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 bodies 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.

THE WIND FARM REVISITED THEN ONWARDS TO FOODIE HAVEN.....

From The Watering Hole.....
















From The Shore.....











Me, Myself And My Shadow.....









Car Stickers?






A funny thing happened as we proceeded to the Bangui Wind Farm. I could not find the famous yellow house! And the terrain that we went through was a different one, as I suddenly found ourselves near a brook where cows hang out and abound. I could not find the trail which leads to an area where a bare shelter exists. All I know is we did not enter the alley where the tricycle terminal is. Have we entered that, then perhaps, I might have seen the yellow house.

I did not expect to see the cows meandering though. I mean, the last thing I would want to see is a bovine get freaked out by the sudden appearance of us humans and then decides to attack us as it goes berserk. It is after all the animal's territory and we were the trespassers. I do admit I was very cautious as I took pictures of the site.

I also noticed the change in the gusty wind when we were at the beach. The last time I was here, I arrived around noon, the wind from the South China Sea coming in towards the shore was too strong, enough to topple someone off balance in some instance. My tripod had to be supported further as I took pictures of the scenery. As we arrived at the farm at around dusk, the sea was calmer and a light breeze can be felt.

Shucks! And I could not think about taking photos of the wind turbines during this time of day as I still thought about that effing yellow house! Ever since we saw a shot of a fellow club member of this yellow house that landed him on the pages of Reader's Digest, there has been a significant interest to photograph the house! And its location has been a mystery since no one in the club has seen it until I finally saw it the first time I was here.

But I am so glad though, as my friends seemed to enjoy prancing through the calm waters as they also took pictures not only of the scenery but also of themselves.

Time to hit the road and head back to Laoag as our day was about to end with the fading light.

After a few moments though, we passed by a bridge and saw the setting sun. A few of us decided to go down in a hurry and run as fast as we can to capture the scene. The others were busy taking sunset pictures but I took photos of other scenes.









Special thanks to my friend Sam Blas, owner of Saramsam Cafe and Balay de Blas. I asked for his help when we failed to secure a decent accommodation in Laoag. He actually made a call to his friend who owned a good hotel in San Nicolas, which is the town before one enters Laoag called Mira de Polaris. I was blown away! He even was kind enough to bargain for the rooms in my behalf! Oh yes, I wanted to go to his place but it was fully booked since it was a long weekend hence the referral.

So we did the next best thing, ate at his restaurant. I wanted to try the Pinakbet Pizza (and take pictures of it too) but the waiter brought us poque-poque pizza instead. But it was delicious! I also ordered their crispy bagnet for Bless, Erwin and Buboy to try. So glad they loved it!



The Crispy Bagnet.....









Vulgar But Delicious, Poque-poque Pizza

TREKKING TO KABIGAN FALLS.....

The Buko Stand That Was Located Strategically.....






A Rest House In The Middle Of The Foot Bridge.....






Field Of Dreams.....






Leap Of Faith.....






Smooth.....






Towards The End.....






A Boy Watching The Falls.....









Still Enjoying The Falls.....








Contemplation.....









Kanino Ang Mga Itich?.....






Guess?.....






Pagudpud, the name alone conjures a sandy white beach with crystal clear waters to most people, as it is even sometimes called "Boracay of The North".

But we decided to go somewhere else in Pagudpud though. So we hiked a few kilometers and went to Kabigan Falls. At the entrance or base of the place which was near the parking area, tourists are required to hire a tour guide. The guide is actually necessary to someone who is not familiar with the place. But I was grateful to him since he offered to carry my tripod and at the same time, he acted as a "model" in our pictures which needed a human element in it. These guides are actually farmers who live within the area. I think their local government was right in teaching these farmers the value of tourism as an added means of income.

Marc and Ka Luis stayed behind and decided to rest after that grueling hours we spent under the midday sun taking pictures. But because of the fact that there were stretches in the terrain that we walked on that actually was under the shades of trees, we proceeded to go to the falls then. Ah falls! It would have been nice to cool off by taking a dip along its catch basin.

SHOOTING THE SHOOTER.....

James Takes A Walk.....






"Buboy! Anong meron dyan?"






"Lola! Saan ka pupunta?"






The Solitary Journeyman.....






Searching For A Location.....






Vogue! Strike A Pose!






"Smile, Erwin!"






"Hmmm, Ano Kaya Ang Kinukunan Ni Erwin Dito?"






Buboy's Image Taking Workflow.....

He Shoots.....




He Checks.....



And WAVES!!!!!





Bless' Steps To Taking Photos.....

Yumuko.....



Umupo.....



At KUMAWAY!!!!!





Erwin's Tips on Shooting Seascapes.....

Place Your Tripod Near The Shore And Focus.....



Remove Your Tripod And Run For Your Life When A Big Wave Comes In.....



Place Your Tripod Back When The Wave Dissolves And Refocus.....





Shooting The Long And Winding Road.....

Even If It Is The Midday Sun.....




Under The Sweltering Heat.....




Seek For Cover (And Wave)....




And Enjoy The Moment!!!!!





Shooting This Writer.....




At some point while I take photographs, I step back from what I do and observe what my colleagues are doing. The brief respite enables me to take a look at the scene with a fresher set of eyes and relieves my right hand from the strain of holding my camera for a long time.

So during this Ilocos sojourn, I shot some pictures of my colleagues in action, as they sought that decisive moment to capture their images.