“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” ~ Groucho Marx Advertisements
“But I try to steal other moments. Sometimes I get up very early in the morning and enjoy a quiet house and cup of tea before the craziness begins. Other times, I’ll take a quick walk on the beach. You can find peace in a few minutes.” ~ Cindy Crawford
“It is with hope that each sunrise I give her cheers her more today than yesterday, and that she will accept my messages of hope and love. This is for a very outrageous character who gives everyone around her a renewed zest for life just as she does.”
Thank you, Davao City Government, Mayor Sara and Vice Mayor Rody Duterte, for this wonderful honor. (My years of hard work — labor of love– are finally recognized since I started as a journalist in 1994).
“Life is painful and messed up. It gets complicated at the worst of times, and sometimes you have no idea where to go or what to do. Lots of times people just let themselves get lost, dropping into a wide open, huge abyss. But that’s why we have to keep trying. We have to push through all that hurts us, work past all our memories that are haunting us. Sometimes the things that hurt us are the things that make us strongest. A life without experience, in my opinion, is no life at all. And that’s why I tell everyone that, even when it hurts, never stop yourself from living.” ― Alysha Speer Learning from another woman’s survival, and getting inspired with her story of pain and determination. My prayers are with you. Soar high, Robyn Lee. Fishermen captured at sunrise in Whitesand Beach, San Ignacio, Manay, Davao Oriental © Jojie Alcantara
“At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun.” ~ Unknown Nina from Germany, a returning tourist to Davao City Punta Dumalag © Jojie Alcantara
“It’s a battered old suitcase and a hotel someplace and a wound that will never heal.” – Tom Waits
“If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of humor.” ~ Jennifer Jones My fun portrait taken by my editor Stella Estremera Sculpture of little boy by Kublai Milan in People’s Park
Wikipedia explains synchronicity to be a state of being simultaneous; an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated.
PHWOW : Do you have any tips for travelers who visit Davao for the first time?
Me : Don’t hesitate to ask around. The guy beside you may have just gone through a unique Davao experience he can recommend. Read blogs. Many Davao bloggers give a lot of tips and places to discover. Mine is http://www.dabawenya.net.
My childhood days were filled with memories of playing on the beach. No tourists. Undiscovered paradise. This used to be my playground.
A little treat to myself by having nail art which I have never done before because I have small, short fingernails and in my line of work, the nail polish won’t last long. Lots of art designs to choose from! A little pampering doesn’t hurt, especially their new Organic Foot Spa.
“Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.” ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism, on his concept of “The Decisive Moment”
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” ~ Elliott Erwitt
“My hand is empty, I can’t offer you anything. But let me have your pain, it doesn’t belong to you.” ~ Dodinsky
“Once I was looking through the kitchen window at dusk and I saw an old woman looking in. Suddenly the light changed and I realized that the old woman was myself. You see, it all happens on the outside; inside one doesn’t change.” — Molly Keane
The first time I caught sight of her, she was carrying a baby. She said it was her grandchild so I was surprised because she looked so young despite the lines on her face. But this Bagobo tribeswoman up in the remote hinterlands of Kapatagan obliged me with such a genuine smile that even with freckles and no makeup, she is strikingly beautiful. I took this photo of her when she was looking out the window of her hut. 2008 © Jojie Alcantara Kapatagan, Davao del Sur
“Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty – they merely move it from their faces into their hearts.” ~Martin Buxbaum Old Bagobos in the highlands of Tudaya, Davao del Sur I met these people separately in the highlands of Kapatagan, Davao del Sur. Lola (our dialect for grandma, or respectful term for old woman) is an old Bagobo tribeswoman whose amiable character and sweet smile makes you want to hug her all the time. She agreed to pose for me inside her small and simple house. Lolo is an old mestizo I discovered sitting outside his home with a cane. He lives near a school. He has this quiet air of authority and dignity as he watched me approached him cautiously. Only then did he smile when I asked for a photo. Etched on their faces are tales of youth lived well and beautifully. Such is the human spirit of growing old. Time grows gentle with them as they become old, wise and wistful.
“Age should not have its face lifted, but it should rather teach the world to admire wrinkles as the etchings of experience and the firm line of character.” ~ Clarence Day Lumad portrait in black and white: Matigsalogs of Marilog District, Davao LUMAD is a term for a group of indigenous peoples of the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning “native” or “indigenous”, or a collective identity of the non-Islamized indigenous peoples of Mindanao. The peace-loving Ata Matigsalog (or Matigsalug) is a tribal group found in the hinterlands of Bukidnon and the mountain districts of Davao City. This tribal woman was laughing uncontrollably during our shoot. I waited for her to warm up to me and lose her shyness. Some portraits are better viewed in black and white, especially in emphasizing character lines and and making use of drama. But you be the judge. 🙂 Here is my colored version
“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt My self portrait (with tripod and timer one very windy morning) at Times Beach, Matina in Davao City. Note the high tide and angry rush of waves at the distance. ~ Jojie Alcantara, 2012
“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. ” ― Oprah Winfrey
