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About Me

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This blog is an amateur photographer's attempt to show how beautiful the world really is. He is drawn to the colors of nature like a moth to a candle light. What are showcased here are nature's grand display of colors at sunrise and sunset, beautiful beaches and off-the-beaten track locations in his beloved Philippines, waterfalls and some of nature's great sculptures, architectural gems, and other views from around SE Asia that he was fortunate to see at one point.

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December 31, 2012

lantaw final frames for 2012


A Clear Path

As the end of the year draws near, my time was split between school reunions, family gatherings, endless Christmas and end of year preparations, and simply spending some quality time with the family. But the photo enthusiast in me could not let this year end without a few photo shoots here and there.
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November 25, 2012

makati: ayala enchanting lights and sound show 2012


Ayala Lights 2

Its the holiday season again and the lights and sound show in Ayala Triangle is back (in its 4th year now), this time re-branded as the "Ayala Enchanting Lights and Sound Show". (Last year it was called the Ayala Symphony of Lights)
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November 23, 2012

manila bay: meeting an old friend


Manila Bay Sunset - Nov 17

And there she was, all dressed up to the nines. It's been a long time time since I last saw her but she did not seem to mind and still put on a great show.
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November 17, 2012

koronadal: powerline sunset


Powerline Sunset 2

I guess when Mother Nature decides to give you a light show, she does not care if you are in some fancy location or in your exotic dream destination.
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November 11, 2012

south cotabato: night of todos los santos


Todos los Santos Lights 2

Its that time of the year when the usually deserted memorial gardens and cemeteries (or you could say "land of the dead"), come alive with festivities.

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October 30, 2012

laguna: nagcarlan underground cemetery


The Crypt

The feast day of Todos los Santos (All Saints' Day) is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Philippines (just like Christmas and the Holy Week). In this predominantly Catholic country, almost everyone heads to the cemetery to pay their respects to dear departed relatives and love ones. And speaking of cemeteries, there's one in the province of Laguna that stands out from the rest.
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October 28, 2012

bulubadiangan: shooting the sunset and sunrise


Bulubadiangan Seaweeds Lowtide Sunset

The sunset gods must have been smiling upon me that afternoon, for it was one of the most intense light displays I have ever seen.
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October 18, 2012

concepcion: return to bulubadiangan's sandbar


Bulubadiangan Sand bar

Its a sleepy little town in the north western side of Panay island. For some the town of Concepcion is a dead end, literally the end of the road. For some like me, its a gateway to little pieces of paradise, one of which is a small island called Bulubadiangan (sometimes spelled as Bolobadiangan).
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October 2, 2012

laguna: majayjay's bukal/bucal falls (or liliw's kilangin falls?)


Bukal/Bucal Falls aka Kilangin Falls
Bukal Falls
Rust and crimson colored rocks carpeted with lush green moss, crystal clear pools and icy cold waters, high rock walls draped with vibrant greens - these are what greets you when you reach Bukal Falls. Its another "hidden gem", if you prefer that cliche.

Tucked in a deep ravine at the base of Mt. Banahaw in Laguna, two adjacent towns lay claim to the area. Folks in Liliw call it Kilangin Falls, while those in Majayjay call it Bukal Falls or Bucal Falls. The word "bukal" literally means spring, and the water that flows down the cascades is from a emerald green pool fed by springs.

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September 6, 2012

surigao del sur: hinatuan's enchanted river


Hinatuan's Enchanted River

It was the clearest pool of water I've ever seen - a natural spring of shimmering azure and emerald water.

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September 4, 2012

surigao del sur: bislig's tinuy-an falls


Tinuy-an Falls Reflections

Tinuy-an Falls, located in the 3rd class city of Bislig in Surigao del Sur in eastern Mindanao, had been in my crosshairs for quite some time already. The multi-layered waterfalls had been likened to Niagara Falls because of its wide configuration (the main falls is 95 meters wide and 55 meters high) and had been gaining popularity, thanks partly to blogs and social media.

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September 2, 2012

sarangani: perfect sunrise with a solitary mangrove


Perfect Sunrise :)

I love shooting solitary mangroves. For me they are like the sentinels of the sea, sturdy and enduring.

So one morning, a couple of my friends and I drove to a coastal town an hour or so from my hometown, with a perfect location in mind. We left at 3am, with pre-visualized shots and high hopes for glorious colors. We hoped for a perfect sunrise.

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August 16, 2012

bohol: panglao church (st. augustine church)


St. Augustine Church

Aside from its tarsiers and Chocolate Hills, Bohol is great place to go to if you are interested in really old churches. Each town here seem to have its own colonial church; not surprising considering that the central Visayas region is where the Spaniards first planted the seed of Christianity (Cebu and Bohol particularly).
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July 30, 2012

lake sebu: more colors and moods


Lotus Blooms at Sunrise in Lake Sebu

Here are a few more of Lake Sebu's moods and colors. I sometimes think I know the place very well, only to be (pleasantly) proven wrong.

I often shoot sunrise at Lake Seloton, Lake Sebu's three lakes (Btw, if this is your first name to hear about Lake Sebu is confused with the name, "Lake Sebu" is both the name of the town and the main lake. The town as 2 other lakes: Lake Seloton and Lake Lahit). It is nicknamed the "sunrise lake" as its supposed to have the best view of sunrise in Lake Sebu.

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July 17, 2012

imugan retreat


Imugan Falls after sunrise

No traffic, no cellphone signals, no emails, no crowds. I was happy to be rid of the things most folks consider “essential”, even for just a weekend.
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July 3, 2012

bohol: a quiet panglao sunset


Balance of Light

So there I was, at a loss for words to describe the scene before me. Everything was quiet as the evening falls and things settled down. But the sky was screaming, so to speak.
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June 28, 2012

cebu: tropical sunset under the bridge


Under the Bridge

I try hard not to miss any sunrise or sunset when I am traveling. These are the only two times in a day when you see the place in its "Sunday best". Even if the weather looks unpromising, unless its raining cats and dogs, I always head out.

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June 21, 2012

lake sebu: t'nalak weaving


Lake Sebu T'nalak (Dreamweaver) 

If there is anything that can be considered as the centerpiece of the art and culture of the T’boli tribe in Mindanao, it would be the T’nalak cloth. Though the T’bolis are also skillful in other crafts such as embroidery, brass casting, malong weaving, T’nalak weaving has become most popular art form because it’s the one that’s unique to the tribe.

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June 4, 2012

ma fil: lake sebu's hegalong (hegelung) master


Ma Fil Angkoy

High up in the mountains in Brgy Tasiman is an Ubo long house overlooking Lake Sebu. The host is an unassuming fellow named Ma Fil Angkoy (half T’boli and half Ubo), but you’ll realize why Ma Fil (or Mafil) is popular in Lake Sebu once you put a hegalong (or hegelung), a 2 string ethic guitar, on his hands.

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May 19, 2012

tacurong: baras bird sanctuary


Baras Egret Pair
Little Egret
The morning was well on its way and the whole place resounded with the squawks and screeches of a thousand birds. At first the place looked like an ordinary farm with unkept kakawate trees, until you take a closer look and see branches laden with nests and birds. Deep in the middle of African oil palm tree plantation in Brgy Baras in Tacurong is an amazing nesting and breeding area of various species of herons and egrets, and we came right smack in the middle of the nesting season.
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May 16, 2012

lake sebu twilight



I'm a little bit behind my posts, still have a ton of photos on Lake Sebu and pages of stories to tell. And then there's the bird sanctuary in Baras (Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat) and recently our Cebu-Bohol trip.

The photo above shows my little corner of the world, and I'm going to be there again soon.
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May 5, 2012

siquijor: cambugahay and lugnason waterfalls


Cambugahay Falls Multi-level Cascades

Aside from its beautiful beaches, the mystical island of Siquijor is blessed with two equally majestic waterfalls.
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May 3, 2012

siquijor: a slice of the island life


Sunday Dawn in Siquijor

As the dawn breaks on the island on a Sunday, Siquijor Church is already all lit up for the early mass. Siquijor, with all its interesting churches, is also known, or should I say notoriously known, for alleged practices of black magic and witchcraft. Its an interesting juxtaposition but personally I find the island too beautiful to entertain such a notion.

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April 24, 2012

siquijor's fire and magic


Siquijor Fire and Magic #1

Siquijor, also called Isla del Fuego (Island of Fire) by the Spaniards before, is a small island in Central Visayas known (or probably "infamous") for mysticism and magic. Black magic to be more precise.

Mention the name of the island and most Filipinos would associate it with witchcraft and black magic.  In fact during the Holy Week, throngs of "healers"/shamans and sorcerers (and other practitioners of the black art) would flock to the island to make their potions and healing materials during Good Friday and Black Saturday.  A huge poster that welcomes visitors in Siquijor's pier includes a warning about activities related to black magic.

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April 21, 2012

siquijor mangroves: sentinels of the sea


Siquijor Midday Mangrove

I have always been fascinated with mangroves - they are sturdy and resilient against the harsh waves and winds that sometimes battered them. They stood there silently, as if watching guard.
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April 19, 2012

dumaguete: quick stop in the city of gentle people


Dumaguete Bell Tower

A recent trip of Siquijor gave me the opportunity to explore "The City of Gentle People" even for just a couple of hours.

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April 12, 2012

lake sebu: among the lilies of the lake



Two days of idling by the lake side just after sunrise, having coffee and striking a conversation with some of the fisher folks so that they'll let me in their property and shoot at their "front yard".

I love these lotus flowers, interesting things they are, only opening up for a few hours after sunrise. Just before noon, they close their beautiful flowers, as if saying: "Tomorrow again".

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April 6, 2012

April 4, 2012

siquijor: larena church


Larena Church Facade

Another church to visit in Siquijor, if you are doing a "vista iglesia" during the Holy Week, is the Larena Church. I purposely did not include in the the post "siquijor churches: on the heritage trail" because the church is fairly new, except for the original bell tower some distance away from the current church.

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April 2, 2012

siquijor churches: on the heritage trail


Lazi Church Front 2

For an island mostly known unfortunately for its black magic and witchcraft, Siquijor sure has some of the most beautiful churches I've seen. People flock to the island during the Holy Week for the wrong reasons: trying getting a glimpse of the black magic. But I hope folks who find themselves on this beautiful island during the culmination of the Lenten season would do the Filipino tradition of "visita iglesia" instead.

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March 29, 2012

mayantoc: circus comes to town


Sleep all day, party all night

Every year, as the town's fiesta patronal draws near, the town center comes alive with a frenzy of activities. Merchants line the street with goods, everything from cooking ware to the gadgets I don't recognize (all made in China of course). In the center of it all and the main attraction is the traveling fair with its rides and lights and bizarre shows.

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March 17, 2012

mayantoc: snippets of a rural town


Mayantoc Rural Sunrise

The small town stirred as the first rays of the day broke through a cloudy eastern sky. Perched on top of a small hill in a barangay called Caraboan, we had a good view of the rice fields below, which from where we are, are rows of different shades or hues of green and brown.

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March 7, 2012

lake sebu: black pencil project spends a day in SIKAT


Lake Sebu: Ubo kid in traditional garb

Several of my friends and I headed up to a remote sitio in Lake Sebu, the ancenstral domain of the T'boli and Ubo tribes in South Cotabato, during my recent visit to this scenic mountain town.

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February 22, 2012

mt. romelo: buruwisan and lansones addiction


Buruwisan Reflections

Call it "addiction" or "passion". I went back to Romelo after being there just two weeks before. Our Pulag trek was cancelled due to the weather but some of my friends and I decided not to let this weekend pass by without a trek somewhere.
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February 12, 2012

mt. batulao day trek


Looking back

I've always been facinated with Mt. Batulao, one of the most picturesque mountain in Luzon. Its not hard to climb/trek - a day trek is absolutely possible, and there are plenty of opportunities to snap landscape photos.

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February 5, 2012

mt romelo: buruwisan and lansones falls revisited


Buruwisan Falls

Revisited the Mt. Romelo last weekend for its waterfalls (Buruwisan, Lansones, and Batya-batya). This trek yielded both pleasant and unpleasant surprises.

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January 27, 2012

bachang (badchang): batad rice terraces rehabilitation initiative


Breakfast View

Batad rice terraces - one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Philippines. You feel nothing less than awe once you are there marveling at the grand scene before you. You can stand there for hours pondering how generations of Ifugaos have carved the mountain side into an amphitheater of rice terraces.

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January 19, 2012

hidden falls of laguna (buntot palos)


Buntot Palos 3

I always wanted to see how the Hidden Falls of Pangil, Laguna looked like during the rainy season. I visited it once before on a summer month and was amazed on how the falls is seemingly impervious to the dry season. While rivers and streams are drying up everywhere, it remained large.
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January 15, 2012

lake sebu twilight colors


Lake Sebu Twilight

I always try not to miss any sunset or sunrise whenever I travel. Those are the two most important times of the  day. Its like nature's Sunday best - she puts on her best colors and briefly shows off. She wouldn't wait for anyone, you have to be there.
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January 12, 2012

lake seloton: morning activities


Lake Seloton Early Morning

Dugout canoes, with men sitting precariously on one end, slide silently across Lake Seloton's placid waters. This is as hectic as it gets on a busy morning after a beautiful sunrise.
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January 8, 2012

lake sebu 7 falls: hikong alu and hikong bente


Lake Sebu: Hikong Bente
One of the main attractions of the idyllic mountain town of Lake Sebu (apart from the 3 lakes of course, and more recently the zip line) is its famed 7 Falls.
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January 6, 2012

malaysia: putrajaya at night


Putra Mosque at Dusk

I read somewhere that the best time to see Putrajaya is at night. So I set out to see the lights, together with some friends, on our last night of stay (courtesy of Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards). Indeed it was a breathtaking sight. They certainly did not scrimp on anything when it comes to lighting their buildings and bridges.
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January 3, 2012

lake sebu: lake seloton sunrise



Lake Seloton: Sunrise Lake

It seems fitting that my first post of the year will be about new beginnings. Here are some images of the break of dawn in a scenic lake called Lake Seloton.
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[name=lantaw] [img=https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8237/8458831412_c95b7dbbae_t.jpg] [description=Loves to shoot nature's grand display of colors at sunrise and sunset, beautiful beaches and off-the-beaten track locations in his beloved Philippines, waterfalls and other natural wonders] (facebook=https://www.facebook.com/lantawphotos) (twitter=https://twitter.com/lantawphotos) (instagram=https://www.instagram.com/lantaw/)