PhotoHunt: STEEL

In areas of the country where public utility vehicles are few and far between, passengers in a hurry to get home or have their produce brought to the market resort to "top loading" or riding on the roofs of vehicles, such as these men sitting atop this jeepney in the photo above. Some local government units have issued ordinances making top loading illegal due to obvious health and safety reasons but the practice still persists.

I've traveled via the method in one trip between two municipalities in Mountain Province north of Manila. I must say I understand why people opt for this unconventional seating arrangement: it was relatively less cramped on top, with a 360-degree view of the surrounding vistas, fresh air, cool breeze, plus an unwitting affirmation of one's masculinity as I have 'endured' the perils of top loading. And at the end of the day, it sure beats walking dozens of kilometers or waiting for hours for the next jeepney that will take me from Point A to Point B.

Have nerves of steel. Will travel.

Cagayan De Oro City, 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: UPPER

One of the roads I drive on en route to the office runs parallel to the approach of our international airport. I was (un)fortunate enough to get this photo because of the intermittent standstill of the morning rush.

I wonder what it would be like to fly to the office everyday...

West Service Road of the South Superhighway, Taguig City, October 2012, using a phone camera.

PhotoHunt: EMPTY

The Surigao Strait and the rising sun painted a fantastic visual treat, devoid of human intervention and interference, so beautiful that even a non-morning person like myself couldn't help but get out of the bed to be privy to such majesty.

off Almont Beach Resort, Surigao City, April 2011.

PhotoHunt: HOT

In order to beat the hordes of madding tourist, and take advantage of the "first-buyer discount," we were in this pearl market at around 7am. These necklaces, bracelets, and earrings are proud products of communities in and around the Sulu Sea, engaged in the trade for decades. The market is located at the wharf behind a landmark hotel which has changed hands through the years; but the pearl sellers, like the beauty of their wares, have consistently endured life's scrapes and scuffles.

back of Lantaka Hotel, Zamboanga City, January 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: RIPPLE

From the first time it reached our shores in 1521, as symbolized by this cross which encases the actual first-ever cross planted on Cebu island by Magellan, Christianity has spread far and wide in the Philippines, making it the predominant religious affiliation among Filipinos.

Magellan's Cross, Cebu City 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: CLEAN

Except for the constant whir of our helicopter, the vast Pacific Ocean ahead and skies above, as far as my eyes could see, harbored no other signs of humanity. Arguably the most estranged I have been to my species.

over the waters along the coast of Aurora Province, October 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: TASTE

The breakfast buffet was simple yet delicious.

The view around us, from our table, however, made it more than sumptuous.

Dakak Beach Resort, Zamboanga Del Norte 2012, using a digicam.

Safari Year Five

I quietly celebrated my photoblog’s fifth year online this week. While swimming through some posts through the years, I am grateful for having experienced so many places, so much culture, and myriad events. I am even more grateful that I have began to see anything and everything as “blog-able” – no need to wait for an elusive double rainbow or the perfect symmetry of sun, sea, and sky. The last five years online have helped teach me that I make the so-called Kodak moments, and each is a Kodak moment- if I choose it to be. No scenery is too grand or too murky for beauty and wonder to reside in.

To celebrate my blogoversary, allow me to re-dedicate this blog with words I have used to launch it five years ago:

This photoblog is inspired by Dan Eldon, a young photojournalist who was killed while on duty in Somalia. Reckoned by many to have been a premature death, he left an extensive set of journals chronicling a life that was short but truly well-lived. Thank you, Dan, for reminding me that each moment is a golden photo opportunity, to be grabbed, savored, captured, framed, and shared…

This safari that is my life is still so good.

--==+==--

I am a firm believer in Dan Eldon’s mission statement that

"The most important part of vehicle maintenance is clean windows, so if you are broken down, you will enjoy the beauty of the view."





In a recent road trip, I am glad the owner of the vehicle we were in was of the same thinking, too. The view from Valencia City to Cagayan De Oro City was simply awesome- a 130-kilometer trip punctuated by rolling hills, gorgeous skies, and imposing mountains. Now, I had to be a bit creative to capture my surroundings since we were cruising at a speed that was meant to enable us to join a meeting without being late.

on the road in Bukidnon,April 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: MAGICAL

This is one of the rare times I really wish I had a real pro's camera because my puny point-and-shoot simply did not do justice to capture the majesty of Tinago Falls.

The Filipino word for "hidden," Tinago Falls is nestled in a lush forest environment about 45 minutes' drive on rough roads from the national highway. As a person in the worst possible physical shape, it me about 20 minutes to go down some 300-odd steps into the valley that cradles Tinago. (Then thrice as long to go back up.)

But to say that it is worth the hike is the year's understatement. It is simply amazing. Even magical.

Iligan City, April 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: SCOOP

I have been to Cebu several times over the last decade and a half but it was just last week that I got to see its Provincial Capitol in person. I found its U-shaped, recessed facade rather unique- versus the usual "flat" exteriors of government buildings, especially among those built during the American occupation of the Philippines.

Cebu City, May 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: REFLECT

This is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Zamboanga City, some 1,900 kilometers south of the Philippine capital of Manila. I accidentally found it online when I was looking for the local schedule of masses during a brief stay in the city recently. It caught my eye online; to see it in person was something else. Its 'whiteness' shimmers in the noontime sun, its distinct shape stands out from among the usual box-type buildings in its immediate environs. It's an example of the ever-changing face of our centuries-old faith.

Zamboanga City, March 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: AWESOME

Nestled amidst the greenery of Talisay village in Dapitan City, this towering baluno tree, a relative of the mango, has stood guard for at least one hundred years. By itself, it is already an awe-inspiring entity. But in addition to its imposing presence, this baluno has been a witness to the life of the Philippines' national hero, Dr Jose Rizal, while he lived in exile in this village from March 1893 to July 1896. In silence, it has watched Rizal as he maintained a school that mentored a group of boys into fine young men; developed the area into a model for public works and health and sanitation; found true love; buried a son.

If only its leaves and branches can talk, what wondrous stories I'm sure this baluno tree will tell about Rizal's time here in Dapitan, in exile, yes, yet arguably the most free he has ever been...

Rizal Shrine, Dapitan City, Zamboanga Del Norte, March 2012, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: WET/RAIN

On an almost empty beach. By the warm calm sea. Under an azure sky. You juggle.

Station 2, Boracay island, Aklan, March 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: LIGHT

Shafts of light pierce through the drizzle falling over Metro Manila. In the Philippines, there's a belief that a pair of tikbalang- half-human, half-horse mythical creatures- are getting married when the whether turns, well, ambivalent. In any case, we wish them well, as we enjoy cooler weather in this most tropical of capitals.

aboard a Philippine Air Force chopper, October 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: BROKEN

Some of the damaged structures in the seaside town of Dinapigue, as seen from our chopper during our aerial survey of the effects of the twin typhoons Pedring and Quiel.

Dinapigue municipality, Isabela province, October 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: PUBLIC

The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation is about two kilometers of rough roads away from the main national highway in Burgos town, Ilocos Norte. Without a very basic signboard, you'd miss the entrance to this amazing wonder of nature. When we visited last May, a typhoon was just on its way out of the western seaboard of the Philippines, thus huge meters high waves were licking the distant but distinct white rock formation.

Save for a small shack which serves as the shelter of the lone tourism officer cum photographer cum security guard and a couple of warnings against gathering mangrove trees, the areas around Kapurpurawan is almost devoid of any sign of humanity. If I had my way, I choose for it to remain as such.

Burgos, Ilocos Norte, May 2011, using a digicam.

JUST A REMINDER EVERYONE! October 16th is BLOG ACTION DAY! Use your blog to discuss the Issue of the Day = FOOD!

PhotoHunt: COVERED

Water and lights bathe this ornate fountain at the plaza in front of the provincial capitol of Ilocos Norte. During the day, it's hardly noticeable but at night, that it's a thing of beauty is just an understatement.

Laoag City, May 2011, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: GINHAWA (Comfort)

Labinlimang higanteng mistulang bentilador ang kasalukuyang nakatindig bilang bantay sa baybayin ng Bangui, Ilocos Norte. Ang mga toreng ito- bawat isa ay katumbas ng gusaling may 23 palapag- ay sama-samang nagbibigay ng 7 megawatt ng kuryente sa lalawigan o katumbas ng 40% ng kanilang pangangailangang enerhiya. Bukod sa kanilang malaking ambag sa elektrisidad ng Ilocos Norte, sila mismo ay talaga namang kagila-gilalas na tanawin. Sadyang dapat dayuhin, kahit may Bagyong Chedeng na nagpapatindi sa alon at papawirin.

GINHAWA = COMFORT

Fifteen giants stand guard along the shores of Bangui in Ilocos Norte province. These towering turbines- each about 23 storeys tall- collectively contribute 7 megawatts of power to the province- 40% of their entire electricity needs. Aside from their massive contribution to industry, they themselves are a sight to behold- worth enduring the wrath of Typhoon Chedeng, rough seas, dark skies and all.

at the Bangui wind farm, Bangui, Ilocos Norte, May 2011 using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: ONE

A scoop of chili ice cream plus a scoop of Moringa vegetable-flavored ice cream with another scoop of Bailey's-laced ice cream make for a singular dessert experience in the 1st Colonial Grill Express in Daraga. I tried to capture the contents of my cup in the best way I could but they were so close to melting that I just snapped whatever picture I can muster before they turn into a gooey mess =]

1st Colonial Grill, Daraga, Albay, August 2011, using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: EARLY

These fisherfolk have started their day soon after sunrise. Or are they just returning from an overnight sojourn to the Pacific?

But these past few days, the waters off Bicol Region, practically the entire eastern seaboard of the Philippines, have been rough because of Tropical Storm JUANING. Hoping for the safety of all those who harvest from the bounty of the sea-

off the Port of Legazpi, January 2011, using a digicam.