“Kadagatan sa Panabo.” A family picks shells along the coastline of Cagangohan Fish Sanctuary in Panabo City, which is part of the Davao Gulf, and one of the priority areas for marine biodiversity conservation of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Eco-region (WWF, 2001).
“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!” ― Ted Grant
“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.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela When I am down, and my grumpy self surfaces due to several reasons — period, boredom, depression, low self esteem or just being flat broke — I take time out to travel on a short or long trip, and let myself be engulfed by the sheer beauty of the world around me that we often fail to acknowledge or even notice. If I keep moving forward, my worries are left behind. Seascape of my ancestral place in Manay, Davao Oriental © Jojie Alcantara 2013 * * * *
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ~ Maya Angelou Though I love this image in its vivid sunrise colors, I wanted to see its impact in black and white this time. I like the outcome because the absence of color made the scene even more dramatic.
“Remember that you are needed. There is at least one important work to be done that will not be done unless you do it.” ~Catherine Pulsifer My favorite pastime in my province is to catch the sunrise as well as the fisherfolks during early morning routine of helping boatmen with their catch. Dahican beach, Mati, Davao Oriental
“Sometimes the course of our lives depends on what we do or don’t do in a few seconds, a heartbeat, when we either seize the opportunity, or just miss it. Miss the moment and you never get a chance again.” ― Aidan Chambers, Dying to Know You In my birthplace of Mati, Davao Oriental, lies Lawigan, a hidden coastal community dotted by rugged rock formations, mangroves and white sands interspersed with coconut trees and patches of civilization with huts built on shorelines. The road to Lawigan is quite narrow and perched on a precipice, before going down at sea level again. It was a very lovely day where I couldn’t get enough of its seascape glory. I took photos of its extended sandbar which you can walk for yards and yards out into sea. While the coast was calm and clear, farther ahead where mangroves are growing, the sea changes into a fury of white waves bashing into protective reef fringes, where the gulf meets the raging Pacific sea. Here, the fishing boats ply the …
“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.” ~ Erich Fromm Chasing sunrises are like chasing dreams. You have to persevere in order to catch them. So I wake up at 4am hoping today is the best capture of golden colors and hues imaginable. I have captured many sunrises in all forms, and each one was different from the last. I never say, “this was the same as last time” but instead focus on how I can tackle it from a different angle. How I can make it distinct from all the sunrise photos we view on the web daily. Most times, my best sunrise shot is my latest. But in order to achieve the capture you want, you have to persist and perfect it. It’s all in the mindset. It starts with a dream that comes …
“Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air – explode softly – and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth – boxes of Crayolas.
“Don’t stop yourself from enjoying the now because of an imagined tomorrow or a remembered yesterday. Take a look at how you’re stopping yourself from being happy. It’s all up to you, no buts (or because) about it.” ~ Marie T. Russell
The Scene Stealer 