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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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January 13, 2009

real moods


A real moody Real

It's one of those unplanned "let's go somewhere this weekend" trips with my housemates. Our destination: Real in Quezon on the eastern side of Luzon, facing the Pacific Ocean. Several points had been raised just hours before the trip like: its constantly raining in Real nowadays, wasn't there a typhoid outbreak in Real several weeks back. These were met with a nonchallant "So?". The final decision: strap two bikes at the back of the car, pack lightly, and head to Real at 10PM.

By midnight we were sipping hot "goto-Batangas" (a thick stew of ox skin and innards) in Siniloan and by 2AM we were navigating the endlessly snaking roads on the Sierra Madre, with a fog so thick visibility was reduced to a couple of meters.

Tingnoan Shores

We arrived in Brgy Tingnoan at around 3AM amidst heavy downpour. Even with the heavy rains I can still hear waves thundering as they pound the shore. I woke up in a different Real, far from the sunny shores I remembered the last time I was here. Different but still beautiful.

So what does one do in a weather like this?

No stoppin'

Go wave bashing! Its accurately more like the waves bashing us around like rag dolls. Some waves were more than 5 feet tall!

I biked around trying to find some rocks to shoot. I found a nice formation just a kilometer or so from where we were staying. I started taking shots while the the waves got bigger. The locals must have thought I'm crazy. It was raining and I was on these sharp rocks, too close to the edge for comfort.

The "channel"

Crazy or not, I went back there the next day. This time the sea was friendlier and calmer (by Real's standards). Here are some of the shots that day:

Real's rough coastal beauty


Ethereal Real

Taking photos in conditions like this can be very tricky. I was soaking wet the whole time. I had to hold an umbrella with one hand and hand hold my GND filters with the other. Triggering the shutter was an acrobatic feat, believe me. My filters are full of water droplets within a few seconds and I have to constantly clean them. I would hold them in my mouth as I change camera settings (yucky I know, and I bet nobody's going to borrow my filters any time soon hehe).
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Lantaw
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34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots. Great your seaside world.

Jane Hards Photography said...

These images are stunninh and you say you are an amatuer I'm very impressed by thhe silky waters ones. Looks like a wonderful part of the world.

Anonymous said...

The last one is amazing. Great set.

Anonymous said...

Ang ganda, I love the photos, the waves are so real that I could imagine myself bashing in the gigantic ones. Now, to answer your question, Ric is my ex-boyfriend, haha, now my hubby.

Lantaw said...

@Luiz - Thank you!

@Babooshka - Yup im just an amateur :). THanks for dropping by!

@Photo Cache - My motto: "Picture taking trumps everything" :D.

@Dee - Thank you!

@Sheng - Uy small world ano? Maganda rin ang coastal scenery natin dyan. Sa Kiamba yata may time na malakas din ang waves.

Anonymous said...

how would this shorelines looks like when the bad weather comes? heheh.. i have been to real few times already for joy ride. the last one was 2 sundays ago. great timing coz of the strong cold winds blowing from the pacific and ang laki ng mga alon. mahirap nga mag shoot dahil sa moist..

ganda cguro ng sunrise dito.. heheh

Arija said...

Nice monichromes, the water is wellsuited to them.

Lantaw said...

@jessforget - the rocks will probably be underwater. the constant raining made shooting the rockscapes almost impossible.

sunrise? yes sunrise is great there since the beach is facing the east, but not this time of the year. I was up early for two days but sunrise was cancelled on the count of rain LOL!

@Arija - Thanks! With the dull gray skies, dark rocks, and white foam I thought B/W is the way to go.

Dakilang Islander said...

i love the photos esp. the first one! i couldn't capture this kind of effect..ano ba dapat ang settings? heheh

naimagine ko yung ko yung porma mo na hawak ang payong tapos picture lang ng picture..yan ang tunay na passion!

Sardonyx said...

Nice pictures, I wish I could take pictures like you lol :-) I enjoy your blog, keep it up.

escape said...

ang astig ng trip! sarap nga pag ganyan ingat lang sa mga bato.

kahit anong panahon kaya mong pagandahin ang mga kuha mo.

Lantaw said...

@Dakilang Islander - You should use a small aperture (f/11-f/22) or a longer shutter speed (1 sec or more). If the shutter speed is still not long even if you use small aperture, then you will need an ND filter.
Sayang nga nobody was there to take a picture of me taking pictures of rocks hehe

@Sardonyx - Thank you for dropping by! Glad you liked my photos.

@Dom - Just trying to do my best at every situation bro hehehe. Byahe tayo this month end! :)

Marites said...

ang tapang ninyo naman sa weather na iyan :D but i love your photos!! ano'ng ginamit mong camera and lens?

Lantaw said...

@Marites - no guts no glory haha. I'm using a Nikon D50 and Sigma 10-20mm lens. Salamat sa pag bisita!

Anonymous said...

no guts no glory! hehe

i just imagine what you look like shooting with an umbrella while holding your camera and the filters.

Lantaw said...

@leonard - ey bro! we who shoot landscape sometimes endure amazing weather conditions hehe. I'm imagining how I looked too, sana there was someone there to take a photo of me :D

Anonymous said...

@allan - oo nga hehe. that would have been a good portrait of a landscape photographer in action and against the weather

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots! I love seeing photos that depict the beauty of Mother Earth. Happy travels!

Lantaw said...

@dyosa - Thanks!

kegler747 said...

I love to make these pictures to be the background of my desktop calendar. Ang sarap tingnan, kakaiba ang perspective. Ang ganda pala maging dark ang perception sa isang beach :)

Anonymous said...

OMG are those your shots? they are amazing! and btw may i say you are crazy for swimming on that kind of water, you could have drowned! LOL. or if you don't drown you might catch a very bad cold.

Erick said...

nice shots bro!

ganyan din ako kahit medyo dangerous eh sige pa rin basta makakuha ng magandang shots.


hope to shoot with you in the future!

Lantaw said...

@carlo - Thanks bro. Mas may character nga ang beach kung moody weather

@prinsesamusang - Thanks! :). I try to be very careful, I did catch a cold :D

@Erick - thanks bro! I'm planning to go back to Real on the last weekend of January. Sama ka?

Sidney said...

Like your spirit of adventure... in the end it seems it was well worth the effort to go there...
Nice pictures !

Erick said...

i will try my very best para makasama dyan. text me na lang 09183446718 if ano update.

thanks

Lantaw said...

@Sidney - Thanks! No pain, no gain haha

@Erick - Sure bro.

zherwin said...

matindi ka talaga, bro! hindi masyadong halata ang obsession sa rocks being kissed by waves hehehe, master na master mo na, galing!

Lantaw said...

@zherwin - thanks. I still have a lot to learn on photographing coastal scenes.

Anonymous said...

these are really beautiful seascapes. i still have to explore much northern quezon.

Lantaw said...

@estan - thanks! You should also try exploring Mauban (south of Real)

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful! Whatever you went through, it looks like it definitely paid off.

Lantaw said...

@2sweetnsaxy - Thanks! Glad you liked those moody photos.

MysLykeMeeh said...

oh my---it's captivating---ur such a professional photographer---

Lantaw said...

MyslykeMeeh, Thats such a nice thing to say :). I'm not a pro, just an avid amateur :)

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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/)