Zanjoe Marudo brings Mariel Rodriguez home

ABS-CBN is instituting some changes in its afternoon programming starting tomorrow.

“Pieta” starring Ryan Agoncillo used to be scheduled right after the noontime show, “Wowowee.” It’s now being pushed upward and taking it’s place at around 3 p.m. is the new comedy series, “Parekoy,” the story of three good friends who don’t know they’re half brothers: John Prats, Zanjoe Marudo and Jayson Gainza.

Zanjoe says he’s very happy to be reunited with John and Jayson. “We all got to work together in ‘Aalog-alog’ before and we really clicked,” he says. “We felt sad when it ended but we’re glad to be together again in ‘Parekoy.’ Naiiba ito kasi before, ‘Aalog-alog’ was just a once a week sitcom. This one is a daily series and we have two directors to help us, Randy Santiago and Quark Henares.”

So he’ll now be seen twice daily, as he’s also in Primetime Bida’s “Dyosa” opposite Anne Curtis.

“Actually, bale three times na, kasi they’re also replaying ‘Super Inggo’ in the morning where I play Makisig Morales’ superhero dad. But ‘Dyosa’ naman is ending na sa third week of January.”

So how was the past year for him? “Very good. Maraming magandang nangyari. Career-wise, busy talaga ako with one project after another. Tapos, I got to go to do shows in the U.S. with the Cover Boys. It’s my first trip and it gave me the chance to visit my father and siblings na napetisyon na and who now live there. Ako kasi, overaged na kaya hindi na puwedeng ipetisyon. But at least, I got the chance to visit them.”

And he got officially hooked up with Mariel Rodriguez. How did they spend Christmas? “On the 24th, doon kami nag-noche buena sa kanila. On the 26th naman, isinama ko siya sa family ko. My dad is here now to spend Christmas kaya nagkakilala na sila.”

What’s Mariel’s gift to him? “A nice sports bag.” And his gift to her? “Christmas card na may Bench gift certificates that she can use to buy her giveaways.”

For 2009, he dreams of doing a serious drama on TV. “Kahit remake ng isang magandang Koreanovela. May movie rin ako with Bong Revilla and I look forward to that kasi gusto kong makagawa ng action film.”

Increase Your Chances Of Winning Baby Photo Contests

You can increase your chances of winning baby photo contests by paying attention to details and realizing that winning begins before the photograph is even taken. The advice and tips below are courtesy of judges, contest rules and experienced mothers. One of the most important things to remember is that the entire experience can be fun and rewarding by following these few tips.

Baby Photo Contest Tips:

1. Read the fine print of the contest rules

2. Contests that offer a monetary prize, usually have an entry fee, so
consider entering free baby photo contests

3. Never use makeup on the baby; natural is always better

4. Only submit quality photos; grainy, poorly done photos never win

Taking Quality Baby Contest Photos

There really is a trick to taking winning photos for baby contests. Just because you have a beautiful baby, doesn’t mean that anyone else will see that if the photo is terrible. In order to win a baby photo
contest you need to make your photo stand out.

The key to winning is a cute baby and a nice, high quality photograph. Some contests’ judges are quick to identify those photos that are posed and just as quick to disregard them. Instead of spending time trying to get the perfect pose, keep a camera nearby so that you are able to take advantages of those spur-of-the-moment, one-of-a-kind photo opportunities.

Other contests’ judges are less focused on the pose of the baby. Those are the contests where the winners are often obviously posed. The best idea is to check the contest’s website to look at the gallery of past winners. That will give you a good idea of what types of photos the judges seem to prefer.

Composition of the photo is of primary importance. The baby is the focus of the contest and should be the only person is the photo. Also, since the judges want to see how adorable your baby is, they really need to be able to see the face. Avoid big hats, sunglasses or profile photos, instead take photos of the baby facing directly into the camera.

The baby should take up most of the space in the photo. In other words use the zoom to close in on the baby’s face and avoid having too much background. A little background can add flair and interest, but too much can be overwhelming. This zooming process can also be accomplished using your computer’s photograph manipulation software.

Is the baby photo contest being held close to or in conjunction with a holiday? If so, consider incorporating the holiday into the photo; pumpkins near Halloween, bunnies near Easter, etc. This can give you the winning edge, especially if you can take a “spontaneous” pose.

If you are unsure of how to take quality photos, check your digital camera booklet to learn how to set your camera to the highest quality settings. Also visit the website of your camera’s manufacturer for
photo-taking tips. The worst thing you can do is to submit a grainy photo or one where the baby’s eyes are red.

Following these few guidelines will increase your chances of winning baby photo contests by ensuring that you submit quality photos. It will also take the stress out of the process and make it fun and possibly even rewarding.

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