Pardo Church

I have not gotten any enough information about this church at Pardo except that it is located in Pardo, Cebu City. This church was built around 1860's if I'm not mistaken. I'm really sorry if I am not able to provide you good details about this church because this picture was actually forgotten in my memory card. I was reminded that I still have this picture when I was browsing my camera early this morning. I forgot almost everything about this church. Anyway, this church has been featured at Leylander's blog post "Southern Exposure". If I'd be given a chance to come back to Cebu, I'll visit this place again and gather some facts about it.

P.S. Sorry for the exposure.

Visit to Taboan, Cebu. The Dried Fish Market

Me and Nanay was asked by Tatay to visit Taboan. Taboan as known for dried fish. A famous place to buy "danggit" for pasalubong. Well, we went there because Tatay will be having a trip to Manila tomorrow and he wants to bring dried fish to his colleagues. I never thought that this items are being sold for about Php400-Php500/kilo. A bit expensive but I think its "sulit" because of the fact that its one of Cebu's specialty. I just thought that maybe this food are being sold twice the price in different places. But one thing is for sure, I am drooling for this one. This one is my favorite meal during breakfast. So, to stop my mouth from watering, I asked my Nanay to give me 1/4 kilo of the "danggit" she bought.

Taoist Temple Cebu City

People who visit Cebu do always take time to visit the Philippine Taoist Temple. Taoist Temple is one of the landmark that Cebu is boasting to its visitor. Its a place where you can just sit and relax and enjoy the panoramic view of Cebu City. Yesterday isn't my first visit to the temple. I already visited the place maybe 2004 or 2005 together with my SK family in our barangay in Davao City. When I went to the place, I thought there's no other visitor around and that made me think that I can shoot well since there's no people walking around. Before entering in, the guard told me that taking pictures of the saints inside the temple is strictly prohibited. The stairs caused me muscle pain but ignored it when I reached the top. Then I realize, we didn't pas through this stairs before, we were on the other side where you can see a replica of the Great Wall of China. Well, I continued walking inside the temple when I saw bunch of Koreans and other nationalities inside it. The place was like swarmed by tourist from all over the world. Stayed in low profile while taking pictures. The place is very well maintained except to some part of it. There are statue of dragons and lions in every corner of the place. Chinese are really mysterious based on their belief and culture. But that's the reason why every nationallity is different, because of their belief and culture. Well, just take a look at some of my shots from the Taoist Temple.

Rosary in a Low Light Condition

This rosary shot was actually taken last night when I was taking a break after dinner. I just saw this rosary from my mother's cabinet and tried to take a snap of it in a low light condition. I used a flash light to put a small amount of light on it. Well, flashlight on my left hand and the camera on the right hand, I really had a hard time taking this snapshot. No post processing being done in this picture.

Canon Lens Mug

Tacloban Festival

During our last day in Tacloban, we were caught in the middle of a fiesta celebration. I think its a Sto. Nino Fiesta in Tacloban that they celebrate during the 29th day of June. Our scheduled trip to Naval, Biliran is at 12:30p.m. and we woke up early because my parents will have to go to church and I was left in the hotel room to watch over my brother. When my parents came back from the church, I went out and watched the parade being held on the streets of Tacloban. It was a very colorful fiesta celebration. Participants are dressed in different tribal costumes with complete props. I managed to take some shots of the parade. Taking pictures during this kind of event is one my dream. I really like this kind of scenario because you're not gonna have any problem with light conditions and also, colorful costumes will give your image a very fantastic mood. I can say it is a bit hard when you're gonna take pictures of marching people because everybody is moving. Sometimes you're lucky if the presentor will stop in front of you to pose but it rarely happens. When I started taking pictures I noticed that there are a lot of armed photographers waiting in line too. All of them are equipped with high end lenses and other accessories. I was a bit shy because I was only using a "hybrid" camera, not even close to a dSLR. Well anyway, I didn't really care about it because all I was thinking is to shoot and shoot the parade's participants. It was really fun taking pictures under the heat of the sun, I felt like I'm a pro too! Lol. Anyway, just take a look at some of my shots below.

The Social Network -- Facebook Movie

This morning, my father and I went to Gaisano Country Mall here in Cebu and I was looking at the Coming Soon movies and I was a bit curious about the movie they've posted "The Social Network". I thought it was some kind of a thriller film about people being stalked and killed by stranger online. Just recently, I was blog hopping and saw someone posting about the said movie. I was reading his blog post and there I knew that the movie I saw in the "Coming Soon" on the mall was all about how Mark Zuckerberg founded the social networking site, Facebook. It was mentioned that Justin Timberlake will be in the movie too but not to play as Mark Zuckerberg. It will be at the big screen on October 1, 2010. Just check out the trailer below.

HDR First Try

I'm really curious on how do people create a very wonderful image like HDR. I've seen photos and was really jealous on the way they post process the pictures. One of the thread created in Symbianize is all about photography. Forum members share their tips and tricks on photography and also showcase their wonderful images. A member posted some HDR photos on there and I asked some advise from him. He gave me StuckInCustoms tutorial about HDR. At first I thought HDR is very complicated but he proved me wrong. HDR is simple. You can create an HDR image in a few minutes as long as you have all the tools and of course, the patience and effort. I tried creating an HDR of my own and felt satisfied about my final images. I know I'm still not good at it but I also know that practice will make me good in creating an HDR image. That photo on the left is my very first HDR photo. Comments and suggestions are highly appreciated. Thanks!

A Father's Day Special Post

I know its a bit late for me to create a post like this but I think its still worth it. I just want to say belated happy father's day to my father. I know I've been a pain in the ass for quite a bit now but I thank you for accepting me and for guiding me in every single day that the Lord have made. I know I'm not that expressive but just to let you know that I ain't no here without you, so Tatay, I love you and thank you.

Bird Shot

I really had a hard time taking pictures of a bird and when I was at Dauis Church in Bohol, I saw birds coming in and out of the cottage where we we taking a rest. I took the chance of taking a snapshot of this birds and I think this one here is the most clear and steady one.