Happy Birthday to the Missus!

Today is the birthday of the wife. She is a Golden Girl now. We spent the day quietly as she requested. We had lunch and watched a spectacular movie, Inception with the boys.

How time flies so quickly. But one thing is for sure, she has remained to be as beautiful as the time I first saw her.

Happy Birthday, Masky! May God bless you with a lot more years of prosperity and health. We love you!

"Nagiisa.." (Alone)

I saw this man sitting quietly in the early morning of Wednesday at a vacant lot near the Terminal 3, the new airport here in Manila. He stared blankly at the field, watching closely the planes that came and went.

The man seems to have lost his mind, perhaps unable to take anymore the serious blows of life. He prefers to shut himself out from the world around him. His lonesome state appears to be his escape to a harmless environment where he feels no hunger nor pain. He feels no reason to return.

As I took this shot, I could not help but count my blessings for being gifted with the life that I have. It is nothing perfect as I have my share of troubles. But my path is rosy and trouble free when compared to what this man seems to have been through.

"Mahimbing" - The Calm after the Storm

Typhoon Basyang came to town hardly announced and surprised everyone. It came unexpected and its path and strength caught a lot of people by surprise.

It signaled its entry at midnight by wiping out the power lines in the entire Luzon grid. Communication lines like hand phones, FB etc were compromised too and the only thing left that kept us abreast with what was going on was a small Philips winding radio.

As everything seemed to be calm in spite of the black out, we decided to retire.

Two (2) hours later, we were awakened by whirling winds. The strong winds whistled loudly as if to warn every one of an onslaught. The roof of our house shooked as we all waited helplessly for an eventuality.

The rains poured hard and sifted through every possible opening in the house. We tied the windows, mopped the floors and did everything to minimize every possible damage that this wrath of nature can do. Afterwards, we could only hope and pray.

After 4 hours, the havoc stopped. At around 4 am, nature finally gave us some rest. The sun shone timidly in the morning and I saw its gentle rays touching my youngest son's face. I took this shot.

Now we go back and rebuild what nature took away.

Hubad na Katotohanan (the Naked Truth)

I saw this little boy, running half naked in the middle of Sucat Road here in Manila. He was unmindful of the on rushing traffic as he chased cars to ask for alms. Such a sight is common in our current environment, the dreadful scene of hunger and poverty.

As we mark the beginning of the term of our new president, we pray to the Lord to implore upon us and our new president His Divine Providence. May He help us as a nation to recover from the decay that we are in.

Passage of Time

A sudden illness kept me away from photography for some time. I am better now. Over this Easter Weekend, I decided to restart my camera activities. I decided to go back to a place near my home where I first started my IR photography.

This place was formerly called Tropical Palace Resort. A quiet, hidden resort where one used to enjoy the amenities of a country club/resort.

Unfortunately, the resort got burned down. The owners neglected the place and never attempted to resurrect this place.

What is left now are ruins of the resort. The imposing pedestals remain at its driveway. One can notice though that trees have sprung in one of these pedestals. Such a pity.

By the way, this is an IR shot taken with an R72 Hoya Filter.

Making that decision and moving on..

Often times, we are faced with the dilemma of making a choice. And often times, as we rush to make those decisions, we opt to choose the more obvious, the more convenient popular choice - the more beautiful, the cheaper one etc.

There are times though that the popular choice may not always be the best choice. And this becomes the reality which we have to live with. No point crying over spilled milk. What is important is that we learn from this, we cope and we move on.

As the saying goes, "it is not how many times you have fallen that matters, but what defines you is how many times you have gotten up from a fall". Don't fall too many times though.

Glance...

I took this snap shot while my son, Jopie, was busy studying yesterday late afternoon. I seemed to be bothering him.

I just could not resist capturing this particular moment of diligence and industry, virtues he regularly exhibits.

This year he graduates from an accountancy course. His mom and I are so proud of what he has accomplished. We pray for God's grace and guidance as he threads towards the real scenarios of adult life.

A show of Passion...

I assisted my friend, Mitch Bautista, in covering a fashion show organized by fellow friends in Lipa, Batangas. The shoot started with the coverage of the actual fashion show. After the show, a pictorial happened in the house of the designer, Michelle Hernandez.

Mitch had to shoot 10 models. And I should say, it was not easy given the need to customize the lighting in the different scenes to keep them interesting. We wrapped up nearly 9pm tired, weary, but definitely happy to have helped our wonderful friends.

Coming soon...

Iyi is about 9 months pregnant and set to deliver her baby anytime. A first time mother, she wanted to have her picture taken before she gave birth. Her mother in law who is my friend asked me to take her pictures. I wish her and her baby well.

Looking forward to New beginnings...

My son and his girlfriend Tin just got the good news that they have been accepted in the university of their choice. They now prepare and look forward to this new phase in their lives.

I wish them well and pray that they continue working hard and use education to prepare themselves for the real life.

Congratulations to both of them.

A Vibrant New Year to everyone!

2009 has not exactly been my year. It was supposed to be my Golden Year and yet a lot of things did not turn out to be the way I expected them.

As we turn to a new leaf, to a new decade, I pray for vibrance. I pray for things to turn around and allow us to survive this challenging phase.

I pray for health, enough courage, patience and determination in order to meet these.

With God's help, off we go through a vibrant New Year!