I went on editing overdrive the past year, applying every kind of filter, effects, and toning to most of my photos (a new superpower I acquired from work). This year though I’m ready to ditch it all and go back to my roots. Nothing beats bare sunlight on lines and planes, the natural punch of color, or the moment with all its naked truth.

Not to say I dislike effects, I just need to rein in my use of them. I find that too much of it muddles my approach to taking a photo, and ultimately what I want and try to convey. What I love is trying to find beauty in ordinary things, and making them shine just the way they are. I had my time with retro vignettes and cross-processed coloring. Now I’m going back to start.

Yay, first post of 2012! Yes, it’s actually a catch-up post from last year (remember the ostrich?), but hey it’s here now and that’s what matters.

This is the rest of my trip last June to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Hands-down one of the prettiest places in the country. It’s the proud home of the legendary Puerto Princesa Underground River, the longest known underground river in the world. Super cool! It is also the home of so many species of birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, and even flowers and trees! It’s just that rich, it’s unbelievable! Oh and did I mention that the beaches are pristine and the waters crystal-clear? Just. Paradise. And at this rate we didn’t even get to watch the dolphins in the sea or check out the firefly forest.

The next moment I can, I’m booking myself a flight to go back. Who can resist paradise really?

The Parentals

Palawan landing

Notice the cathedral shaped mountain far back? Beneath it is actually the famous underground river. It’s pretty cool how nature came to enshrine a world heritage site in this way; it can’t be more apt.

First stop, Pandan Island

Then it was Snake Island

What I loved about Snake Island is the fact that each side of it has a different aura. The left side in the photo opened up to mountains and open ocean. The right side, on the other hand, was lined with mangroves. But unlike your usual mangrove forest, this wasn’t attached to fixed land. It’s just on this long, winding sandbar.

The only thing lacking for me the entire trip was sunshine. It was gray and cloudy the whole time. I can only imagine how much prettier it would be if the sun just peeked and lit everything!

My mom refused to remove her life vest despite not being in water. Haha.

The end of Day 1 was marked by dinner in Il Terraza (La Terraza?), this posh, modern restaurant that served delicious healthy food. Imagine that! Hehe.

Commencing Day 2. We were picked up by the van from the hotel then picked up a couple of people joining the tour from Microtel. The place was so nice! It’s in a far-flung, honeymooney location though, but if you’re looking for R&R, this is the place to be.

Yes that is a worm, and it is also a delicacy. Tastes like oysters really.

customary tree pose by my dad

Then it was into tropical Fangorn Forest for us..

I honestly never knew that those cute, little mangroves you see by the beach could grow into skyscraping giants. They’ve become so tall here that in some areas they really did block the sky. Plus it was so dense and rich you could already feel the oldness of the trees, and the possible giant crocodiles lurking beneath. O.O

After the mangrove forest, it was off to the famous Subterranean River.

Sadly it was rainy the time we were there so the waters were murky instead of blue.

Plus all I had was a built-in flash so suffice it to say, lighting inside the cave was shit. I feel kinda bad missing out on all those formations. And man were they awesome! Kudos also to the people who imagine what shapes they take. But seriously, dark as it was, it was breathtaking inside. There was a cavern they called the cathedral, that really did have divine-shaped rocks like angels, the Holy Family, even the Three Kings! Then they had the Marketplace, where it was rock after rock of fruit and vegetable-shapes. And one of the most awesome caverns of all was this dome that could fit a 60-story building. Being underneath it was just… awesome.

It’s just amazing that these patterns were created by the ebb and flow of water!

End of Day 2. Makes me realize how much I need to go back so I can take decent shots of the Subterranean River. Soon I hope!

Day 3 found us killing time before our flight back to Manila. We were supposed to go dolphin-watching, but they closed the site that day for the filming of some TV show. So we visited the local zoo instead. I couldn’t complain since I love animals. To be honest I got most of my fave photos on this day, since I was able to bond with my subjects too. Hee.

I hate crocs. I find them vile and ugly, and I don’t respect their hunting style. But, I can’t say the same for their skin. Their skin really is beautiful.

This was the biggest guy here. And with that smile, he seems like he knows it too.

This face never fails to make me smile. Hihi

The Binturong

That face of innocence is the face right before they reach out of their cage and try to claw your face. Hahaha.

This, if I am not mistaken, is our national bird. The Philippine Eagle.

the birds from Angry Birds

The Blue-naped Parrot, as shown in our new bills

Sadly we had to cut our zoo trip short because we had a flight to catch, and still more sights to see.

… like the other, greener, less watery side of Puerto Princesa.

Then finally, it was off to buy the pasalubongs at the Palawan weaving place.

My dad trying his hand

We got back to the hotel about 45 minutes before departure, but it being right across the airport, it wasn’t so bad. It turned out that our flight was delayed anyways.

It was pure visual orgasm in Puerto Princesa, and at that rate we missed out on so much. As I’ve said time and again, I’m going back for more. Hee.

]]> http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/where-the-wild-things-are/feed/ 0 wanderingjulia DSC_9727 DSC_9190 DSC_9192 DSC_9202 DSC_9204 DSC_9208 DSC_9210 DSC_9220 DSC_9225 DSC_9234 DSC_9251 DSC_9298 DSC_9302 Untitled_Panorama4 Untitled_Panorama3 DSC_9307 DSC_9312 DSC_9338 DSC_9361 DSC_9366 DSC_9374 DSC_9385 DSC_9388 DSC_9394 DSC_9402 DSC_9411 DSC_9413 DSC_9414 DSC_9431 DSC_9437 DSC_9450 DSC_9451 DSC_9461 DSC_9466 DSC_9468 DSC_9484 DSC_9530 DSC_9537 DSC_9562 DSC_9568 DSC_9597 DSC_9603 DSC_9625 DSC_9628 DSC_9634 DSC_9653 DSC_9658 DSC_9667 DSC_9644 DSC_9687 DSC_9713 DSC_9725 DSC_9730 DSC_9740 DSC_9742 DSC_9756 DSC_9768 DSC_9770 DSC_9794 DSC_9805 DSC_9814 Untitled_Panorama1 DSC_9838 DSC_9836 DSC_9842 DSC_9848 DSC_9854 DSC_9859 DSC_9866 http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/welcome-to-the-last-frontier-said-ostrich/ http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/welcome-to-the-last-frontier-said-ostrich/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:53:29 +0000 wanderingjulia http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/?p=623 ]]>

One downside of getting caught up in a brand new fandom is being able to resist the call of other worldwidewebly duties. As such, I managed to neglect this blog despite the tens of photos waiting to be posted. If you notice, this here isn’t going to be a full post either. It’s coming, but not yet.

This is just a teaser of what’s to come: my recent trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Yep, paradise itself.

I’d also like to take this time to mention that I’ll be reformatting this blog. I realized that there’s so much more I wanted to share that can’t be communicated through photos. Like travel details, tips, anecdotes and such. So, starting with my next post, expect me to get a little wordier. It’s also probably a side-effect of no longer being an official “writer”. I’m kinda missing my roots.  Haha.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. Hopefully I’m released in tact by said new fandom, and able to post in the coming week.

Last Holy Week I went on a semi-spontaneous trip with the family to Caramoan, Camarines Sur. It’s famous as the setting of Survivor France, and has since also been the setting of Survivor Serbia and a bunch of other Survivor franchises. It’s a fourteen-hour trip by land from Manila, which to my surprise, wasn’t as hard as I assumed it would be. Apart from our usual car games, most of which involved a whole lot of geekery, the South Luzon countryside kept me enthralled. I’ve been to enough drives now that I could kind of distinguish nuances in the country’s landscape, and I must say the Bicol Region is one of my favorites. There’s just something about its combination of pastures, plantations and mountains that’s extra scenic. It even allowed me a glimpse of Mt. Mayon’s perfect tip! Hee.

After the land travel, it was another two hours on boat to the islands of Caramoan. Our hotel was pretty cool. They welcomed us with a lunch of big fat lobsters, which would have cost as much as our entire stay had it been in Manila. It was relaxed the rest of the day as we had to recuperate from being on the road so long. Then the following days were spent communing with the more obscure virgin isles of the Philippines.

All in all, I found Caramoan to be pretty. It’s just that I wasn’t able to see all of it, because tides didn’t permit it when we were there so I’m sure I could have been more awed. We only went to 3 islands, and the town proper. The last island we visited though was pretty frikkin epic. I don’t have shots of its lush and varied vegetation because I couldn’t get myself out of the crystalline waters long enough. But  seriously. It’s the quintessential, stereotypical island paradise, complete with pink, orange, yellow wild flower trees and kingfishers.

So yeah. I’m going back. Meanwhile, enjoy my favorite shots from the trip. (I would post more, except that I have very limited space here now so I’m keeping the numbers down until I find a new home for us. Meh.)

See that faint white smudge at the tip of the far mountain? That was our destination.

It's Sound of Music, only with sea.

Sandbaaaaaaaaar!!!

These two ran into each other, and one tipped over as it tried to steer clear at the last minute. Not at all helped by strong currents. Tsk.

... and yes, it's THAT blue.

In the middle of the hooplah at Angeles that day, my cousin and his girlfriend asked me to take some photos of them with Paolo’s plane. The plane’s small cabin served for some interesting angles and elements. But best of all the were the subjects themselves, who, after warming up to the camera a bit just took off with their posing. I mean, seriously guys! You know what I’m talking about… Hahaha.

Anyway, they seemed to have fun putting on a little show and I was only too glad I had very willing (and self-assured) models. In the end we all had fun, and that’s what’s important.

Then they thought they'd recreate the classic photo of the Nurse(was the woman a nurse?) and Navy man kissing in Times Square.

So it’s been a while since I was last here, despite the abundance of photos. Don’t ask, I have no excuse for the backlog either.

Anyhoo, following the lazy day spent at Mimosa, we woke up before daybreak to meet the airing of the balloons. My tito and cousin had passes and it only took minimal ninja skills to sneak little-ole-illegal me into the gated area in broad darkness. We waited around a bit as the head organizer gave the obviously hung-over balloonists a pep talk before the cars drove onto the field and started setting up.

What followed was long and eventful day that resulted in the worst tan of my life – and that’s saying a lot coz I’m tanned 80% of the year. Still though, I don’t think my mission with these balloons would be over until I actually get to board one and fly a significant distance. Next year, maybe?

This was the second year the family spent the entire weekend at Angeles City, Pampanga for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Unlike last year though we spent the entire Saturday bumming around, instead of diving into the frenzy at the actual event. After considerable eating, and Duty Free shopping on their part, we resorted to one of our favorite past-times: walking. It was a pleasant afternoon, windy and cloudy, perfect for strolling in the tree-lined paths of Mimosa. Of course I wouldn’t have minded sunlight for taking photos, but I’ll take what I can get.

My friend Nico’s dad got some of us to to shoot the facilities of Coolwaves Resort in Bulacan for the collaterals he’s designing. Free-loading gypsies that we were, of course we wouldn’t say no. However I couldn’t post those photos here because they’re for exclusive use. Haha.

The place was really nice though, not what you’d expect in the middle of Central Luzon’s rice fields. It had two huge wave pools that, considering the chilly time of year, we had all to ourselves most of the day (or night, in our case). And it was surrounded by paddies, that I bet would’ve looked amazing during harvest season when everything was green or golden. (One reason to go back perhaps? Haha.)

Anyway, here are my indulgences, the more decent, less Facebook-ey ones at least.

Enjoy!

First roadtrip with my new gear. I was still getting the hang of the D80, which I found has an even wonkier light meter than the already wonky D60′s.  No matter though, the colors still registered pretty nicely. And the forgotten ISO setting turned up pretty grainy shots which I found to my liking. In the end, I was pretty happy.

As for the trip itself. Oh it was something. We had no plans, no destination, no nothing. Just a general idea of our direction and lots of Cheetos Jalapeno. Perfect combination! Hah. We ended up in a beach somewhere in Wawa, Batangas and swam for a good half-hour before getting our fill and finally heading back as the sun went down.

This will definitely set high standards for the rest of my trips this year. Fun fun!

As for the photos, click right on.

the road home

]]> http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/sweet-spontaneity/feed/ 0 wanderingjulia DSC_3760copy DSC_3756copy DSC_3757copy DSC_3759copy DSC_3761 copy DSC_3764copy DSC_3769copy DSC_3773copy DSC_3777 DSC_3779 http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/the-year-in-review-2010/ http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/the-year-in-review-2010/#comments Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:20:52 +0000 wanderingjulia http://wanderingjulia.wordpress.com/?p=161 ]]>
Some year it was for travel and photography! I’ve been all over the Philippines this past year much to my excitement. Here are my favorites from all the trips and events of 2010. (These are also lifted from my old photoblog so I don’t have to transfer post by post anymore. Hah! Clever or what? Hehe.)

I can only hope the coming year will be just as rich in trips, in people and in memories, if not even more so.
Places

Vigan, Ilocos Sur

on the way to Narvacan Beach, on the outskirts of Vigan

Narvacan sunset

Laiya, Batangas

Coron, Palawan

view from Mt. Tapyas

The Ultimate Roadtrip: Visayas Leg (Samar & Leyte)

Matuod, Batangas

Sumilon, Cebu

Details

Moments

People

My eternal addiction to motion blur

And lastly, this is me. Interpret as you please with the light and the translucence and the path. Haha.

Happy New Year everyone!  See you on the other side!