Coffee in all its Greeky Goodness - Donauinsel, Vienna, Austria

Authentic Greek coffee, you boggle me.

When you arrived, I didn't even notice you.

Just the container you were in.

I thought to myself, "niiice.. next time i'll try this with ice." (yeah, I rhyme in my head because I'm cool like that)

And when I remembered I had you to drink, I was caught in befuddlement on how to begin.

Do I pour sugar on you or are you already sweet?

Do I stir you with something? Do I mix you with milk?

Alas, a friend by my side, who didn't really like coffee, told me I had to pour you into the accompanying cup.

So I started rush you to your new home

Like a very dark brown mini waterfall

In chocolatey thickness the bittersweet aroma escaped.

I knew right there I was in for a treat

After draining and stirring, lift you up to my lip.

Then I took a sip.

O.o LASANG LUPA.

Black and White portraits - makeshift studio, Makati City, Philippines

Black and white and a harsh light play. The simple, but meaningful looks on their faces make this set appear like campaign material for some org.

Photo-tripping at Sonya's Garden, Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines

There's a garden-resto in the south where you could eat by the trees and have a good time with nature.  So if you're into eating healthy and fresh, you can try this joint-- only if you've got cash to burn.  It's a tad too pricey for my wallet, considering there's not much meat in the dishes!!


Anyway, two friends and I went there to take some photos.  To make it more interesting, we swapped cameras!  Here are my shots using a point and shoot I borrowed from a friend.

My favorite thing in the entire garden.  It brings back memories from preparatory school where I played the Fiddler on the Roof and we sat on a similar bench singing "Sunrise, Sunset".

I have a liking to bricks, stones, walls and floors.

I know they look overprocessed, but really they're all from the camera's shooting modes/effects.

Stefano

my brother was playing with our nephew, so i decided to take the rare opportunity that we were all at home and out of our rooms and captured the moment. i only snapped a few, though.

lesson learned: natural light is good light. you just have to adjust the right settings on the camera. this was shot around the last light of the afternoon. just when the sun almost disappears into the house-laden horizon.

Night Photography at Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines

I contacted one of my college buddies, my thesis mate, Master Ian to schedule a photo-tripping session. We chose Manila as our subject. Of course, there's lots to see around Manila. We went to Hidalgo for a while to get an idea of how much our dream lenses are, to buy cleaning materials and a remote release for his D80 (dang!). Well, all I know is that I am going to buy me one of those little babies when I go back there.

Rizal Park (formerly Bagumbayan).

The Rizal Monument not only marks the location of nationalist Jose Rizal's grave.  In the early 60's the granite obelisk was covered with a 30-meter steel pylon that served as a marker for incoming boats and possibly for those losing their way on the streets.  Juan Nakpil, a National Artist, designed this pylon.  It was removed after 2 years for a number of reasons.

Over the colonization years of different countries, this are has been transformed from a "killing field" to cemetery to garden, and finally, to a monument of heroism.

Anyway, we were too late for the sunset, so we went to the rizal monument to take some night shots. Surprisingly, I have found that shooting there at night is sometimes more interesting than shooting in the morning. I know it's a nice place.. beautifully situated and the natural light any time of the day is awesome. But the light play at night and the vividness of the colors surrounding it contrasting all the darkness is just breathtaking (literally). After my first shot of the monument, I was hooked!