So, I Joined the Sinulog Photo Contest

I really like this take. Too bad the January 12 runway event is not the official Sinulog Festival Queen even on January 13 so it does not qualify for submission. 😦 (ISO400 70mm f/5.6 1/80s)

Ever since I got my interchangeable lens camera (Sony a5000) back on 2015, I’ve been planning on joining the Sinulog Photo Contest. I planned for it back then to join on Sinulog 2016 and that was my reason for buying my SEL1670Z lens. Alas, it was not to be as I had a job related training in Manila on January of that year. Thankfully, I am free this year. Here are my thoughts and photos of the experience…

Hello there 2017!

(ISO100 23mm f/5.6 4.0sec)

It’s been a long while since I last posted. A lot has happened, well not really a lot. It’s complicated, but then it’s not. I found love and I lost it…

It put me in a mood to stop posting for a while. Well, it’s been months since that ended. I’m thinking 2017 is time for me to make a come back.

Whatever 2016 may have brought me… well, 2017 is here.

Happy New Year! Let’s keep moving. Let’s keep smiling. Let’s keep blogging. 😉

Just felt like adding a second photo. I felt this conveyed how hectic New Year’s Celebrations could be. (ISO100 70mm f/5.6 5.0sec)

Forlorn

The Alley Dog. (ISO100 52mm f/5.6 1/20sec)

While out on a date, my girlfriend and I decided to have some halo-halo (tasty mix of ice cream + fruit salad + crushed ice + milk + topped with custard). To start, we were busy taking selfies and posing the stuffed toy I bought her with our snack. That was when we looked out the window and saw the stray dog. Quite the juxtaposition. 😦

Watch the Cafeteria

Nothing says, “Yeah, I just ate and I’m mighty satisfied with it.” than traipsing around with a toothpic hang precariously on the side of your mouth. The pose seals the deal. 🙂 (ISO400 70mm f/5.6 1/200sec)

I’ve been covering the Bogo-Cebu City bus route for some time now. (Going North Part 1: Off to San Remigio,Going North Part 2: Journey Home,Bus Passengers,Headgear!?) These images are a slice of what you get to see should you happen to be near the front of the bus when your bus makes the stop at Carmen town’s bus rest stop. We all have to eat, so a cafeteria makes for an interesting venue as all sorts of people go there.

Headgear!?

Cool ‘helmet’ dude! 😀 (ISO100 68mm f/4.0 1/1000sec)

Outside of Cebu City, no one really enforces the use of helmets for motorcycle riders in the province. Excuses go from it being to uncomfortable, being too much of a hassle, they are only going a short distance and helmets are expensive. It must really cost a ton if it’s more costly than a hospital bill or a burial. 😛 Anyway, the following are some of the sights I’ve had with these reckless riders I saw as I traveled from Bogo back to Cebu City.

Bus Passengers

(ISO100 70mm f/4.0 1/1000sec)

Which one are you?

I took this on my way home from Bogo. I was actually just testing how effective continuous AF tracking on my Sony a5000 was. I was seated near the front seat and just focused on a far away bus and snapped the photo when it got really close. To get this shutter speed the photo was 3 stops underexposed, so I did not see their faces while taking this.

It was an amusing discovery in post when I saw their expressions. 🙂

Mt. Talinis Part 2: We’re Going Down!

The still recovering Lake Nailig. Given how much it rained the day before and the morning I took this, it probably is very different now that two weeks have passed. (ISO100 16mm f/8.0 1/40sec)

Continuing from my last post, My First Taste of Mt. Talinis Part 1. It is, unfortunately for us, not all going down from here. To the non-climbers, many–if not most–climbers tend to prefer descents to climbs — so long as it’s not too steep — as it puts less strain on your heart and lungs. The legs, however, tend to get a beating, especially with the descent we took from Lake Nailig to Casaroro Falls. Anyway, here is how our day went….

My First Taste of Mt. Talinis Part 1

Misty Lake on the Mountains High. This is a shot of the shores of Lake Nailig, one of many crater lakes on Mt. Talinis. (ISO100 25mm f/5.6 1/20sec)

Mt. Talinis, I’ve heard so much about it. I remember in my last job where I got asked if I’ve climbed this mountain when a co-worker found out that I do mountain climbing. I haven’t, I just never found the time.Well, now I have. This is my journey as told through my lens.

Going North Part 2: Journey Home

The yellow things the lady is selling is called the pintos — corn grits cooked in milk and sugar wrapped in corn husks that happens to be the signature delicacy for the City of Bogo. (ISO100 35mm f/4.0 1/1000sec)

This is the continuation of my previous post, Going North Part 1: Off to San Remigio. Having decided that my Sony Zeiss 16-70 f4.0 lens was a bit slow for  to my Sony 35 f1.8 to try and actually get not so blurred images taken of people by the roadside as I snap away on board a speeding (literally and figuratively) Ceres Bus from San Remigio all the way to Cebu City.

Going North Part 1: Off to San Remigio

Mirror mirror. Tired looking couple gets some much needed rest while waiting for the bus to depart. From my observations, the mother is from Bogo and likely migrated to Luzon and had a family there as her kids are Tagalog. That’s a long way to go for a summer vacation. Well, the kids seemed impressed by the views they saw during the bus trip, so I hope that is the case. It would be such a bummer if they came all that way only go get disappointed. (ISO400 70mm f/4.0 1/80sec.)

My girlfriend, Rachel, had to move back to her hometown in Bogo just weeks after we made it ‘official.’ After weeks of separation, we planned a little outing to a beach in San Remigio to bond and re-energize. As a photography hobbyist, I decided to chronicle my journey going there in photos in the style of ‘street’ photographs (it’s more like hi-way photography really). Anyway, here’s what I saw….