Month: January 2012

Lost in time (Ta Phrom)

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“We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well – for we will not fight to save what we do not love.”~ Stephen Jay Gould I fell in love with the ruins of the Angkor complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I rode the bus for 7 hours to cross the border from Saigon to Phnom Penh, and another 6 hours from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.  I endured three movies of Angelina Jolie on the bus (obviously, they adore her). 

Mystery island captured in 2007 from plane © Jojie Alcantara

My mystery island identified

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“I have my books And my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock, I am an island.” ― Simon and Garfunkel, Greatest Hits In 2007, on an assignment to shoot Boracay, my country’s top beach destination, I boarded the small Seair plane and we were cruising down a low altitude. Weather was gorgeous.

Children of hope

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“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr. Children of Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe in the highlands of Tibolo Village in Sta. Cruz.  They are friendly, cheerful and a curious lot. This image finished finalist among 12700 entries in the December 2011 monthly photo contest of Betterphoto.com. © Jojie Alcantara

Taking chances

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“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.” ~John Burroughs Skimboarder starts off fresh at sunrise in Dahican Beach, Mati, Davao Oriental.  The long beach strip, once unknown, is now haven for skimboarders and surfers.  Sunrise in this area most often looks like this on a glorious day. View images of sunrise in Dahican here

Creamsand Longbeach

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“It is only when we are very happy that we can bear to gaze merrily upon the vast and limitless expanse of water, rolling on and on with such persistent, irritating monotony, to the accompaniment of our thoughts, whether grave or gay. When they are gay, the waves echo their gaiety; but when they are sad, then every breaker, as it rolls, seems to bring additional sadness, and to speak to us of hopelessness and of the pettiness of all our joys.” ~ Baroness Emma Orczy, a British novelist, playwright and artist of Hungarian origin.

Reblogging is back

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Originally posted on WordPress.com News:
As we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing https://wordpress.com/blog/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your toolbar will look like this while you’re browsing the home page of en.blog.wordpress.com: How does reblogging work? Reblogging is a quick way to share posts published by other WordPress.com users on your own blog. People have been reblogging others’ posts since blogging started, but our new reblogging system enables authors to retain greater control over their content. When a post is reblogged, it shows up with a link back to the blog it came from, the first image in…

Paradise found

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Richard: “And me, I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it’s not some place you can look for, ’cause it’s not where you go. It’s how you feel for a moment in your life when you’re a part of something, and if you find that moment… it lasts forever…” The Beach (film, 2000), based on the book by Alex Garland. Richard is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. While the film was shot in Thailand, this piece of paradise I have captured is found in White Island, Camiguin here in Mindanao. It is merely a long strip of white sand bar nestled in the aquamarine beauty of the sea.  At high tide, it gets knee-deep, and without shelter from the burning sun, it is best to keep re-applying sunblock from time to time. But yes, it is a paradise. View more about Camiguin here.

Baganga, Davao Oriental © Jojie Alcantara

Seascape (escape at sea)

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“I wish I could describe the feeling of being at sea, the anguish, frustration, and fear, the beauty that accompanies threatening spectacles, the spiritual communion with creatures in whose domain I sail. There is a magnificent intensity in life that comes when we are not in control but are only reacting, living, surviving.” ~ Steven Callahan

Water Cube in Beijing, China © Jojie Alcantara

The Water Cube

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The Water Cube in Beijing, China National Aquatic Centre for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China The Beijing National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, was built alongside Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite its nickname, the building is not an actual cube, but a cuboid (a rectangular box).

Small thoughts on my birthday

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“All good work is done the way ants do things, little by little”. ~ Lafcadio Hearn Captured in our little garden, a little macro photography for my birthday today.  It was drizzling early morning so I wasn’t able to get my annual birthday sunrise.  So I decided to look around in our garden instead.

Embrace the calm

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“This benefit of seeing…can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives, and look thoughtfully at a quiet image…the viewer must be willing to pause, to look again, to meditate”. ~ Dorothea Lange Sunrise in New Argao, Malita, Davao del Sur Photography,  Jojie Alcantara

RELOAD 008: Tara and Bella, the Unusual Friendship

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RELOAD,  REFRESH, RESTART  008 –  Reposts from video sources and online stories which makes me feel good and happy so I share them with you as well. In 2011, the world mourned at the passing of Bella the dog, but none more than her constant companion Tarra the elephant. Anyone who has ever doubted an animal’s ability to feel and express emotion need to look no further than this odd couple in Tennessee. Companionship, commitment, love, and loss—it’s all there. Watch them in happier times. (from my idol Cesar Milan’s website)

Sunset over the valley

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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.” Captured this scene along Marilog District, Davao City View large image here I believe it’s a nice, positive image for me to start my year right, with a resolution to commit to a daily photo blog.  🙂

Shoot for Hope: Workshop for a Cause

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Shoot for Hope Photo Workshop for a Cause (Dec. 30, 2011) Shoot for Hope was organized in a matter of days, just less than 2 weeks. When Typhoon Sendong ravaged areas in neighboring Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, we immediately gathered our very good friends to come up with a fundraising event.