Philippines: In Textures

The Philippines is such a good subject for photography. One can get every imaginable texture because we have every landscape imaginable…volcanoes, waterfalls, limestone cliffs, etc. Who knows there is also a distinct advantage in being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire and in being in the path of typhoons? The only thing we probably don’t have is glaciers because obviously we are a tropical country. Here are some interesting “textures” I have come across for the past 2.5 years since I have started exploring the Philippines:

(Clockwise from L: (1) The rocky beach in Diguisit, Baler, (2) rocky cliff in Caramoan, Camrines Sur, (3) smooth limestone structure in Kapurpurawan, Ilocos Norte, and (4) punctured cliffs in Talicud Island, Samal.

 

More take on Texture at Daily Post.

(Travel Diary) Weekend in Caramoan Part 2

I’ve been wanting to finish this diary for  quite some time now. Heck, it’s been eight months since this trip happened but  since then work and school  has been constantly eating my time.  These days, it’s semester break already so I  have some extra time to backtrack my travel diaries!  I was actually alarmed that I could not remember already some of the names of the island we visited. Thankfully, I have my trusty notepad where I usually write the names of the places I visited and my expenses when I travel.

In my first Caramoan post, I last talked about Cagbalinad island. Day 2 was also about island hopping while on Day 3, we visited some sites in the town proper. Without further ado… here’s the rest of my Caramoan adventure.

Panoramic shot of the Manlawi sandbar.

 

Sea: A Work in Progress

The sea reminds me of….

…a fear that I have yet to overcome…

Saud Beach, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

…a dream that I have yet to achieve…

Isla Reta, Talicud Garden, Samal

A Masterpiece

I contemplated on whether I should climb that 500+ steps to the top of a hill. It was steep and from the start I already guessed I was going to have a hard time. They say something brilliant was waiting for me at the top. So I went but  almost died from the climb. Yet after that calvary… this welcomed me:

This small church and magnificent tree was perched at the top and promised solace to anyone who dared to climb. On their own, these two were not exceptional. However, just thinking how the builders of this church carried the construction materials all the way up, and how this tree found its way here, I must say there they are unexpected masterpieces. When I stood by  the tree and turned, I saw another masterpiece which I know man can’t imitate in any way… this:

The world is so full of wonderful masterpieces, right? 🙂

Have a great weekend everyone. Do check out all the eye candies at Daily Post.

The Golden Hour

I feel bad for not posting new pictures for this week’s challenge again. However, when I saw the the phrase “the golden hour”, my mind did a happy jump because I’ve been dying for this opportunity to come up. I think I already mentioned in a separate post that I love sunrise and sunsets. I simply love the light during such hours and the magic it instantly bring to the subject of the photograph. Today, I am sharing several “golden hour” photos that I collected over the years. First up is a picture of two trees which I took while waiting for a cab in Subic:

Silhouette of trees in Subic.

Weekly Photo Challenge: In the Background

” So often when taking self portraits or pictures of friends, the places themselves become a soft blurred mush of indistinct semi-nothingness, the limelight stolen by our smiling faces.” 

And the phrases above were similar to the one in my mind when I took this picture. My cousin and aunt wanted a shot with beautiful beach as the background. I decided to tweak my camera settings so it will be the water and the sun that will be highlighted. So here’s the end product… a silhouette of my relatives with the stunning Caramoan water as the limelight. 🙂

See more of this ween entries at Daily Post .

Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

 Looking the world at eye level means taking things at is. On the other hand, looking up means discovering new perspectives, aiming for the intangible and fostering imaginations of what could be beyond the usual veil of blue we see. It pays off to look up every once in a while.

This picture was taken in Matukad Island, Caramoan. I wanted a different perspective of the cliff so I lied on the sand and took a picture of it.

Check out the entries for “Up” at Daily Post.

(Travel Diary) Weekend in Caramoan Part 1

Last February 15-17, most of my relatives from the father side trooped to Naga City for the long planned getaway to Caramoan Islands in in our home province of Camarines Sur. My Uncle/Ninong Albert and his family also came home from Canada so it was a great opportunity to bond with them.

The beauty of Caramoan is quite famous in the international community and  so, it is ironic that even though it’s only about two hours from my home town, I never managed to visit these past years. Finally, I had the chance to see its charms and I was quite surprised we have a paradise so close to home.

The shores of Matukad Island.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in Details

This week’s challenge is a bit technical. It challenges us to go out of our comfort zone of taking landscape shots and go into detail. The pictures below  were taken even before the challenge was posted but since they fit the week’s theme, I am sharing them. The first picture is a landscape/panoramic shot of the beach of Matukad Isaland in Caramoan, Caramines Sur:

There were  lot if interesting things on the shore but the one captured my interest the most and made me capture it in more detail is the sea weeds:

Hope I did justice to this week’s theme. Happy Monday everyone! For more entries for this challenge, check out Daily Post.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward

Huwaw! It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted and I feel so bad for missing last week’s photo challenge. >_< February is madness! I’ve traveled to Caramoan Islands last week, succumbed into office chaos brought by the ISO external surveillance, and finally, I went back forth from Paranaque to UP Diliman to  work out the requirements for my graduate school application. But all is well now! I’m super done. Earlier, I submitted my application and now I just have to wait for the results. In a few days, I will also be posting my Caramoan travel diary series. Now, there’s nothing left to do but more forward! Hurray!

Check out the other posts for this week’s challenge at Daily Post.