Andrew Manuel: Sneak Peek

My nephew/Mi sobrino, Andrew Manuel...

Happy 1st Birthday!

A year ago, fraternal twins Caroline and Daniel, entered not only the lives of their families but mine as well and I must say, it's been quite a joyride ever since: from meeting and holding them for the first time at the hospital when they were born and shooting their first official portraits at nine days old (check out the first 3 baby photos on this link) 'til now that they're eating solid food, walking or crawling really, really fast, making baby talk and just simply getting to watch them develop their own personalities... I'm so glad I get to be a part of their lives and I happily declare myself an unofficial aunt to these two adorable children and their equally adorable older brother, Andrés.

Here are the birthday portraits chosen by their mom and dad for this post...

When Daniel laughs, he really LAUGHS! You can almost hear the laughter in this photo...


Sweet Miss Caroline and one of her pensive looks... Charming!


Thanks once again, Brooke and Matthew, for letting me document this milestone in the lives of your kids.

Maligayang Kaarawan (Happy Birthday, Feliz Cumpleaños) Caroline at Daniel! (",)

Mischa Claire's Christening

Events like christenings, communions and if you're lucky enough, weddings, happen only once in a lifetime. So it's so cool when people invest in a custom-made album containing beautiful photographs from that special day. After all, after the cake has been eaten, the clothes and shoes have been kept in a box most likely never to be worn again, and the giveaways have been, well, given away, that album is the only thing that we can go back to time and time again. This is precisely what Mischa Claire's parents decided to do for their daughter's joint christening and first birthday celebrations. Check out some of the photos from that day...

The outfits (MC had two sets)...

The giveaways, invites and baptismal card...

The baptismal rite...

with Mama and Papa...

Guests at the dinner reception...

Checkin' out her cake...

Mario, Rachelle and Mischa, thanx for choosing me as your photographer on this momentous occasion. All the best to your family! (",)

One for Mischa Claire

A photo of Mischa Claire being baptized...

Una foto del bautizo de Mischa Claire...

Why I am a photographer today

My parents (Manolo & Marissa) during their Madrid visit in 2008...

This may come as a surprise to my father, but he plays a significant role in why I am a photographer today. I believe I got my love for photography from him. You see, we both love photographs. We love being in them, looking at them, taking them. We both like to organize our photos in albums. I dabbled in scrapbooking before I went into photography full time while Papa is still at it. If he isn’t working on some legal matter, you’ll find him in his tiny workroom, pasting pictures on scrapbooks at 4 o’clock in the morning. I recall how excited I was when he and my mom gave me my first camera when I was 10, just in time for my first and only trip to the U.S. as a child, just a small black one, the kind that needed a cube bulb as flash (ooopppsss, did I just reveal my age?). I don’t think there was ever an occasion, a trip or a gathering that wasn’t documented by him with a camera, a task that was eventually handed over to me. We even resisted the digital format for as long as we could because we preferred (and still do actually) looking at tangible prints to images on a screen. I bought my first DSLR just two years ago and he stopped using film and bought a compact digital camera only because his trusty old Advantix got stolen (stupid thief too, who on earth steals an Advantix???).

It is said that a parent’s legacy is his or her child’s future. Today, on my father’s birthday, the only gift I can think of is to thank him for paving the way, albeit unknowingly on his part, for me to discover my true professional destiny. I am what I am today – a memory keeper, an image-maker, a photographer – because of you. Happy birthday, Papa!

Andrés is 3

Os presento el birthday boy... ¡Ya tiene 3 añitos!

Muy Andrés... So Andrew...

Con Papá y Mamá...

Con sus hermanos, Carolina y Daniel, y los abuelos, Jeff y Susana que también celebran sus cumples esta semana...

La tarta... d-e-l-i-s-h!

Los regalos...

Los invitados...

¡Feliz cumple, Andrés!

Wanna bet?

So, how did an independent young woman who happened to dislike happy-go-lucky guys hook up with a skirt chaser?

Flashback, 1973, Free Will Baptist Bible College, Nashville, Tennessee. Their story, funny enough, started with a bet and a plan to get even. Jeff had broken up with one of Susan’s friends so one night, the girls decided to give him a dose of his own medicine. The one who got the shortest straw would get him to fall in love with her and then leave him. Unbeknownst to the girls, at the guys’ dorm, Jeff and his friends were making bets on who can get a date with a young lady named Susan. Well, how do you think this story panned out?

Fast-forward, 2009, Madrid, Spain. Jeff and Susan are still together! Talk about kismet! This is their 34^th year of marriage and they have been living a truly blessed life. They travel the world tirelessly for the service of God and good, they raised two amazing and talented children who are married to two equally amazing people. They are grandparents to three of the cutest children on earth (and a grandog!), and are treasured friends to those whose lives they’ve touched and continue to touch.

Ok, people! Are you ready to see what still being in love looks like after 34 years of marriage? :-)

This is Jeff, contemplating God's handiwork in La Pedriza...

Susan has an amazing smile... You can really tell that it comes from the heart.

Love. Amor. Pag-ibig... However you call it, they have it.

Susan: "Jeff, say s..." ;-P

And this last one is my absolute favorite!

Jeff and Susan, thanks for trusting me to take your 34th anniversary photos. Here’s to the next 34! Cheers! (",)

Allyssa's Christening

Allyssa is Ryan's cousin. They were actually baptized on the same evening and had a joint dinner reception afterwards. Here are some of the photos of Allyssa being christened...

Ryan's Baptism

This past Sunday evening, Ryan Ganaden became a Christian Catholic. The third son of Dante and Maria was such a trooper - not a single tear was shed as the cura poured water onto his head. Here are some of the photos of the baptismal rite...

Welcome to the world of Christianity, Ryan!