Pilar Bonnin Photography

12/08/2024

I had the pleasure of meeting "Pido" Jeson Osares Pidosurf Osares, the legendary surf board builder of Siargao for the last 20 years. I was invited to his home in Burgos North Siargao to document him building a surf board. I wanted emulate the feel of old Siargao so I used my film lens, 50 mm Leica noctilux and took all the photos at its full opening of 1.0 with ambient light, and used my own preset to give it a soft, warm, vintage hue and a grainy monochrome.

Building a surf board takes him around 1 week. From shaping the board, sanding, glazing, adding details. Not an easy job as you can see from the intensity of his work.

Sony A7RV + converter for Leica 50 mm Noctilux 1.0 film lens

Salamat karajaw


Salamat Ralph for assisting me.

09/08/2024

This series of dolphin shots was taken in North Siargao during our second dolphin sighting, the first being a month ago. During that first sighting, I wasn’t prepared—I had my wide-angle lens on, which didn’t quite capture the beauty in front of me. The dolphins were just swimming, without any jumps. I promised myself that the next time, I’d be ready with my 70-200mm f/2.8 V2 telephoto lens and a 2x extender, so I could shoot from a distance while respecting their space. I even told Oni, our captain, that if we found dolphins that day and I managed to photograph a full dolphin, he’d get a bonus. True to his skills, Oni spotted the dolphins at a distance. I quickly switched to the telephoto lens, running through my mental technical checklist: increase shutter speed to 1/1000 to freeze motion, set Eye Focus to Animal, ISO 1000, aperture at f/11, AFC, focus point wide, and Drive to high speed. At first, the dolphins were just swimming as a group, but then one decided to get closer and gave us a spectacular show! It was truly a wonderful moment for the whole team

Taken on a tour with Surfridersiargao (instagram)

Sony A7R5
70-200 2.8 V2
2x extender

Thank you to my Surf Rider Team + present at that time for such a magical day!

28/07/2024

When your friend is a top-notch athlete and seasoned surfer, you know the photos will be amazing! I used the longest lens I have the 70-200 2.8 with a 2x exterender paired with the Sony A7R5 and turned on the APSC to bring Ryan closer to frame. I had to get in the water thigh high since he was 1km away from the shore because of the low tide. From my position, Ryan was still 500 meters away. Over 2 hours of waiting for the perfect waves until before the sun set, we came up with these images.

Sony A7RV +APSC on
70-200 2.8 V2
2X extender

12/07/2024

Effortless images are not necessarily effortless to take..

28/05/2024

Sun-kissed and surrounded by nature is where I regain clarity and inner calm.

Self-Portait
Salvacion, Siargao
Sony A7RV
70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II

19/04/2024

Sony A7RV is a great all around camera if you are a studio/ commercial/ wedding photographer that needs resolution and accuracy!

18/04/2024

I was invited by who heads the dragon boat team of L
to check out the sports projects with the youth in the community of a quaint town in Laguna lake. It took around 1 hour to get to the location from Makati. It was quite amazing how provincial it got leading to the place except for the backdrop of the city skyline at the lake, you wouldn't know you were in Metro Manila (which was quite an interesting juxtapose).

It was a beautiful thing watching the kids so dedicated to their team and rowing in unison hearing Harley's voice directing them how to maneuver.

Sports is not just a game. For many, it is life changing. It helps the kids stay out of trouble, learn how to be dedicated, and respect oneself. Harley and his team are doing something great for the community, which I hope inspires many. They are open to the public as well for paddle board, rowing, and other water sports.

If you are not into water sports, the place and its people are super welcoming and quite photogenic! They also have a library where you can relax and read some books. Future plans are to have a coffee shop and basketball court.

I'd like to share these photos I took yesterday.

Sony A7RV + vintage 1.0 lens using peaking colors on manual focus.

🇵🇭

17/04/2024

I'm super excited and looking forward to teaching and sharing techniques I've used for close to 25 years as a wedding photographer and story teller at this intimate workshop for Sony Philippines and Macy's in CEBU. Limited slots so hurry and sign up!

See you there!!!

Want to master the art of capturing real, raw emotions on camera? Join us for a FREE workshop led by Pilar Bonnin, where you'll learn the importance of seizing those heartfelt moments that define a couple's love story. See you on April 24, 1PM at Montebello Villa Hotel Cebu.

This workshop is FREE and open to all camera users, presented in partnership with Macys Camera Shop.

Register Now!https://sdw.sony-asia.com/ph/SDWDetailCourse-987

15/04/2024

Photos taken during the Davao wedding Masterclass with for It was definitely a fun and challenging shoot with the heat, sun, and teaching the attendees at the same time. Needless to say, I loved every minute of it! Swipe to the last photo to see the BTS. Thank you to the photographer who took the bts.

Assistant: .chel

13/04/2024

Sometimes, a great photo opportunity is totally unplanned and spontaneous. This was taken after we finished a campaign shoot for . The model was done with her shoot, so I asked her to jump in the pool for a quick photo while I waited for the next model to be ready. The beautiful ambient light wrapped around her, creating soft highlights and mirror image reflection on the water.