Thank you Philippine Blog Awards! I was not able to attend the awards night in General Santos last November 26, 2011 so I'll just point you to PBA's FB page for some of the photos of what I heard was a very successful and fun evening.

Update: December 3, 2011

One of the post in this blog won the Top Photo Post award in the recent Philippine Blog Awards 2011 (National Level). Here a link to the winning post.

If you've been to bus stations for traveling to the provinces, which I figured most of us have as buses are the most common mode of transport here in the Philippines, most likely you've bought some snacks and local sweets. Ever wondered how these flat peanut filled panutsa (or panocha, or bandi) are made?

Though I've been to Taal a couple of years ago, I welcomed the chance to revisit it with old and new friends. So when the local SmugMug group organized a photowalk I did not hesitate to sign up.

A kalesa (horse drawn carriage) in a street corner in Roxas Blvd right across Rizal Park. The kalesa is a quintessential symbol of old Manila and can usually be seen in the Intramuros (famous Walled City) and Rizal Park area.

Both locations are recently in the headlines (at least in the local photography scene) because of the "No shooting" policy, causing very strong reactions from local photographers. Imagine, we are not allowed to shoot in both these iconic locations - the very heart of Manila. Actually that policy has been there for the longest, especially for Intramuros. Lots of stories about photo hobbyists being chased out of Intramuros by "guardia sibils", particularly those with DSLRs. I tried shooting at Fort Santiago inside Intramuros once and was instantly shooed away the moment I took out my camera. Point and shoot cameras are OK, DSLRs are a big NO. Somehow they equated DSLR with commercial work, add a tripod and some flash guns to your gear and I guarantee you'll get the instant: "No shooting here!".

Weird sense of direction from the part of DOT (Department of Tourism) if they are really trying to promote these places. As a knee jerk reaction to the outrage and the protests, DOT later released some explanations and guidelines for the "No Shooting" policy, covering "commercial photography" primarily.

The photo above was not taken with a tripod, the pavement was used. So its not commercial photography :)

Its a surreal place even in "normal light" and rendering it in infrared made it even more eerie.

The American Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio is one of the favorite places of photographers in Metro Manila. While there are sections that are off limits, the rest of the grounds are accessible to the general public. Even on a weekend the place is quiet and seemingly deserted.

Here are my takes on a scorching hot midday, unfortunately that's the best time to take infrared photos is when its really sunny.





These are all "false color" IR. The original color of the photos is of course RED. Not all lenses by the way are good for taking infrared photos. Most of the ultrawide lenses in the market produce "hot spots" - bright areas right smack in the middle of your photo. For these photos I used a borrowed 10-24mm Nikkor with Haida IR720 (equivalent to the more popular Hoya R72 filter)

I had my sights on Imugan Falls for quite some time now. Several of my friends had visited the place a year or two ago but I had to be somewhere else at that time. After a few failed attempts to go there, one finally pushed through, this time with a blogger friend (DongHo). It’s a 6-hour trip just to see the falls, a trip I was glad to take.

Imugan is one of the barangays of Sta. Fe, a sleepy town in province of Nueva Vizcaya. Imugan is nestled high up in the Caraballo Mountain Range bordering Nueva Vizcaya and the province of Pangasinan. It’s one of those places where if you look both ways you can see everything. Not much to see there for tourists (except for the waterfalls of course!) but nature lovers would find this remote and rustic village a perfect getaway place . Researchers, both foreign and local, have also been frequenting the place. Imugan, you see, is the only place in the Philippines where they have a carbon trading initiative (in line with the Kyoto Protocol) and a very successful sustainable forest management program.

welcome scene in Imugan

We arrived at about noon on a cold and foggy day. I checked my altimeter: its 950 meters above sea. The trip went well; I remembered reading how bad the road was leading up to Imugan. It took us just about 30 minutes on a tricycle, our driver had no trouble navigating the narrow road (there were a few instances where I swear we were just inches from the ledge) even when the fog reduced the visibility considerably.

We were referred to the Kalahan Dormitory for lodging. It was spartan yet clean. The place is being maintained by the Kalahan Foundation (setup by the community, the whole of Imugan is ancestral domain of the Kalahan tribe).

bridge to the trail (near the dorm)

After a hearty lunch, we set out to hike to the falls. The foggy weather was holding and there was a light shower, perfect to photographing waterfalls. The waterfalls deities must have been favoring us, for the locals mentioned that it was very sunny the previous day.

flowers by the trail

The trail was well established, single track and runs by the side of the mountain. It’s one of the easiest treks to a waterfall I’ve been able to take: no mudslides, no treacherous descents. In fact it was scenic, with one section of the trail lined with flowers and another one with a moss wall.

mossy trail

The fog enhanced the mood of the place. What do you get when you trek with two photographers? A very slow trek! Our local guide was obviously bored.

finally, Imugan falls

When we finally managed to reach the falls, my first reaction was awed fascination of the scene in front of me. I was like a kid who entered a candy store. I quickly ran through a series of mental images: photos of this falls made by other photographers, trying to decide how I’m going to shoot this and from which vantage points.

I figured the best way to do this was to shoot from a distance downstream and then work my way up. Here’s what I got:







There was a trail going up the top of the falls but our guide advised against taking it since the recent rains have made it very slippery.

Two of the elders, Waye and Kiboy Kayungan, of Sitio Lamkua in Lake Sebu permitted us to take a couple of snaps. Kiboy (left in the photo below) is one of the "dreamweavers" in Lake Sebu. Only the T'boli women are allowed to weave the T'nalak.