One January long ago, my father sent me to Baguio City to keep me off my drunken nights back home. Baguio city is where Ginebra cuatro cantos gin tasted good. The city was Ginebrafied as Russia is vodkafied. And so I made friends with a few good people there and we had more drunken nights. … Continue reading 9° BURNHAM
Waiting in a line, I think of the people in my contact list. With too much to do in this programmed life, I have lost touch to so many. The long queue for the ATM is a break from it all. This was the day before the day before Christmas 2018. Everyone in high holiday … Continue reading EXCERPTS FROM THE FLOOD
My genuine thanks to the PhilWiki Community for having me as one of the jurors in this year’s Wiki Loves Monuments Photo Competition. An honor! With thousands of entries to sift through, how on earth are we to cope were it not for the online system. On the minus side, photographers were so focused on … Continue reading PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES.
Sometimes you will close your eyes and see the place you used to live when you were young – The Killers Continue reading GOODBYE GOLDEN DAYS
Prague slipped through our fingers once upon a time. In 2015, the Digital Photographer of the Philippines held “On Assignment: Prague” a photography-video competition of which at stake is a trip to the Czech Republic. For our entry, Ateneo Sta. Ines and I pooled our street photography collection and adapted them into a 3-minute music … Continue reading IRIGA CITY THROUGH THE LENS OF ATENEO STA. INES
It is always paramount to me to make sure I go through the fine prints of a photo competition I am entering into. Not solely to keep me from breaking any rule, but poring over them is where the fun begins. When the PNVSCA unfurled its Volunteerism Photo Contest, I buried myself in its guidelines. … Continue reading SAY CHEESE! THOUGH YOUR HEART IS ACHING
The sudden downpour forced me to seek shelter under the bounds of Parañaque City Jail. Obscured by a crowded neighborhood, you won’t know what you are running into were it not for the sign. Never been this close to jail. I never imagined such place can be as loud as a sabungan, except for the … Continue reading PHOTO STORY: TEACHER FE AND THE CLASS UNDER THE BRIDGE
When in Cebu, don’t stop. Take the 15-minute ferry ride to Mactan Island. When in Mactan, don’t stop. Take the 15-minute boat ride to Olango Island. When in Olango Island, stop at nothing. Continue reading PHOTOWALK OLANGO ISLAND
Sampaloc is no place for a mahogany tree. Attorney Rafael Cortes knew this so well he surrendered his sapling to me one day in 2004. There’s just no spot for it in his space in Dos Castillas street. To Tanza, I took the young tree. Where the ground shreds traces of a once farmland. Very … Continue reading MOMENTS OF SILENCE
IRIGA CITY — The Cereal Killer has just finished elementary school. On Palaspas Day, he walked up the stage, bashful in his shiny toga. I remember the first time he went schooling, everyday was Agony in the Garden. In good time, seasons change. The Holy Week followed and more togas appeared on the street. The … Continue reading DAYS OF TOGA
The landscape photographer turns to the Taal Volcano. The portrait photographer throws himself into the frame. I went for something else. Continue reading THREE PHOTOGRAPHERS
My Teenage Señorita was teenage no more about a couple of years ago. Last month, she gave birth to an amazing baby boy. Making me a Lolo already even before I reach the golden age of 50. Time is so much like a dream. A lot of events unfold in just one slumber. Is it … Continue reading TEN YEARS IS NOTHING BUT A BLOG TITLE
Who says twenty pesos won’t get you anywhere? The ferry ride from Cebu City to Lapu-Lapu City cost only fourteen pesos. Plus a terminal fee of one peso. Where would I be if traveling is for free.. They call it River Bus. A flatboat. Small and cramped. Everyone turns to see at every “shtrak!” of … Continue reading PHOTOWALK OPON: WALK TILL YOU CAN’T WALK NO MORE
