is a pastor. As a christian, it is our obligation to invest in people and their lives. I don't see how one could ever go wrong by blessing a pastor. Pay it forward guys! Share your abundance.


Pasture land at La Union. It had to happen. The shutters of the 2 SLRs I brought acted up. Wanting to still get the photo and not being shaken, I took the old point and shoot digicam (Olympus C740) and squeezed out this photograph. ISO100 1/160 f/8 GND filter.


I'm promoted to a status of an uncle with the arrival of my niece, Ishi, daughter of my older brother Em. Ishi was 4mos when this was taken in Trinoma.


Back to running from a very long hiatus from my favorite sport.


Dei and Hannah's Engagement photo. I've used remote flashes more and more this year in almost all fields of photography I do. Without flash in this photo, the couple would appear dark. But we managed to hide the flash in the pine branches and squeezed out a good photograph at ISO100 1/250s f/2.8 98mm. Thanks to the Nikkor 70-200 VR, I'm still able to get a sharp photo at a far distance.


Gab and Rem's Wedding in Davao. Here's the couple with myself, Greg, and Benj. It was good to work with Greg again, him being another excellent photographer. Since he and his family relocated to Dumaguete, we've worked together rarely. And of course, Benj, my favorite lightsman. He's the one running around with a light on a stick, as we busily capture candids lit with remote flashes. Travel to Davao taught me a very expensive lesson on planning and promptness. But the wedding and the experience is of course, far more valuable than that.


Quadruple birthday. From left to right: Lean, Myself, Ben, LV, and Butch, blowing our birthday cake at the Destiny Center (Ben wasn't a celebrant that week). The way I see it, I think these thoughts were in the minds of the people shown here:
Lean - still thinking about blowing his cake.
Dan - blowing the cake with all his might.
LV - still happy at seeing the cake.
Butch -  whistling. hehe.


Lea Valenzuela's Debut. The debut that led to a string of other debuts. Lea thanks for the multiple referrals! You're the best. =)


The photos you could pull off with a camera phone are amazing.


Ezra being carried by the wind (or what appears like it). It's a good reminder of what a blessing it is to have wacky siblings.


Fernando and Lara Engagement photo. While the rest of the wedding photographers are still doing the old stuff, I'm cranking up new ideas (with the help or prayer believe me) and bringing it to the table. It's a good thing that I have a knack for trying out new things and being blessed with couples who trust what I am doing (although, I don't tell people I'm actually experiment on their shot, hehe). ISO100 1/250 f/4 12mm Remote Flash.


Ortigas Afternoon Haze. After a disappointing cancelled vacation to Batanes, I went over to Antipolo and took a landscape to break the mood. This is cropped from a more gorgeous panoramic shot of the metro scape basked in the warm afternoon sunset. ISO100 1/125 f/11 200mm.


Tablas Island Sunrise. This is the photograph that made my Romblon Medical Mission trip worth it all. I didn't wake to the alarm and was fearful that I missed the sunrise. When I ran outside straight from the bed, the light held off for a mere 30 minutes, enough to get me a couple of good takes from different positions. ISO200 1/8 f/16 12mm Multiple Exposure, manually blended (HDR). While there is a prevalence of overcooked HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos, I still hold on to the conservative approach of HDR processing. HDR is used to balance exposures where filters would not be adequate, resulting in a seemingly well exposed photograph. When HDR is overcooked, you end up with a photo that looks plasticky (cartoon-like and at times, looking fake).


Elmo and Anne Engagement photo. Taken at a ride in Enchanted Kingdom. I wanted to experiment and get a photo of the couple having fun in the ride as it was actually moving. But I wasn't able to achieve that - because the technical side was just so darn difficult and it was dark. What I got instead was a long dizzy spell from photographing with my back turned in a fast rotating ride. Hahaha. So much for love for experimentation.


Destiny Men's Encounter. Men who haven't attended this, should experience the Encounter. It's a weekend where a person is changed by God from the old life to one that is far more better; a life that has a clear purpose, driven, fueled by passion, and anointed. If you can't understand what I'm talking about, then attend the Encounter.


Destiny Water Baptism. First time to shoot the baptism underwater. Ideas are nice, but It gets better when you put it to work. ISO400 1/160 f/5.6 24mm Waterproof SLR case.


Typhoon Ondoy. The worst catastrophe this nation experienced in 2009. Photo shows the flood in the early stages in Marikina. The water level doubled at the height of the flood in that area. It was worse in other areas and cities.