The traverse from Osmeña Peak to Kawasan Falls is a good place to get started with hiking and camping. It’s easy enough to catch a ride back to town if you realize along the way that you’re not really up to it. This is my second trip to this area, where I’m traveling with my cousin who wants to get his girlfriend into hiking. Long story short, she’s not up to the hiking part we rode half the way to Kawasan Falls. The following are some pictures I took on this trip.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 3.5 1/20sec)
The journey beings at the Cebu South Bus Terminal where there is a long line for the bus going to Oslob. Most of the people here are probably going Whale Shark Watching in Oslob and the rest probably just want to go home to their hometowns for the weekend. In any case, the place is packed.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/20sec)
The security guard was annoyed with passengers who cut in line. The problem is that no one really orients people about who is lining up where. The waiting area covers other destination so there are people skipping all the time since their bus is already there. One line for three separate things is not really workable.
(ISO 100 50mm f / 5.6 1/160sec)
I just got amused by the kids who were ogling my friend’s iPad while our guide is trying to figure out how to take our photo. In case you are wondering, yes that kid in blue is our guide. They usually do it during weekends as a way of making some extra money. I guess its Western equivalent is mowing lawns.
By the way, my photos made a giant skip from the terminal to the mountain since I had very little sleep the night before and used the 3-hour bus ride to get some much needed shuteye. Later, on the trip from Dalaguete to Osmeña Peak, the ride was via habal-habal (riding tandem in a bike) and I just did not get the opportunity to take some shots.
This is a panorama taken with five shots. (ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/320sec)
A thing to hate with rain is that my gear is not weather sealed, and the conditions make it darker with poor visibility. The thing to love about rain is that the clouds are quite spectacular some minutes later. We had some light drizzle on the way and picture above shows how the sky looked like right after.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/160sec)
My cousin on the short trail to Osmeña Peak. Though it is the highest point in Cebu, it is also very accessible to the point that the greater part of the 400+ visitors who went there by the time we arrived only passed there to get some selfies before moving on the Cebu’s many other tourist attractions. It is more of a tourist spot than an actual hiking destination, but it is still a good place to get a small taste of outdoor living.
(ISO 100 50mm f / 5.6 1/125sec)
I know the kid is just a little winded, hence the stance, but there’s something about it that looks decidedly adult. They look like two old farmers talking about the day’s labors. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds it kinda cute.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/400sec)
I really don’t know about this picture. I hate that the kid is obscured by some underbrush, that it’s too dark on this side and very cluttered, but there’s something about the flare coming through the mountain and the texture of the sky that just draws my eye.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/100sec)
The trail is really well established with some rocks used to pave the way such that you shoes don’t get muddy. I hear they’re actually going to cement the path at some point. In something like five to ten years, this area went from being a somewhat isolate camping area for mountaineers to something that is more like a scenic spot for tourists. Once word of its wonderful view got around, people clamored to owned lots here to develop resorts and other attractions.
Humans really do tend to destroy what they love. In another five or ten years, I’m guessing that with developments dotting the landscape, people will not get to see the scenic nature spot that it is today in much the same way that I do not get to see what the place was like some years ago.
I guess it can’t be helped, people live in these areas, and the developments, while destructive, does improve the lives of the people here. Though there is still a strong question of sustainability. These are farmers tilling crops in what is essentially just rock and crumbled limestone. A government with a bigger budget should have just relocated everyone in the area, but I’m pretty sure that such a move would be politically troublesome. These are their homes after all.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/250sec)
Here’s another panorama of the area facing the opposite direction from Osmeña Peak.
(ISO 100 50mm f / 5.6 1/400sec)
I have several photos of this flower—I actually have a picture of this flower on a recent post. Now I’m wondering if its just a common specie here in Cebu or if this “wild” flower came from one of the houses in the area. I heard that seeds can travel quite the distance via wind or by hitching on animals.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/200sec)
I exposed for that light spot. The band of light is actually the sea reflecting the sun. It was also a bit dark since a cloud moved over the entire mountain range. One of the most elusive things in Osmeña Peak is a clear sky with the land free of mist.
(ISO 100 39mm f / 5.6 1/60sec)
I brought my circular polarizing filter to account for the mistiness of the area, but it doesn’t really help.
This is a vertical panorama taken with two shots. (ISO 100 16mm 1 / 8.0 1/5sec)
With some patience, it is actually possible to get some clear views provided that you only take pictures of nearby areas. The mist is still quite evident in the distance. I really wanted to focus on the farmland at the valley floor, but I just can’t figure out a composition that would make it stand out.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/5sec)
The view at the peak. A distinctive feature in Mantolongon are these cone shaped mountains that dot the landscape all the way to the sea. I heard it referred to as Karst Topography, but I’m no geologist so I can’t be sure.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/80sec)
It was overcast in time for sunset. This is my second trip to this area, and my second time leaving without pictures of the sunset and sunrise.
(ISO 800 16mm f / 5.6 30.0sec)
Given the exposure settings, this would have been an overexposed mess, but the fog effective cuts down on all the light. It did not rain, but our tents still got wet come morning.
(ISO 800 16mm f / 5.6 30.0sec)
Just wanted to take a picture of a neighboring camps. The place is really crowded. That particular camp stood out in that they have a campfire. In the more isolate mountains the Philippines, such fires are actually prohibited as a preventative measure. Anyway, I guess I got caught in the “nostalgia” of a campfire for all that I only saw such things in movies. I wonder how s’mores taste like. All I’ve experiences in my camping trips is a heavy drinking session and maybe some noodles cooked over a butane stove.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/50sec)
You may recall this as the topmost image in the post, it a photo of the camping grounds the following morning. We were a bit late getting up so most of the other camps have packed up. Thankfully, it was still early enough to get some decent soft light as opposed to the generally harsh light from our arrival here yesterday.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/125sec)
So begins our traverse along with many other hikers. Those patches of beige and brown in the mountains are actually cabbage patches. I’ve already waxed environmental on a previous photo, so I’ll focus on how the quality of land here and with the rest of Cebu has shaped our attitudes. People in other areas of the Philippines have better access to loamy soil. If I recall correctly, one of the reasons for the Spanish to move their capital from Cebu to Panay was the availability of viable farmland.
Anyway, what this means for the Cebuano mindset is that we’re a lot more stubborn than our neighbors. You’d have to be if your ancestors insisted on tilling rock for sustenance. Our general lack of resources also made us a lot more frugal and resourceful. After centuries in poverty, these traits are finally paying off when we got access to industries that are not so dependent on agriculture. I still find it amazing that we’re on of the richer provinces when our land is so poor. I guess the human resource beats all the other resources.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/125sec)
The first half of the trail is still scenic. The views actually degrade to be more like other areas in Cebu once you go beyond one-third of the journey.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/125sec)
Blunt cones galore…
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/80sec)
Looks like a parting wave or a devil’s horns.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 8.0 1/60sec)
(ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/160sec)
Here’s a close look at a ‘rock farm.’
(ISO 100 50mm f / 5.6 1/80sec)
This flower’s colors were so vivid that I had to tone it down a bit to keep it from looking overexposed. Not sure how well it worked, but it was a bit painful to look at with the petals seeming to glow. Aside from its natural brightness, part of the problem is likely the direct sunlight.
HDR (ISO 100 38mm f / 11)
I really wanted to show the cascading waters at the Kawasan water source, given how shaded the back area was, I had to resort to some HDR to show it. I also lacked an ND filter to one way of getting around it was to use the lower exposure to bring back lost detail to the unavoidable overexposure resulting from the long shutter time.
(ISO 100 50mm f / 8.0 1/10sec)
I think this is the second falls.
(ISO 100 16mm f / 5.6 1/40sec)
The view of the second falls where we had our lunch. Food is overpriced for the quality. We had to talk them out of charging us for the table by pointing out that we already paid for a cottage at the water source, which we did. I know tourist spots are meant to suck money from visitors, but there’s really something here at Kawasan that makes it over the top. Too many people trying to cash in on the visitors with no central organization making sure that things get out of hand.
Would it not be better if there is a single entrance fee for the area? I would be better than the current set-up where a person is effectively charged just for sitting down. As you get one cottage, the current set-up discourages people from moving around. Personally, I’d be willing to pay a Php 200.00-300.00 entrance for an all in pass to all cottages. This way, the resort businesses could focus on other services like food and accommodations without having to be such a bother at collecting cottage fees.
With that high an entrance, they could actually integrate the habal-habal service going from the road to the waterfall into their service. This should cut down on all the people playing guide and all the hawking for a ride.
(ISO 100 50mm f / 5.6 1/40sec)
I was so crushing on the left-most girl in the photo that I spent some 30mins. just taking snapshots of her. I guess inspiration really does help create art. In this case, I really like the play of light and shadow where it seems that the light is only meant for her. Actually, it’s her and her friend, but her lighter skin makes her stand out here.
(ISO 100 37mm f / 8.0 0.5sec)
I heard that flowing water is best photographed at between 1/3 to 1sec. Here, I’m wondering if I could have made it longer. I actually had to push this picture’s exposure by 2.3EV, so one second could have improved things along with a move to f / 5.6 though I really wanted to depth-of-field. I’ve tried longer exposures, and the effect of the flowing water just looking like mist is not really my taste. I like seeing the lines showing where the water’s movement. Longer exposures tend to blur this outline.
(ISO 800 50mm f / 11.0 1/1250)
Yet another picture of a sunset. I really should prohibit myself from sunsets until I get a nice balance of sunrise photos. If you’re wondering about the settings, I honestly just forgot the ISO. It’s really a problem with my mindset that I only think to change the ISO when I want to makes things brighter and I tend to simply stop down or speed up the shutter when I want to darken the scene.
(ISO 1250 50mm f / 5.6 1/20sec)
I’m just amused with the trike driver’s pose while relaxing.
Reflections and Ruminations 