Tawiran, Obando, Bulacan

I was bored and my feet are itching to walk and travel. I also just recently got my driver's license so you know the feeling right? I wanted to take photos and take all these restlessness that I was feeling away.

I left home around 4:00 PM and drove for about 30 to 45 minutes north of my house. My destination is a bridge near the Bulacan-Obando border more popularly known as the Tawiran Bridge.

I remember when we were much younger my parents would bring us to that bridge early in the morning to catch some sunshine vitamins.

It has been a long time since I have been there so on a lazy afternoon I decided to visit it again.

I arrived just before sunset I arrived at the bridge. I saw that the DPWH dredging machine was still there to regularly dredge the river which also serves as a gateway to Manila Bay for fishermen.


DPWH Dredging Machine


I spent sometime reminiscing and feeling the strong wind blowing on my face. The air was fresh and there were other people enjoying the same on the bridge.


My bike on the bridge

Gliding on the wind were birds. I don't know what kind of birds they are but I enjoyed watching at them gliding on the strong winds coming from the east.


Birds flying near the beside the bridge.

As soon as the sun started to descend the fishermen parked below the bridge started departing navigating towards the west where the Manila bay is. My dad said that on a clear cloudless day you could even see the Bataan Death March Monument across the horizon. But it was cloudy on that side of the island so I was of no luck.

On the eastern side of the bridge I could see TV Station transmitters from Quezon city. But I was there to see the light show that God prepared for me that day so I focused more on the west side.


Fishermen navigating westward


As much as I would love to stay longer, I couldn't because my bike's headlights are not of top condition so it would be hard for me to drive home if becomes much darker.

While I was driving I couldn't help but notice the beauty of the sky. I sporadically stopped along the way to take some pictures.


Fishpens on both sides of the road - east side


Fishpen - west side


This is the view I saw as I looked at my side mirror.

I got home by past 6:00 PM and was really tired but I couldn't help my self but look at the photos that I have taken.

Tearjerker....

I was watching MU Live (formerly Music Uplate Live) and they guested Erik Santos on the show. He sang on the show the theme song of this movie which he also sang.

I love tagalog movies in general specially the Bea-John Loyd tandems but this movie has a special place for me. It was the first movie that I cried at when I watched it in a Cinema around February last year and I don't usually watch movies in movie theaters.,,, hahaha yeah I know its embarassing.... but yeah the movie was really good.




Oh yeah I like the sound track too..... so here you go!



Thats it for now.... i'll post a blog about my trip earlier tomorrow morning....



Baliuag, Bulacan


This place may not be my favorite place on earth but it is where I often go to unwind. This is where my friend Jr De Guzman lives just right across the University of Baliwag annex building.
You can go to Baliwag you can take buses like 5Star or Baliwag Transit bound to either Baliwag or Cabanatuan and ask the driver where you could get off going to Baliwag. The fare costs about 75 pesos from the Cubao terminal of Baliwag transit.
I got off the bus at the city center where the St. Augustine Parish Church stands I don’t know how old the church is but I think this is a post war church.











There’s also a statue of the virigin Mary inside the church compound It faces the plaza that locals call glorieta.

Beside the glorieta stand the Baliuag clock tower which is the only self-supporting clock tower in Bulacan. Baliuag is also the place where the first ever elections were held in the Far east on 1899
During the holy week you can also catch a more than an hour long procession of images of saints showing the life and passion of Christ.






Convent attached to the church

Baliuag Clock Tower

We rested the whole day eating in their “Carinderia” and lounging in their garden. We didn’t really notice that it was already night time. So right after dinner we decided to stroll around the town.
We found this “lugawan” or “Congee food shop” near the church and what makes it unique is that it is housed inside an old cinema. After eating so much lugaw and talking the night away we decided to retire already and headed home.






The lobby and entrance to the cinema this is where the tables are when we were eating. kinda creepy but its a unique experience



Morning came and we decided to go to the local cemetery. As my friend said you want peace and quite? Okay ill take you to peace and quite hence he took us to the memorial park. Funny as it may seem but yeah it was really peaceful and quiet.
It was odd to find someone selling pizza inside the cemetery so we bought a whole box and ate it there. We were thinking who would buy pizza in a cemetery, and after a few thought I realized hey, we bought one. lolz.
Pizza for only 55 pesos a box


JR Climbing on a tree

I guess it’s really a good thing to go to local cemeteries as it completes your journey as you learn the life of how people live in a certain place by seeing different architectures. It completes the journey.

Cemetery Garden Plaza


The Lawn


Love the rows of trees lining the rows of mausoleums.


Back at home my friend’s mom was making a client’s order of about less than a hundred packs of spaghetti. It looked really fun so we helped some in making the packs


Spaghetti Galore!!!

After making we delivered the orders to the client which we found out that she will be distributing it to street children in the town as a pledge for the Christmas Season.

JR driving his car to their client's house.

after taking lunch I took a little nap that rolled into a few hours of sleep and when I was asleep my two friends decided to roam around town again. So they took off without me!!! grrr!!!

When they came back they told me that they went on a local park (yes at night!) and had some coffee.

JR having coffee

Well sadly my Baliuag Vacation ended by going home the following morning as I needed to run some errands at home.



Birthday Gig

Like i mentioned on my previous post. I thank God for the work that He gave me on my Birthday. Yeah I was actually happy that I was working on my day. Ironic isn't it? Well this is what I love to do and to actually get hired for something that you really want to do is awesome.

One thing that I really like about kiddie parties is that you get to enjoy it along with the kids since it is their special day and it feels good to play with them.

oh gosh I just wish I had mine with me... anyways here are some of the work that I did on that day.

For more photos click Here


the Celebrant


Work on a 3/26

Got up early today. This is the first time that I am going to say this "THANK GOD FOR THE WORK HE GAVE ME FOR TODAY" oh yeah work on my birthday and I am thanking him for this~ =)

Pain Management

I don't know how to manage this pain anymore.

I have tried for several months to just forget but every time I see a father and daughter together it just strikes me right on the spot.

I cannot contain this anymore. Just when I mustered the courage to call her, i cannot reach her.

how can I ever do this. I just wish some body would just point a gun into my head and pull the trigger.

Right now I'm thinking what on earth have I done to deserve all of these.

I wish it was just as easy as shutting the door out and its done. but hey if someone would just pull the trigger its all done.

So what have I done?

I don't know who ever you are or if there's really anyone out there reading this stupid blog of mine that has been my shock absorber, but i thank you for listening.

i think i need some lorazepam and isoflurane.

Hilot Pinoy Outreach Dingalan, Aurora


A boat at the 
I am helping a Non-Profit Organization called Hilot Pinoy. What we do is teach indigenous and marginalized people skills that will help bring additional income to their families and help their community in healing sickly people.

We teach these people how to do the traditional Filipino way of healing by the use of herbal products and the traditional filipino massage therapy of Hilot.

As the official photographer of the group I was in charge of documenting the graduation rites of the batch that we taught in Dingalan, Aurora

Dingalan

Dingalan Aurora is a small town situated about 2 hours away of the famous surfing beach town of Baler, Aurora. Dingalan is also a coastal town just like Baler and the main livelihood of the people living there is fishing.

Dingalan is just a small town be it with population and land area as it is much smaller than my home town of Valenzuela.

The Trip

Our group met up at the McDonalds Quezon avenue at about midnight. We left for Aurora at
around 1AM. The trip to the site was for about 4-5 hours approximately.The roads were steep

and zig zagged. It was such a bumpy ride I didn't even had a chance to sleep at all.

In the pitch dark roads to Aurora every one suddenly got awaken. Our van skidded the narrow turn of the zig zag road. Our van was almost thrown off the cliff. Thank God we had a really good driver that saved our lives.
We arrived around 4-5 AM in Dingalan and it was still dark so we decided to
rest.

When sunlight broke and shed some light to the beauty of the Mill house that we were staying in I decided to explore the property. It mill wasn't operating anymore and around the property were rusting.

The more that I explored the place I soon discovered the treasures hidden in the rubble. There were flowers and surprises in the nooks and cranny of the old tractors parked within the vicinity.






The Graduation

This was the first batch of formally trained manghihilots (massage therapists) to graduate in the town and they were trained to train other people on how to massage.

The massage technique that was taught to these people were not of those to relax but to heal. During the pre-hispanic time, filipinos used massage to heal the ill with the help of herbal medicine.



We had a little program where the graduates received their diploma and the sponsors spoke about why they are doing this for the people of Dingalan.

The atmosphere was very spiritual as the founder of the NGO believes that to be able to heal you should be spiritually in touched with your self as well.

Egress

So our mission is done already and we have time to spare still.I decided to explore the perimeter
of the municipal complex and found the local kids playing in the well manicured grass. The good

thing about living in the province for children is that they get to be kids, play with other children and get dirty in the mud unlike here in manila that the memories that children have are the solitary moments that they have playing games with their gadgets. well it may be my old fashioned beliefs but it make
s sense right?

After a while the group inside the hall finished
cleaning the venue and they decided to go around the town see the port where most of the sea food
are brought for trade.

After seeing the port we went to the market and looked for something to eat. The market was full of extraordinary sea food. Fishes that I have never seen in my life are there. The prices were almost like how it is in Manila (well that according to my companion- I don't know anything about those =D )but with the right bargaining skills we were able to get them cheaper.

We were all tired already from the day's activities so we went right back to the mill house where we rested and ate dinner.


By midnight we left Dingalan Aurora back to Manila. I must say that it is a very fulfilling activity to do to help people less fortunate than you.

I want to go back to Aurora may be drop by Dingalan but my ultimate destination would be Baler. So I must plan now.

Right at the end of this entry is a video of the graduation that I made for the NGO.



Also, special thanks to the Philippine Army Marines for taking care of our security while in Dingalan, Aurora.





Inspired

After reading soooo much blogs about backpacking, I am so inspired in keeping this blog updated. Well yeah I am currently unemployed so I have all the time in the world to blog about anything.

I thought that I could do turn this into a travel blog but hey this is my personal blog and not intended for anything else. My life is an open book, what you see, read or maybe sometimes hear is real. No Pretensions.

What I want to do now, aside from writing about the things that happen to me on a daily basis is to write about the stories behind the photographs that I take.

Wait I guess I am not unemployed, I take it back. I should say that I am self employed! Come to think of it I run my own business!

Well okay so what I am going to do is back track the photos that I have and the memories that's left in my mind and journal them all into this humble blog.

Okay! enough of this entry I should start writing now.....

by the way... once you are done reading this blog, read another blog enjoy it... I know I do! =)

New Layout!

So do you guys like the new layout of my blog? leave a comment if you do or do not like the layout =)

the candles in the background were taken from the candle stand in Baclayon Church in Bohol and the header was taken at the man made forest in Bilar, Bohol.

take care...


Airport

Hi there guys!

Just got home from bohol and cebu and I just want to share something.... nope not about the trip....

Its about the airport.

We took the services of Philippine Airlines for our air transportation to and from Cebu and when we got back, we went up the departure area so that we could grab a cab from those coming in the airport.

We hanged around the area for a while, so I decided to walk around while my two companions were resting and looking at the pictures we took during the trip.

that place has a special place in my heart, I walked around and remember the good memories of that place.

hay basta.... yun nalang.... It felt good, sad, I was emotional remembering the memories i have as I sent off someone to another place.... those are all that I have now memories,,,,

Traveling Smart


Whoa! its just 10:54 PM Mnl. and I'm right here writing my blog! hahaha well there is a perfectly good reason for that.... This may be my last blog for this week as I may not have access to a computer for the next few days.

Yep, gonna hibernate.... actually I'll be going to Bohol tomorrow and my flight is at 12:30PM

Many of us think that traveling is so expensive. Well for me that is just fear of being embarassed. From what? well embarassed that if they inquire something and they can't afford it some people would think about something about them. Or maybe we just assume that we cant afford it without even considering it.

We have got to break out of the mentality! there are lots of promo fares floating around and we need to take advantage of it!

you are missing a lot man if you don't make your move now. The Philippines is such an amazing place to explore and you are missing half of your life you don't travel around!

So okay, have I whipped your ass enough for you to start traveling?

well of course we don't just pack our bags and hop on a bus or be a chance passenger in a plane! Unless you've got tons of Mulah baby! so in our case here's a step by step guide in traveling.

The key here is to plan.

1. Where to go.

think of the place where you would want to go. I suggest that you start with places near your home. if you are within Metro Manila Intramuros is a must! walk along the streets and relive the old Manila that our ancestors use to live in.

If your choice is Intramuros I highly recommend that you take Carlos Celdran's walking tour. I joined one of his Intramuros tours and it was worth it! Carlos was able to take me on a roller coaster ride while walking along the cobbled stone streets of the walled city. You can find more information about the tour in his website celdrantours.blogspot.com


2. Research

Know more about the place that you have chosen. In my case I researched about Bohol, where to go, what to do.

3. Transportation

A. Air - Book as early as you can. Promo fares are all year around with budget airlines and airfares are as it most affordable ever. so take a seat and surf the net and search for the best fares that you can get. For my Bohol trip I was able to get round trip airfare for just 2,000 pesos. So just be patient I know you will find "hidden treasures" tucked around the corner of your airline's website.

Here are some Airline websites that you can check from time to time. Remember that the trick here is to be on the right site at the right time... you know what I mean?

CebuPacific
(This airline is known for promo fares all year round so make sure that you subscribe to their newsletter online to make sure that you know if there are promos just before everybody else)

Philippine Airlines
(Midnight sale madness is what this airline is known for also I noticed that the nearer the flight date is, the cheaper it gets)

Zest Air

B. Land - If you are traveling by land there are a lot of destinations that you can go to. Northern Luzon is best traveled by land as you can see lots of interesting views and the roads are very good compared to the roads going to the south of the island.


Even if you are traveling by air you may also want to arranged transfers from airport to your accommodations as most of the time they are much cheaper than doing it on your own and way more comfortable. but if you are the adventurous type its a must to commute! Just make sure you have a map okies!

Buslines in Luzon Island

Victory Liner
Phone: (+632) 727-4688
Florida Buslines
Phone: (+632) 743-3809

ALPS Buslines
Phone: (+6343) 723-9033 (Batangas)
Mobile: (+63923) 650-4653 (Manila booking office)

4. Accommodation

Here is where your patience will be really tested. Again going back to our reliable friend the Internet. Search for accommodations depending on your needs. do not look for luxurious rooms for you to stay in. Remember you are there to explore the place and not lock your self up in a room! so just look for a room that would serve your basic necessity.

So what should you look for when searching a room?

A. Price - this is the first thing that I look at when searching for accommodations. Of course I should be able to a
fford it. common sense huh? =)

B. The location should be safe and near to the point of interest that you are traveling for. For example, I am going to bohol and what am I there for? The beach so I searched for rooms that are near the beach where I will be hanging around most of the time.

C. Clean! The room specially the bathroom should be clean and has water heater. the linens should also be clean so it
would help to look for a hotel that maintains a certain ambiance or standard to make sure of this.

D. Air-con or Fan - well for me it depends on two things, My Budget and the weather. If its summer and its dead hot, I gauge my self if I can withstand the heat if yes, I'd go for a fan. My budget becomes a factor if I really want to go to a certain place and I cant afford it, id just settle for a fan but as long as I can afford I'd go for air- conditioned rooms

Here's where we will be staying in Bohol





















5. ENJOY!

This is why you travel! enjoy your stay eat out, don't just stay in the comforts of your airconditioned hotel room. Make sure that you explore the surrounding as you'd never know if you would still have a chance to go back again to that place.

If you can book a tour package go ahead this will maximize your stay. But if you are an adventurer make sure that you do your research well so you could go to the places that tourists do not usually see.

Most of all stay safe!!!!

So with these tips in my head here is what I have come up with for our trip to Bohol tomorrow

2,000.00 Round Trip Airfare
67.00 Taxi (Cebu Airport to Cebu Port v.v)
420.00 Round Trip Ferry Fare
334.00 Round Trip Transfer
2,400.00 Room Accommodation inclusive of Bohol Tour (4 days 3 nights)
________ - Airconditioned room
5,221.00 Per Head

Convinced? By the way the airfare could have been much cheaper but because of an unforeseen event our initial booked flights were cancelled in another airline.


Tam-awan Village Baguio City


This is a bust of a woman I saw in tam-awan village.

The village is full of spiritual energy that will recharge your tired body. You can literally feel the energy while trekking the steep steps of the village.


I have fallen in love with the pictures that I have taken in Baguio so I will upload them with the stories behind them in parts as I cannot upload it at once as it would look like a novel.

Are we prepared?

My deepest sympathy to the people of Japan. My prayers are with you.

for the past few days I have been watching a lot of TV and the news about Japan's tragic disaster is just horrific. But then with this documentary that I am watching right now, a question struck my mind..... if a tsunami would hit us are we prepared?

The question that I am asking for is coming from the fact that most of evacuation centers are at ground level and a tsunami would be as tall as a three story building. so think about it where are we really safe to go?

I also think that we should plan our cities now but of course not just that we need to implement it. If a highly urbanized and industrialized Japan was hit so hard and would happen to the Philippines then?

just a thought. tell me what's on your mind.

Aspiring Model Shoot March 14, 2011


Im starting to think that inspiration comes my way every 1:30 am... hmmm i dont know why... excited for my trip on the 17th of March... but I still don't have enough pocket money to survive the trip... though I paid for all of the necessities like the room, air fare, transfers and tours... but then i really need to have some more money....

Ill be posting details of my trip when I get back but for now I need to find some money... hmmm.... i hate it as i realize that money is now starting to become an issue for me... i don't think so....

anyways, just this morning (Monday) I went to one of my clients to present my offer for the student's photo coverage just as I suspected my client got surprised with my price.... hay that was the reason why i was asking for the budget that they had so i could tell them if i could play along with their budget.

I also went to glorrieta to check out the job fair there and see if they have openings for photographers. Got to the location but I decided not to go inside the venue as it was so small and I as I just checked on the job list wall they don't have any
openings for such. Most of the companies were call centers, which I have decided to stay away for a while.

Photoshoot

I just want to share with you guys about a recent photoshoot that I did.

My client was an aspiring model who needs a set card (which was what we were shooting for)
here's a sample shot of the model.



he's still very new and unexperienced with photoshoots so I was really hands on with the poses. I also gave him some pointers on how to pose. I enjoyed the session a lot and we still have one more shoot to make.

Photoshop

I feel that I need more knowledge about photoshop so i could improve my craft. The photographs that i make are nice but I want it to be better.

Aljur Abrenica.

A friend invited me to join a shoot for Aljur Abrenica on Monday next week, hope it pushes through.

I am excited about the developments in my chosen career its just that money is really not that abundant in this field unless you really have a name that customers would pay for. but the bottom line is that I am enjoying it. I may need a part-time job to sustain my lifestyle but hey as long as I am shooting I am HAPPY! =)

Philippine Airlines New Safety Video

This is Philippine Airline's new safety video.... I love it... hope to see it when I go to bohol on the 17th!

whats happening lately

Its almost 1:30 AM Manila time and I am about to sleep. I just wanted to post something for you guys and let you know how things has been to me since I have gone on my own...

Today I met up with a friend who is helping me establish my print shop operations in Pasig City. My money is running low already but I fear nothing since God is with me.

I entered into a contest which I hope that I would win if only you guys could vote for me through this link below.


I also have some shoots which are xdeals so I could build on my portfolio.... One is a Model shoot and the other one is a football game.

I think that is it for now Ill try to post something here from time to time...

thanks for reading guys!




New Old Posts.

I have decided to put down my manila digital blog. I want to centralize everything. I want everything organized so i'm going to just have two blogs from this point onwards. This one and iandpPhotography.blogspot.com for my business news.

Please dont forget to like my photography page on facebook www.facebook.com/iandpPhotography

thanks so much for your support guys and dont forget to comment.

PS i have moved all of the posts from manila digital to this blog so you can still see everyting...