52 Week Project

Yeah I know I'm behind but what the heck. Rules can be broken in art anyway. I'll just be updating this post weekly. I've tried doing photo projects before all of which I failed to complete. Hoping for another ending this time around.

Week 4 - "Bokeh"

According to wikipedia, bokeh is the blur or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image. Bokeh has been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light".

Scottish Claymore - A replica of the great sword used by Mel Gibson in Braveheart

Week 5 - "Natural Light"

Photographer Mason Resnick defines natural light as the light that exists in the scene. Also known as ambient light, it means that no additional light was used to take the photo.

The natural light is enough to capture the subject's 
happy and bubbly character.

36 Days After

On September 2013, armed men of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) engaged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Zamboanga City. Reason and motivation of the MNLF remain to be a debate. Until now different stories from different people are being told. For weeks, the fighting continued leaving thousands of people homeless. 36 days after the siege, I had the opportunity to see the aftermath.

To the South: Davao

My first for 2012. I could say that I didn't find the time to post something new but I think that would be a lie. Between January and today, I did have time but I guess what was missing was the motivation, and of course the photographs. I felt rusty when I held my camera. I was a mess when it came to ISO, apperture and shutter. Some of these photos were taken using the no-flash auto. But hey, what the heck, I enjoyed every second of the trip. So without further ado, here they are: photos I'd like to share from my recent trip to Davao.

You get a window seat and leave your camera in the bag thinking that you want to rest for the entire duration of the flight. However, sometimes if not most of the times, something gets your attention whenever you take a little peek outside.

On my second day in Davao, we went to the Crocodile Farm/Park. Well, their main attraction is "Pangil" the largest crocodile in the center but they have other animals too. While everyone was watching the show on the juvenile crocodiles, I enjoyed a quiet time with the tigers. Always been a tiger fan. (It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight.)

Another performer in wildlife show was this eagle named "Silver".

On my third day, we were supposed to go swimming at this mountain spring resort but unfortunately it we arrived late and it was already closed. A few minutes of uphill drive away was Eden Park so we decided to go there instead. As you can see from this photo, we did arrive late.

Philippine Eagle. Need I say more? If you know me personally and we're friends in Facebook or Twitter, you may perhaps have noticed that I post something about the Philippine Eagle from time to time. Hope that they would flourish once more. To see a Philippine Eagle was on my bucket list. Seeing 8 was more that I could ask for.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Eagle has landed. Beautiful creatures indeed.

Before reaching the Philippine Eagle Center is the Davao City water district. This is a shot I took when we were about to leave. Yes, not when we were about to enter.

Davao is a coastal city. The photos above were taken at Sea Wall. People go here to usually to jog and get their morning exercises.

Davao is one huge city. I know it has a lot more to offer which is why I'll be back for more. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Random Emotions

Happiness is only real when shared. Poor fruit.

Ikaw, Ako, Tayo!

“Sa Nayong Pilipino po” was what I told the cab driver in the morning of October 1, 2011. Funny that it my 28 years of existence, it was my first time to go there. I remember watching plays at CCP and Shangri-La Mall during my elementary days, but never a visit at Nayong Pilipino. That is why I was very much excited to join this year’s Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. I was originally on the waiting list but due to the high number of participants, it had a parallel walk. Both leaders of the walk by the way are members of the D60 Krew namely Tita Bambit Gaerlan and Sir Andy Rodriguez (I have a post about the group, just search the archives :-D).

I committed myself to this event. Even though I went home around 3am the previous night due to a bachelor’s party, I tried my best to wake up at 6am. By the time I arrived at Nayong Pilipino, there were already quite a number of photographers there. I tried to look for familiar faces and there they were at the registration booth. I may have been considered late but I was just in the nick of time before the D60 Krew started their walk around the park.

You could tell that park was once upon a time, the place to be. If it still had a beauty to show, it was just a glimpse of what it really was. At around 9am, Atty. Anota who is the current Nayong Pilipino Director, gave a short presentation on what Nayong Pilipino used to be and what it will be in the future. I got a better picture of it. Like most cultural places, Nayong Pilipino died for a while. In fact, Atty. Anota said that it even became a shooting ground for airsoft players.

It is remarkable that the new management is trying to restore the Nayong Pilipino to its greatness. I hope the plan to grow 30,000 orchids and culture more golden tilapias will be met. I also hope that the shows will once again be played. We need this. As country that is composed of different cultural backgrounds, misunderstandings are expected among its people. It is through projects like these that cultural gaps can be bridged. A child from Luzon should learn more about his brothers and sisters in Visayas and Mindanao and of course, vice versa. The park is about us. Ikaw. Ako. Tayo.