Prayer for Peace
“May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace.” Stop the War.
“May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace.” Stop the War.
Regatta de Zamboanga is a colorful banca race (carera de vintas) depicting colorful sails designed by the fishermen themselves and proudly displayed during the competition.
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Lao Tzu
“You are always rich when you can see and feel the beauty of this world” – Aine Belton
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
“I have been through a lot and have suffered a great deal. But I have had lots of happy moments, as well. Every moment one lives is different from the other. The good, the bad, hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love, and happiness are all interwoven into one single, indescribable whole that is called life. You cannot separate the good from the bad. And perhaps there is no need to do so, either.” ~ Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
“If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything. You can sit around and wait for the good things to happen to you, or you can go out and make them happen.” Entrance to Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia © Jojie F. Alcantara
“But even though she was attractive, there was something else about her that caught his eye. She was intelligent, he could sense that right away, and confident, too, as if she were able to move through life on her own terms. To him, these were the things that really mattered. Without them, beauty was nothing.” ~Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle Whenever I shoot a model, I make sure she makes eye contact with me (or through the lens), as oppose to glam advertising shots that ask them to look like preoccupied puppets with a faraway squint in their eyes. Tyra Banks call it “smize“, smiling with your eyes. In my day, we used to say, “project!” or “emote!” (I was then a fashion model AND a runway director, like a playing coach in basketball terms. Oh right, an old fashioned Tyra minus the booty.) 🙂 My model is Zsaharah, of moslem descent, with a strong, attractive personality and a professional outlook in her work (she is a nurse, by the way). She became one …
“Children the world over have a right to a childhood filled with beauty, joy, adventure, and companionship. They will grow toward ecological literacy if the soil they are nurtured in is rich with experience, love, and good examples.” ~ Alan Dyer, “A Sense of Adventure” Captured in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato one early morning in 2007 with a Canon 350D, my very first dslr camera
Portrait © Jojie Alcantara Model : Prasoona Nadh, Medical student, soon-to-be doctor “All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi View more of my photo shoot with Prasoona
“There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won’t go. For me, India is such a place. When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds… I had been seeing the world in black & white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor.” ~Keith Bellows, National Geographic Society I’ve never visited India before. Yet. It’s in my list of travel destinations, though. When a group of students from India came to my city to study medicine here a few years ago, I had this wonderful opportunity of beautiful faces wanting to do portraits with me.
Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~Lao Tzu I love the sunrise and sunset. They are calming therapy for me. When I capture a beautiful one, I feel better the whole day. I feel like I own the world. So when I invited two of my childhood friends and Biboy, my photography student, to wake up at 4am for a shoot, I was met with sleepy disbelief by Cecil, whom I have known since seven in grade school. She and Lyn were sleeping for the night at home, in what we called our pajama party.
“I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” ~ Dalai Lama Posted this image after my family survived the flash flood that almost wiped out everything we have, including our home last June 29, 2011. We survived on hope and faith that things will get better for us. Sunrise in Mati, Davao Oriental by Jojie Alcantara UPDATE: One year later, I have revisited this post and remember the kindness of our community, of everyone trying to reach out and help. We have started all over again and the journey is still long, but moving out into a better home was worth the pain and stress endured. This was how I got immersed in creating an inspirational and motivational blog for everyone to learn lessons from. I have always been a positive person, and each downfall I’ve gotten are lessons learned about life, not a way for me to put blame on others. One day soon, I will be able to write about the pain …
Meet Carmen Smith. Half New Zealander, half Filipina. She’s currently a student, a makeup artist/model, and a runner up of Mutya ng Davao. She is normally sweet, neat and tidy. But for this shoot, I asked her to change her character, and this is the transformation she gave me. Wild Child View more of her images in my gallery
Captured in Tagaytay, overlooking the famous Taal Volcano
When I was in Cambodia for the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF 2011), I carried with me my unusual calling card. It’s bigger than your regular one. Makes quite a visual impact so they won’t forget you for a time. Notably because they find it hard to place it in a wallet or a pocket. (evil grin).