Nap Time Rocks!

Happiness [i vs p]

this is a photo collaboration with Pating, a little photo meme that we started so we can indulge our love for taking photos, even if we’re no pro.

so this is my first entry, for the inspiration word of the week: Happiness.

someday i’d like to live on the beach, have my own beach house, a yacht possibly, and to sail away from the city. i’d be happy then.

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this is my and Patty’s weekly challenge of fun, fun, fun. oh, and photographs too. the rules are, well, there are no rules! we just post something related to our Inspiration Word of the Week. watch out for next week’s: COCKTAIL

Sg Part 1: death defying acts

i thought i wouldn’t live to tell the story.

it was a smorgasboard of seafoods and fried rice, enough to feed a whole army. and it was a bit expensive (’a bit’ is the understatement of the century). it was our first meal in Sg, and i thought it was going to be  my last.

we were served 6 courses that we had to finish off because yeah, it was that expensive. sayang naman.

but in all fairness to the No Signboard Seafood restaurant, i had a taste of the best cereal shrimp and pepper crab i’ve ever had (like i’ve ever had them before). a must try when in Sg.

and then we went to the IT Show at Suntec, right across our hotel the Marina Mandarin along Raffles Quay (or Boulevard). it was crowded. ‘crowded’ is the second understatement of the century. if i come down with flu anytime within the next 10 days, it’ll be mainly because of that.

it was a logistical nightmare, but who cares, it was the best place for all good IT deals. a section on the 3rd floor was dedicated to all Mac products and accessories. the whole 4th, 5th, and 6th floors were all for brands like Samsung, Canon, Olympus, HP, Nikon, etc. there were also booths selling generic brands and items/accessories.

i survived the shrimps, crabs, flying viruses and the catastrophic sneezing of unmindful people. maybe, maybe not. we’ll know 10 days from now.

high

the following chronicles my recent brush with death. haha, or maybe not.

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the ground rushed out from beneath my feet, falling about 37 stories downward. the only thing suspending me in the air was a 4 foot wide steel walk that would have been the same as wire mesh.

the ropes above securing me gave no assurance whatsoever at that dizzying height atop the country’s tallest hotel building, the Crown Regency Hotel in Cebu. i was horrified from the moment i stepped out onto the ledge and was still terrified as i stepped back into safety.

of course the safety lines, the “heights people” (as i would like to call them), and the entire facility were safe and tested, but for acrophobic people like me, that does not mean anything. well maybe it does, but it does little to calm the nerves.

i could not, for the life of me, let go of the safety ropes even for a second, thinking that if i did, i would begin the plunge to my imagined death. it was funny that compared to some of my companions then who were self-professed acrophobics i, the one who refrained from declaring my profound fear of heights, freaked out the most in the whole of 20 minutes.

but the sunset at that height was magnificent, the view breathtaking. that was such an unforgettable experience.

and as if i didn’t get enough,

i rode this baby.

yeah, yeah. acrophobic, shmophobic. but this was DIFFERENT. nothing like being strapped on to a metal platform with nothing between you and the ground, tilted at 50 degrees downward. this, the Philippines’ first Edge Coaster, was crazier than the Sky Walk. if you have super zoom, you’d see my knuckles and nails are deathly white gripping the railing.

jump to today, sunday. i’m still alive. the Sky Walk is great done in groups and is a good team building activity. the Edge Coaster if you’re acrophobic and you really just have a death wish. haha. the heights didn’t kill me, so i guess if that did anything it was to prove to myself that fears can be conquered.

i also have slight thalassophobia, the fear of large bodies of water like the sea. but that can wait. one at a time.

—

our photos of getting 100% naturally high in Cebu

Frame me up

now that i have some of my prints, i’m ready to get framed up thanks P for these nice ideas!
Ribba Frame from Ikea online Wooden clothespins

which just gave me a great idea…

i can hang my photos up on a nylon string and clip them on with wooden clothespins like these (which you can actually buy at Fully Booked, not the exact designs though, but there are lots of other designs):

yun nga lang, pag exposed, madali madumihan. hehe. oh well, kesa naman hindi nakalabas mas sayang.

excited nako!

Picture perfect

Clarice: Smile Mia, we’re on camera!

Mia: Ito na nga, naka-smile na.

Clarice: Ganito turo sakin ng mommy ko!

Mia: I’m 2 years old!

Clarice: Hinde, ganito pag nagpapa-peechur. Korean style.

Mia: Ganito?

Clarice: Actually hindi ako sure…

—

This is Mia with her second cousin Clarice.

It’s always fun to watch kids. Their curiousity is just so amusing.

Tags: mia

heatwave

this is too much. the heat is just too much!

Ice Cream by Ninang Patty (Lomo lc-a)

i want ice cream!!! what’s a good ice cream you can indulge in without the calories though? what’s that brand from DQ again?

Life’s a beach

This is as of now, my favorite photo. Not because of the beer, but because of its picture-post-card-perfect framing. Love the colors too. Hay, I really miss the beach already.

Canon EOS 400D. Club Paradise, PWN. March 2009.

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Ilang beses ko na rin ginawang subject si Mia para sa LP entries ko. Kasi naman, mga natural models ang mga bata. Ang sarap nilang kuhanan ng litrato dahil sa mga candid moments.

I always love to take photos of Mia’s smile.  She’s just such a happy little person!

And by the way, happy 1st anniversary sa lahat ng ka-LP!

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This week’s theme: Paboritong Litrato

Tags: beach, Litratong Pinoy

I miss you already…

When will I see you again? When we were together my mind was free, my lungs breathed fresh, I knew no tiredness.

Hay, Palawan.

—

Club Paradise beach front, the moment we arrived. Canon EOS 400D, 2009.

WeSay, I say..

I’ve been paying more attention to my photography hobby lately so being part of good photography groups mean a lot. This is especially when I need to learn about more techniques and styles not just in taking photos but in post-processing too. (Lately Photoscape has been the answer to my Lomo-less situation, wink wink).

Sometimes though, it’s not enough to snap pictures of everything you see. Sometimes a landscape shot wouldn’t be as intersting without a context. Building a story through pictures is one subject that I love doing. I’ve done that in one of my LP entries, recycling my photo story plates back in college. I’ve really been leaning towards photoblogging lately. Pictures speak louder than words. WeSay.com is one such group that allows photo enthusiasts, even amateurs, to show what they’ve got through photo journalism.

I admit I’m not very good at this yet, but I am willing to learn. Joining a photo contest is a good chance to learn and challenge your usual way of doing (or photographing) things. When I joined the 100 Strangers Project it made me bolder to approach potential subjects. Joining WeSay’s photo contest will open your eyes even wider because of the Citizen Photojournalism challenge. You submit photos that make today’s news. It’s really that simple. It can be anywhere from road accidents to travel news to Obama and even to the weird and fascinating.

Try it, I am.

Unexpected kisses and more

1. Flower Cross Process, 2. Curious Mia, 3. Stalker, 4. Long day, 5. water nymph, 6. Stop, 7. Street Pulse, 8. monk, 9. the beach, 10. who, me?, 11. contact prints, 12. picking shells, 13. kiss!, 14. hands, 15. the missing bead, 16. it’s all ok

Things I learned looking at the world through the lens.

1. When God closes the door, He opens a window. I lost some of my good photos when my brother accidentally reformatted the backup drive. But some of them survived and I got the chance to use them for a meme entry. I thought I didn’t have anything else, and it turned out to be better than I expected.
2. When your child shares with you a discovery, pay real good attention. You might just learn a few things of your own. Like how beautiful it is to be looking at a little person’s delighted smile.
3. Even mundane things can be something extraordinary. All it takes is a bit of different perspective.
4. Sometimes days are just too long.
5. Chance encounters are always something to look forward to.
6. Waiting can be a drag, but you never know what you get afterward.
7. Living in the fast lane is both dangerous and beautiful. Or either one.
8. Sometimes just sitting still is the best solution.
9. Life’s a beach.
10. Good genes. When I was in nursery, my ambition was to be an artist, just like my dad.
11. Film will always rock.
12. Never stifle a child’s curiosity.
13. A kiss from your kid is always the best thing in the world, especially when it’s unexpected.
14. Even tiny hands can hold so much hope.
15. Branded or not, nasa nagdadala yan.
16. It’s funny how great a change one’s life can have. The key there is how you embrace it and make the most out of it.

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My good friend P inspired this Flickr mosaic tag. Go and grab if you feel like it!

Date [lp]

Ikaw ba’y na-indiyan na sa date?

Nakakain ka na ng 10 orders ng french fries, wala pa rin.

Natunaw na’t lahat ang ice cream mo, pati yung taong tinititigan mo sa kabilang table sa inis.

Pero wala pa rin.

——

Kuha ito nung kolehiyo ako para sa Photography class. Sayang hindi natuloy yung balak kong istorya para sa theme ngayong buwan. Pero buti nahalungkat ko pa yung mga lumang contact prints ko.

“Photo Story”. Minolta manual SLR, b/w film.

May ka-date ka na ba?

Creatures of the sky

I am uninspired. Totally.

Well, ok, maybe not totally. I was able to type 2 sentences to start a short story, or what looks like the beginning of one. It’s so hard to come up with anything creative these days. And I keep thinking if it’s because of my busy busy schedule. Hay. I hope I find time to finish them soon. Them. Plural. *sigh*

Meanwhile, sharing some photos. I’m naming the series Creatures of the Sky.

The fairy and the mighty porcupines

More »

Chess [photoblogging]

It was inevitable. Good versus evil. Black versus white. The face off was one waiting to happen in a year past. He had been waiting. And so was the other.

The foot soldier knew his worth. He was dispensable, minute, a speck in a vast army of the king. It was going to be a long, tiring day.

The knights rallied and pressed; the end of the battle was far from over.

But as finally the king fell, no trace of sympathy was found in the faces of his army.

Serenity

Flightless Bird - American Mouth, Twilight OST

IMAGINE.

The Tambayan

Ito ang hirit for October sa WPP: ang tambayan.

Backtrack 9 years ago, music ng Eheads tumutugtog sa background. May isang lalaking tumutugtog ng gitara. Nags-strum. May sumaling isa pa, nag-lead.

Dito kami usually nung college, sa steps ng College of Mass Comm lobby o kaya sa loob, o kaya sa may railings. Nagk-kwentuhan, nagpa-pacute sa mga crush or nililigawan na ibang course, nagbibiruan.

Hanggang sa pagtatapos, kailangan may souvenir photo.

Hindi lahat sa aming magkakaibigan grumaduate on time. Nevertheless, even beyond the sablay and the fulfilled smiles right there in the picture, magkakasama pa rin kami hanggang ngayon.

At dito na kami makikita ngayon:

nagce-celebrate ng Valentine’s Day together (weird no?) sa Paseo Park,

nagb-beach kung saan mapadpad,

at sa airport — papunta somewhere.