Blue Moon

The photo is not that good because I don't have a tripod and a telephoto lens.

I took this blue moon photo last night, a couple minutes before magnitude 7.7 earthquake happened near our area. The moon looks so beautiful, so calm and mysterious.

Wordless Wednesday - Flowers are Blooming!

After the rainy days, flowers are blooming again in our front yard! :)

Rodney On Rainy Days

This guy is feelin' blue. It's been raining for days and it means Dad can't go to the beach with him for an early morning jog, again.... and he's not allowed to go out alone.

Poor Rodney!


Hmmm, better take a nap, then... and dream about sunny days and good times!

Just verifying a token MM75V8D56CVU

WW - Feelin' lazy on rainy Wednesday morning

 

Graham Cake with Mango

My all time favorite dessert is this Graham cake with Mango. I always make this when I'm home because this is a good substitute for ice cream and cake. This is so easy to prepare and all the ingredients are all available in stores.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 packs of graham crackers.(reserve 3 crackers and crush it in a bowl with a glass)
4 large mangoes, seeds and skin removed.
1 can condensed milk
2 packs all purpose cream.

Procedures:
 
1. Place a layer of graham crackers at the bottom of your container (preferably plasticware with cover).
2. Mix the condensed milk and cream together and add a layer on top of the graham crackers.
3. Place your sliced mangoes on top, make sure that the cream covers all of the graham.
4. Repeat procedure until the container is full. Top with crushed grahams.
5. Serve cold.

Symphony of Lights

 

I wasn't feeling well this December. I got a bad colds and flu, added to that a severe tonsillitis for more than 2 weeks. So, I was glued to my bed most of the time. I wasn't even able to attend two Christmas parties. I missed a lot of activities this Christmas time. So I decided to go to my hometown to have some break and celebrate the holidays with my parents.

A day before living the city, I invited my friends to watch the dancing lights in Ayala Triangle Park in Makati. It is just across my office building in Paseo de Roxas street.

360,000 LED Christmas light bulbs dances while the music play. It is called "Symphony of Lights" that runs every 30 minutes from 6pm to 9pm every day. I love watching as the lights changes into different colors while the music play. I forgot that I have fever and colds that night.

This show really brings out the spirit of Christmas.

WW - Tasier

                                                               Bohol, Philippines
                                            I finally met one of the smallest primate on earth.

Must go somewhere else...

Whites and Greens Beach Resort; Panglao Island, Philippines

The weather got so weird and unpredictable these past weeks. Yesterday, it's so hot and humid and then suddenly its been raining the whole day. We've been planning for another hiking activities and we cancelled it 4 times because of this weird weather. And every time I see this picture, I am so longing for a long sunny weekend so that we can go to the beach or we can hike the nearby mountain.

By the way I took this picture early in the morning, last August this year, minutes before we went for dolphin watching. I love this place, I miss the white sand, the morning breeze and the sound of the waves. And oh, I miss watching the sunshine.

Its Christmas season already and there is no way that we can go for another outdoor activities because everybody is busy making their Christmas shopping lists. I myself is done making a list of gifts to buy.

But anyhow, I am looking forward to a summer weather so that we can go anywhere we want.

WW - Yogurt!

This is one of the best menu at Yogurt House in Sagada, Mountain Province.

Sagada Trip - Day 2

I haven't updated my blog for a while. Still, I got busy at work. But anyway, here are the rest of the photos I had on our Sagada Trip last summer.



Lumiang Cave
There are more burial caves here in Sagada but these are the only two caves that we visited. Lumiang Cave "The Small Cave" is a sacred burial cave for ancient Sagadians. Coffins are placed in the entrance of the cave.









Sumaguing Cave
This is of the most popular cave here in Sagada. Sumaguing Cave "The Big Cave" has the largest chamber of all connection caves in this town. We had the best adventure here.

3 days is not enough, we haven't visited the Sagada's Marlboro Country, The blue Soil, Underground River, more caves and other serene places here. I hope I can go back to this town again soon.

WW - It's a Blue Wednesday

I feel blue... I think the sky is telling how I feel. Decided to go to the bay area to take a good shot of a beautiful sunset.

I saw a beautiful blue sky when I arrived there...

It gets "bluer than blue" after a few hour.


It's a beautiful day after all!

Sagada Adventure - Day 1

We went to Sagada last first week of this month. Sagada is in the northern part of the country, in the Mountain Province. This place is famous for trekking, spelunking, and other outdoor activities. Although I suffered severe body pain because I am not used to walk for a long hours, climb up and down the cliff, hills, and including exploring the caves, I enjoyed my whole time while I was there.



One thing I love this place is the weather and the Pine Trees! When we are there, the weather reached as low as 9degrees early in the morning and about 14-15degrees at night. I love cold weather!

It was a 6hrs bus ride from manila to Baguio and another 6 hrs bus ride from Baguio to Sagada Province. We arrived the town proper at past noon and as soon as we reached our Inn, we hurriedly ate our lunch and get ready for the first day adventure. It was quite a cold and drizzly noon when we got there. The first place in our itinerary is the Hanging Coffins.


The sign going to Echo Valley and Hanging Coffins.

We passed by a Cemetery on our way.


One thing I noticed is that, people in Sagada use pith wood instead of candles when they visit their dead relatives.


Going to Echo Valley.


We walked for about an hour. Echo Valley is the home of Hanging Coffins. The name Echo Valley is literally means the "bouncing of sounds unto the walls of the Limestone Valley".

Echo Valley. Hanging Coffins below...

Enjoying the view of the valley before we stepped down to see the Hanging Coffins.




The Hanging Coffins


After going to Echo Valley and Hanging Coffins, we visited The Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. Sagada has only Philippine town that is predominantly Protestant with almost 95% baptized into the Episcopal Church. They celebrated 100th anniversary last 2001.

It was raining when we reached St. Mary's Church. We decided to go back to our Inn, take a good rest and regained our strength for the next day adventure.

WW - Flowers are in Bloom

I fell in love with these lovely flowers when we go to Baguio last weekend to watch last day of Panagbenga Festival or Flower Festival. I had a great day with my friends!

A Time to Heal

This photo was featured in a University magazine. Scholars from Department of Science and Technology and Philippine Normal University asked my permission to use one of my photo for their school publications.



A Time to Heal is the title of the article. I took this photo last summer when I had a 1 week vacation in my hometown. The water is so cold and fresh. I miss my hometown and looking forward to go back home this coming summer.

What is the right Food Photography Settings?

I bought my camera every time I go somewhere. Since I spent eating dinner outside, I had time exploring my DSLR samera, using different manual settings. I have two food photos here and I'm confused what is the right food photography settings.


Nikon D5000
VR 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6G
32mm - ISO 800
1/8s - F/11
OEV - Preset, 0.0
This is my first photo, grilled Tuna with rice and a side dish. I think its nice, but one thing I don't like is the yellowish background color. I attended lots of dinner party few months before, and I always end up having yellowish photos like this one. I don't like it and I felt bad I can't publish all those photos on the Internet.


Nikon D5000
VR 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6G
32mm - ISO 1000
1/25s - F/11
OEV - Preset, 0.0
This is my second photo, grilled chicken. I think this one is okay. I managed to set a higher ISO number and it works! I think this one is right.

Next time, I am going to show you photos with different Exposure Compensation settings. Feel free to give me some comments and advice to improve my photography. Thanks so much!