With just a few hours left in 2011, I'm looking back at a very fruitful year. I've been to new places and met new friends. I'd like to share the highlights of 2011 in a series of photos. I have a lot of favorites for this year, so it was a bit of challenge which ones are included in this post.


January
Started 2011 with a visit to Baler, it was my first time there. Weather was foul but it did not stop us from shooting. In fact it was perfect for some very moody shots. We explored coastal scenes as well as Baler's poster waterfalls.

Diguisit Bay

Ditumabo Falls

February
I found myself wandering back to favorite spots in western Pangasinan: the shorelines of Labrador and the quaint fishing village of Tambobong.

broken seawall in Labrador

sunset in Colibra island (Tambobong)

seaweed gatherer in Tambobong

February was a busy month. From western Pangasinan, its down to Sarangani in southern Mindanao.

mangrove roots in Maasim, Sarangani

South Cotabato's iconic peak: Mt. Matutum

March
Its back to Nagsasa cove. Twice.

moonset in Nagsasa

backwoods trail

On my second visit not much happened, except whole mountains around us went up in fiery rage :D. It was quite a night.

wildfire night

Nagsasa sunset

April
Summer is usually a great time to see town fiestas in the Philippines. I got to experience Tarlac hospitality in a small rural town of Mayantoc (thanks to Mon Corpuz!).

ferris wheel with perigee moon

Mayantoc rural sunset

river scene at sunset

May
May was hectic! First it was visit to the quintessential summer capital of the Philippines with my family. Though most of the places there have already been shot a million times, I tried to find some fresh POVs in some of the tourist traps.

sunrise in Mines View park

Baguio Cathedral after sunrise

We also visited a not-so-usual Baguio destination: Balantoc mines. We got to experience for a few hours how it is to be a miner, complete with dynamite blasting :) (though I still have to post photos of this in this blog)

faux miners :)

I went back to Zambales, this time to the grand cove of Silanguin.

Silanguin sunset

Before the month ended, I went back to Sarangani for more of the mangroves and also shot scenes of the busy fish port for the first time. Gensan is not called the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines" for nothing.

first light

fish port scene

weighing queue

June
No travels. Man's gotta rest :)

July
I'm back on the road again. This time to Mansalay in Oriental Mindoro with BPP folks for an outreach activity in a Mangyan community.

Black Pencil Project outreach

Mangyan elder

From Mindoro, I journeyed up with some friends to the mountain town of Adams near the northern tip of Luzon. Its was a weekend of waterfalls, and waterfalls, and waterfalls, and some bugnay wine tasting in between.

Adam's Lovers' Peak

fruit wines

Anuplig Falls

August
I visited a place close to home and closer to my heart: the highland town of Lake Sebu. Spent a morning enjoying the scenes around the 3 lakes and then visiting a young master dreamweaver.

Lake Seloton

young dreamweaver

September
Its out of the country this time. My wife and I visited Vietnam; spent several days in town in Mekong Delta and also found time to go around Saigon.

public market in Vinh Long

Saigon City Hall

Mekong River

I still have a ton of photos to post from my Vietnam trip and will try to squeeze them in succeeding posts.

October
Went on a day trip to Sampaloc Lake in San Pablo, Laguna. Its a scenic spot frequented by photographers since its close to Metro Manila.

morning scene in Sampaloc Lake

September was capped with visit to Capones Island for some sunrise and sunset photos, as well as visit the iconic Capones Lighthouse.

Capones Lighthouse

Capones sunset

November
The end of year is nearing but I still manage to squeeze in a few trips. This time its to a scenic mountain village of Imugan for its waterfalls and the nearby pine forest in Salacsac.

Imugan Falls

Salacsac pine forest

The second trip for the month was to the historic Taal town in Batangas for a photowalk.

night market in Taal

Taal Basilica at sunset

December
Its already December but 2011 still has some surprises installed for me. I went to Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya in Malaysia courtesy of Nuffnang for the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards (Lantaw was a finalist under the Best Photography Blog category).

Putra Mosque

Petronas Towers

traded my dry fit shirt and pants for a tuxedo :)

Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards night in Putraja, Malaysia

As a last hurrah for 2011, I played "guide" to several of my photog friends from Manila. We went around Lake Sebu and was also able to shoot the fish port (again) for its "beautifully organized chaotic scene" (as one friend put it). I still have to go through a ton of photos but here's a preview:

2011 has been a great year: full of great travels and great company. This blog has been blessed with a few things, including:

• Winner of Best Photo Blog in Philippine Blog Awards (Mindanao)
• Finalist for Best Photo Blog in Philippine Blog Awards (National)
• Winner of Top Photo Post in Philippine Blog Awards (National) 
• Finalist for Best Photography Blog in the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011
• Featured Photographer of the Week in Manila Bulletin's Picture Perfect section