nikon d80
christmas calories… at bay?
it has always been a tradition that on christmas day special food are prepared on the table and shared amongst family members who came from near and far… in as much as we are the ‘far’ this time and wasn’t able to join the ‘near’ ones (home). we prepared one to remember our family and its tradition that has span for generations… christmas dinner – ‘Noche Buena’…
invited friends came over to partake the sumptuous meal of american influence that michelle prepared (of course, what else to expect — my wife is american — ). although, i was assigned to do one recipe… trusted enough to whip out a dish… this time it is the mashed potato with a twist of brie cheese and paprika. she did the rest of the food served…
there we were gathered on the table with myself, michelle, michael (michelle’s dad) and micah (you bet she did for the first few minutes) as hosts and our invited friends. friendly chat and echoes of laughter ensued while we ‘get on’ with the christmas calories…
Merry Christmas to one and all…
couldn’t pull it down…
i tried… it didn’t work… the goal was the 100kb mark… its way too pixelated when it comes close to that golden number. ah well, enough of that. i settle on 150-250 kb with some jutting out to 280 kb. that’s it… i just couldn’t pull it down…
monday morning… i arrived at my rented house and was informed or rather was requested by the house owner if i could loan the house back to them for one day (which eventually became two days). i came to know that he is doing a political favor in accommodating 76 persons to occupy the place. what? seventy six? that is way too many for this place – ah well – there is a huge park like vacant space in front of the house within the property. i agreed to the requested favor. i have to stay for a night at a hotel (eventually became two nights). the good thing about it — the tab is under the house owner. i thought that would be a good change – temporary at that – from staying at my much liked rented house.
got to the hotel, straight from work… the camera started working when i saw these…
thought i could blog again…
sometime in the middle of 2009, i started this blog here at wp and thought good about it.
this officially is my first entry… finding my way through this maze of techie virtual buttons.
i can manage… i hope so….
although, i got drawn into doing other things — work things — taking photos can’t never be ignored.
i am including here photos which i took recently which reminded of the holiday spirit that abounds in the air.
Merry Christmas
look who’s here II… samapi sportsfest 2009
look who’s here… samapi sportsfest…
one of the joys attending an event is that it gives me an immense opportunity to capture facial expressions of people. i enjoy taking photos of ‘persons’ more than inanimate subjects.
these photos were taken during the 2009 samapi sporting event in cambodia.
micah at samapi sportsfest…
unexpected subject on a sportsfest…
we arrived at the place still devoid of the players and organizers. i set up my gear and placed myself strategically located facing the gate of the venue (a school at the corner of sihanouk and monivong street) where i could see participants – players and non-players – arriving. i took this opportunity to take shots. thanks to my fast trigger reflexes, i captured these… using my 300 mm tele…
miss samar at angkor wat temple complex
she was crowned miss samar 1988.
buri baras beach… at dusk…
and let the stormy wind die down before returning out to sea.
most of the residents in the area are fishermen.
“par, nag-iinano ka?” (what are you doing?), asked a friend by text message to which i replied, “waray” (nothing). “kalakat kita” (let’s go somewhere) came the subsequent text message and i hurriedly replied, “kana” (in agreement). It was four in the afternoon. Quickly, i got into my car and met up with them. Stocked two cases of beer and ice and loads of snack food taken from another friend’s mini-grocery. spontaneity is always the name of the game among this set of friends.
i originally suggested to go check my tree house near the beach and while away time there but the caretaker was nowhere to be found so we opted to go to another beach. by then, the sun was still comfortably above the horizon.
went to the unused airport and diverted into a dirt road (good thing, it was dry so we didnt have any problems proceeding up to a few meters from the beach). we parked the car at tessie’s retreat place (if am not mistaken of the name) providing much needed security.
there were five of us… each had his hands full carrying things we needed… mostly food and drinks, guitar and of course, my camera gear.
we followed the trail and on the way met a bunch of beach goers going back after a day’s stay. finally reaching buri baras beach, it was such a sight… the beach was totally desserted… and the sun was slowly setting in the horizon. took this chance and here are the photos.
we truly had a great time with the talents of my friends in guitar playing and singing (one of whom is on a holiday from his stint abroad). it was like reminiscing good old times.
info: buri baras beach is located north of catbalogan, approximately nine kilometers from the city proper. upon reaching the village of sulangan, turn left to take the small road going to the wharf (this will take you to the improved unused airport). upon reaching the airport, notice a small dirt road to the left of the runway (right at the beginning of the runway) and this will take you a few meters from the beach proper. almost at the end of this dirt road, there is a resort (also a good place to unwind) called tessie’s retreat resort. the rest of the way to the beach needs to be trekked following a trail which would take at least five minutes.
cottages are available in the area (100 php) and there are small variety stores for some minor replenishment of supplies. there are also two karaoke places though i prefer to shy away from cottages near these areas as the music comes up blaring. there is no entrance fee.
host class 1983’s invitation to the ball…
2009 SSU alumni homecoming: the parade: part 2
…photoshots by oliver and post process by myself.
cal-apog hideaway…
this place has always been my hideaway after i came back to the island from years of studies twenty eight years ago… eventually becoming a random visit though it remained as one of my favorite places… a very relaxing place that seemed to be untouched by the throng of beach goers… located southwest of the periphery of the city of catbalogan (a few minutes ride from the center) past the more popular beach, it has recently been developed by the new owners…
entrance of ten pesos and a cottage cost at 300 pesos for a whole day use (if needed)… one could while away time looking at the scenery of the lush green mountain and islands, fishermen and community members probably on errands riding boats from the coastal villages nearby… savor the cool breeze of the afternoon… and a dip in the cool waters that eventually ebbs exposing most of the sand shell beach…
standard amenities are available in the place… most importantly for me, running water and a bathroom… and yes, i almost forgot – jetskis are available at 3,000 pesos an hour (very expensive for my standard)…
it was an afternoon of fun with the whole family… what a very accessible and comfortable place… i would prefer to be here on weekdays and non-holidays for i suspect this place would be a blissful quiet place to be on these aforementioned times…
2009 Alumni Homecoming: Kicked off with an outreach program
from afar it looked chaotic. what with hundred children and their parent/guardians milling around, full of excitement of what is in store for them… packed food and yes, toys… it was the outreach program of the batch host of this alumni homecoming…
as one draws closer – one can be entertained with the on-going program having selected/volunteer kids dancing to the tune of the latest music craze… while the adults were gawking and cheering at the ‘pliability’ of the kids, contorting and distorting themselves – trying to show everyone that he/she is the best dancer… laughter from the crowd would sometimes erupt booming… other kids were waiting for their turn to show their talent in dancing… all eyeing whats in store for them, a small giveaway as a minor prize…
all the kids in this outreach program came from the poor neighborhood of the school… well, others came from adjoining barangays who heard of the program… and they are all here for the feeding program and the giving away of the toys (which were gathered from families of the batch who got unused toys).
this activity is one that got etched in me (and will stay for a long time) as i go around watching kids enjoying newly acquired toys – in which the way i looked at it — would be their first. might be too much of a presumption on my part but look at the photos…
the pure joy emanating from each of those cherubic faces… pure smile… pure delight to watch… i started choking… fighting tears… what a realization… life can be simple…
sampler: 2009 alumni homecoming parade
the most colorful part of the alumni homecoming is the parade. it has always been a tradition that each batch year of the alumni would come up with their version of the theme. this time, it was most impressive. mardi gras, as the theme, was taken to heart, practicing until early morning or sometimes starting at dawn for the street dancing and the extravagant floats on the day of the parade and costumes. it was this alumni homecoming that set a new standard of hosting.
photos shot by my highschool bud oliver except the second photo. i did the post process…
she in her pink dress… micah…
during the celebration of purim… she played Queen Ester… that wasn’t difficult letting her wear the tiara – she didnt notice that she was wearing one , for if she does – it would go flying…
again, this dress was sewn by the aunt of my sister-in-law…
with her royal carriage…micah met a friend in the palace…
one of the interesting things during the grand palace tour was when micah met this interesting icon… a monkey figure… she treated it like it was interacting with her… look at the photos…
a walk in the palace grounds with micah…
for the weekend that i was not able to be with micah full time… i made it a point that i spend the whole afternoon with her (the following monday – april 23, 2009)… thought of having a visit to the royal palace of cambodia… it was a sweltering hot afternoon but was so much filled with fun and laughter – with micah’s laugh reverberating through the palace grounds… i am so glad i brought her there… photos shows how happy she was…
men in orange robe…
one sunday afternoon… while micah and i were on a walk at hun sen park, i saw buddhist monks near the fountain area having photos taken with their relatives, i joined in and here are my ‘capture’… on the sides…
morning blessings…
monks from the nearby wat on their morning route of being given gifts from the community members and in return would bless them…monks on moto…
i was on my way to work — this seems to be a familiar line… when i chanced on this… thankful that i had my camera with me.
St Bartolomew Church
This was totally unplanned. I saw lights coming out of the church… went inside and had a triple treat that night: heard mass, saw familiar friendly faces and had the opportunity to take these photos.
**source of info: muog
it’s a small world party
the invitation… designed by the brother-in-law of my sis…
a traditional filipino dress… this was made by the aunt of my sister-in-law.
one big effort by my sister-in-law who conceptualized and made this cake possible.mobilized her staff to cut the flags and fitted the cake with world flags…
cake was served with a flag…
surrounding the cake are the bag of goodies put together by my sister…
early on – very calm… looking straight ahead at the camera wondering what’s going on in here.
it took me several shots to take this one decent photo — she was definitely distracted with all the on goings…
my ‘Inay’, my 95 year old aunt. she won’t miss this for anything in the world… look at her, she is enjoying her ice cream cone…
this party was held as an advance celebration of micah’s first birthday. we were in our home province so we took this opportunity to share our thanks to family, close relatives and friends. A very ’special thanks’ to my sis who made this event possible.