The Seas and Beaches of Bohol, Philippines

We woke up early in the morning to head to the sea.  I must say, sunrises are as equally stunning as sunsets.

When we got there, a lot of boats were already heading out, all of them with the same itinerary as ours-- dolphin watching.

It's quite hard to catch a shot of these marine mammals because you don't know where and when they'll jump out of the water.  Here's one of the lucky shots I made.  This dolphin was also way too close to our boat.  Most of them are at least about 10 meters away.

As most of you know, there are so many good beaches in the Philippine archipelago.  But there are only a few protected reefs like this one above.  It's a snorkeling area maintained and funded, I believe, by the local government.

The Snake Island, named obviously after its shape.  It's not strictly an island; it looks more like a very wide sandbar leading to an island.

The parking lot.

Knee-deep water and grainy, white sand.  See how clean the water is?

Local kids enjoying a swim and doing flips off of the bamboo pontoons of the bangkas.

I don't know how this tire got here, but it made a good element for composition.

Land-tripping in Breathtaking Bohol, Philippines

My first outdoor escape with my D90!

Crispy Squid with ketchup-mayo sauce.

This devil that is called "Happy Horse".  Some drinkers believe that this special bottle (1 in every case) contains a more potent mix than the normal Red Horse beer.

The Chocolate Hills of Bohol.  These 1,200+ cone-shaped hills across 50 square kms are green for most of the year, but turns brown during the dry season.  Best viewed from a plane, the mounds look like little mole hills.  There's a viewing deck in the town of Carmen where the Chocolate Hills seem to surround you.

This two-kilometer road surrounded by mahogany trees is the man-made Bohol Forest.  It can be found at the border of Loboc an Bilar towns.  The road is lined with thousands of mahogany trees whose trunks seem to shoot straight upward from the ground and disappear into the thick leaves.  

The Philippine Tarsier.  

Inside the Baclayon Church, or the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Baclayon is one of the oldest in the Philippines.  The main structure was built from coral stones from the sea, cut and piled over each other.  To get there, you may take a bus or jeepney from Tagbilaran heading to Baclayon.  Some tricycle drivers will also be willing to drive you there.

A few feet beside the monument of the Bloodpact (Sandugo), you will find a dodgy set of stairs leading to a small mangrove forest.  

I was a bit disappointed, not because there was a lack of sceneries to capture, but because I didn't have the tools and/or skills I needed to be able to capture them the way I wanted to. Yeah. It just goes to show that marami pa ako kakaining bigas. :|

My biggest disappointment was when I compiled all my HDR attempts (using the auto-bracketing function), I barely noticed the difference. That's one thing I'd consult the books for. Can't learn from experience if you can't even create the experience.


All in all the trip was worth it!

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.

City tour in Singapore, Singapore

Strawberry mochi at Sakae Sushi!

If I remember correctly, this was the 4th stack of plates.

Flamingoes

Emo Jam

I was in the office then I got a message from my youngest brother, "Kuya, punta ka dito." Where was he? Singapore. :| So I booked round-trip tickets to go there.  First thing I did when I arrived? I went to Sim Lim Square (or was it Funan? I forgot) to buy myself a Nikon D90.  You read it right. A Nikon D90. And here started my real adventures. I carry this little beauty around everywhere I go.

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!

Backpacking in Baguio, Benguet, Philippines

The day after I arrived from Singapore I was on a bus headed for the summer capital (is it still?) of the Philippines. One week shy of the Panagbenga festival, and it was already a bit crowded. Baguio's always a wonderful place to practice photography.

You can find the album here.

Trekking at Gulugud-baboy, Batangas, Philippines

I'll take you back a few years. This was my first real mountain hike. I don't really remember much about the climb (because I always mix the memory of it with another similar experience), but what I do remember is how enjoyable a trek is when you're on the trail with your friends. We started the trek well into the afternoon and arrived at the summit in the evening. After a good night's rest, we woke up to greet the sunrise, morning stars and all. The trip down was a cruel reminder of the saying, "what goes up must always come down."

We arrived a bit late, so it became a night trek.

Myself at the summit.

Our camp.  During the night after a bit of rest we had to either find a dung-free spot where our tents could fit or "make" a dung-free spot ourselves.  Did I mention that we had to do that in the dark?

Mr. Cow-- the reason for all the crap. :P

Happy trekkers!

Sunrise at the summit.

A photo right after sunrise.

Photo before leaving.