A BOY NAMED ADAM.....

This little boy has grown up quite fast from the last time I saw him seven months ago. No more chat, just photos for this....

REVIVING A FAMILY TRADITION.....

Even before my family transferred to our present residence here in Las Pinas, I am no stranger to this area. My cousin, Manong Kelly and his family was one of the early settlers during the time when going to Las Pinas was such a tedious journey. The coastal road did not exist at that time, the main road in Baclaran ended at MIA Road and the area of Pulang Lupa actually smelled of the sea because of the sea salt being laid out in front of the houses to dry and be sold as table salt. My cousin would actually pick my family up in our rented apartment in Sampaloc and we would stay in his new (at that time) house to usher in the New Year. My aunt who used to sell meat and meat products in Central Market would be the one who would cook the food for the media noche. It was a tradition that my paternal relatives observed until everyone grew up and led their own lives and my aunt stopped selling and passed the business to one of my cousins.

A lot has happened since then. My father's siblings have been succumbing to illness, particularly to different cancers one by one. From a brood of six, only three remain. Majority of my cousins are now based in the U.S. And even my nephews and nieces who I used to carry or even play with are now grown up and have kids of their own.

I guess the recent death of one my father's sisters prompted my cousin and my remaining living aunt to revive the family tradition of spending New Year at their place. So right after observing mass for New Year's eve, my brother and I went to their place. Now, the gathering is not about the food and merrymaking anymore. It has evolved into a coming together and keeping in touch with one another.

Just as the clock struck 12 midnight, I went to the second floor and took pictures of exploding fireworks. This proved to be more challenging for me. Unlike the fireworks during an organized show like the pyro olympics where in I can actually see the barge from which the fireworks are set off, I had to anticipate for the area where the next explosion would be. Not all firecrackers are created equal. The ones that actually form glorious light patterns in the sky are more expensive than the ones that just produce a blasting sound. And it is these expensive ones that I looked out for and tried to photograph.

The photos I took are posted here. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome 2012!

LOOK, IT'S HEDWIG.....

I saw a figurine of an owl in the house and thought that the statuette reminded me of Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig. So even if I was about to go to bed tonight, I delayed it for a few minutes and took pictures of the owl in the dark. My intention was to simulate night time (well its actually night time) hence the low key photo and dark background. The light I used was my small led lenser.

Goodnight.....And don't let the bedbugs bite! c",)

AT THE END OF THE DAY.....

Rest In Peace.....






Final Viewing.....






The Family Left Behind....






His Loved Ones.....






A Pensive Mood.....






I may not be seeing what is left of my close friends in PGH that often nowadays but that does not mean I do not care about what goes on in their lives next. A text there, a message in Facebook or a chat here keeps me updated about them. Before, I used to be able to go to PGH and pay them a visit. But since both have become settled in their married lives, priorities have shifted and going out like we used to do when they were single is now a rare occurrence.

Early this year, I was shocked to learn about the deaths of the loved ones of these friends of mine. One lost her husband to leukemia while the other lost her father to a presumed heart attack. I wasn't able to attend the wake of the husband of my friend since it was in an area I wasn't really familiar but I sent my condolences. But when the other pal lost her dad, I made sure that I would attend his wake out of respect for the family. After all, the man welcomed me, (and the rest of the gang when we were still complete) to his home years ago and I was grateful for that. Ate Rose joined me as we traveled to Lani's hometown. Since we arrived at sunrise, we felt we just have to be with Lani's family for the burial, which Ate Rose and I did.

Right after Lani's dad was laid to rest, a sudden downpour occurred. It was the most disrupting event to happen. I hate traveling while it is raining. I don't want to waddle in flooded areas; I don't want to get wet if I have not set my mind to be. All I want is to return to my home as soon as possible. This is me being tired, I longed to be home.

But I liked returning to Lani's hometown. Even if it was for a sad occasion. The three of us reconnected. I found out about the progress of Lani's kidney transplant journey while Ate Rose regaled us with stories about her daughter, Precious. I updated the both of them of what I have been doing this past few months. And we would fill each other about news concerning our other friends if we knew something new about them.

If ever the time comes that some of our friends return for a vacation, we would suggest a trip back to Lani's hometown. Besides, we would be occupying a huge house, just for us, the girls!

AN ANATOMY OF A LUNAR ECLIPSE.....

One of the simple pleasures in life that I occasionally indulge in is stargazing. I remember when my cousins in Sta. Lucia used to own a pick up truck. I would come along with them whenever they plan to go to faraway places. Of course, the "unlucky" ones were the ones who sat at the back of the pick up truck. But for the teens like me, I enjoyed sitting at the back. What with the wind blowing across your face, your hair moving as carefree as possible and your clothes, flapping incessantly. Then as you looked up to the sky just around dusk, you see the stars illuminating the road ahead of you, guiding the pick up truck as it journeyed back to the house which we lovingly christened the "bodega". Magical! Isn't it?

These recollections of what I used to experience during my youth shaped my present preferences. It is awesome to see these celestial phenomena that occur right before our eyes. And to be able to capture it on film (or should I say the digital sensor) heightens the joy. The ultimate event to photograph has to be a solar eclipse. But because of the variables involved (for one thing, the eclipse has to be fully visible in the area I am at) in order to get a series of solar eclipse photographs, the next best thing shall be a lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth's shadow obstructs the light coming from the sun that shines on the moon. A lunar eclipse happened last June 16 and I decided to photograph the phenomenon even if it meant being awake until the wee hours of dawn. The result is the photo on this page.

Now to the technical stuff. Prior to setting up my camera on top of my tripod, I watched the local news to figure out the time the eclipse would begin. Once I got the information, I then set my camera using the longest telephoto lens that I have, a 70-300mm zoom lens set at the 300 mm distance. ISO was at 400 and on manual mode. I then slept and awoke just as the eclipse started.

It was 2:29 am when I went out and started shooting. The first, second and third pictures were my establishing shots. For the first frame I chose an aperture of f/5.6 and 1/40 shutter speed. The result showed the beginnings of the eclipse and the moon's outline but it totally overexposed the majority of the moon's surface. I decreased the shutter speed for the next shot to 1/60 and it showed a slight improvement. I further decreased the shutter speed for the third shot at 1/100 and this yielded a much better result. The moon's surface can now be seen but the obstructed part is now completely black. The fourth and fifth frame had a different exposure value altogether. Aperture was set at f/11 to increase the zone of sharpness on the moon's surface and shutter speed at 1/500. At this point, I was concerned with which part of the moon shall I be putting more emphasis on when it came to exposure, whether it was the obstructed part or the unobstructed area. I didn't want to end up taking a picture of a totally blacked out moon so I adjusted the exposure once again and went back to an aperture of 5.6 and a shutter speed of 0.5 for the sixth frame. The photo shows the moon's surface while it is obstructed and the overexposed part is the remaining clear area. The seventh photo, I adjusted the shutter speed to 1/4. The final picture shows a totally eclipsed moon, aperture at f/5.6 and shutter speed of 3.2 seconds and taken at 3:58 am. Scientists say that the reddish hue can be attributed to the smog and pollution present on the earth's atmosphere.

I wasn't able to take pictures of the reverse process as it became cloudy. I did not mind though, as I was so drowsy by this time and went inside the house with my camera, satisfied with what I shot. Next time, I'd give emphasis to the unobstructed side and have a blocked out moon.