Joy of sunrise
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness not because they never found it but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.” – William Faulkner
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness not because they never found it but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.” – William Faulkner
“Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself.” ~ Author unknown
Launched on April 10 of this year at the Tapas Bar of the Makati Shangri-La Manila hotel, the first travel coffee table book of its kind with a quirky and confident title of The Best of the Best of the Philippines was recently unveiled to the public.
Silkwinds April 2014 Cover by Jojie Alcantara This is my cover photo of aerial Boracay waters in April 2014 issue of Silkwinds, the inflight magazine of SilkAir (Regional Wing of Singapore Airlines). I shot the fishermen and boat from a helicopter over Boracay. This is my second aerial photo on cover of an international airline magazine.
D’ Japanese Tunnel in Davao After World War II, the legend of the Yamashita treasure seduced many treasure hunters to Davao, particularly in Mintal, Tugbok District (now declared as the Japanese Heritage Site of the City), where hiding places for the war loots were supposedly buried deep underground within numerous foxholes and crisscrossing tunnels built by soldiers and prisoners of war.
“Making one person smile can change the world – maybe not the whole world, but their world.” Bagobo Kids Tibolo Tribal Village © Jojie Alcantara Foot of Mount Apo, Barangay Tibolo, Davao del Sur Taken in 2010 * * * *
“I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with.” ~ Plato
7107 Island Travel Magazine 5th Anniversary Issue Photo Cover: Badjao Houses on stilts by Jojie Alcantara
This Badjao baby caught my eye as I walked carefully on wooden planks stretched across the waters within a cluster of houses built tightly and interconnected by footpaths. The family welcomed me into their community, even though I was a stranger in their eyes, just passing by to document their unique way of life. I took note of their smiling faces, houses on stilts, and their floating boats as vehicles.
The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn’t simple. ~ Doris Janzen Longacre Fish cages in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, captured in 2007 This image won in a photo competition a few years back.
Between 1994 and 1995, I was traveling to Manado, Indonesia doing my very first travel brochure project (the income of which I bought my first PC) for a Swiss client. I only had a film camera then and it was to document for the brochure. Back in those days, my composition and output were still unsatisfactory for me. It was my very first travel in Southeast Asia. This photo above was taken of me (I forgot by whom) standing beside the Waruga Stone Graves in Sawangan Village, Manado. For a little interesting history, this ancient cemetery consist of 144 sarcophagi (coffins) which dated back to the Megalithic age. Made of unique stones with holes in the middle and a triangular lid, the coffins have carved motifs which will tell you the dead’s profession, hobby or interest (a drawing of a female giving birth to a child means the grave of a midwife). The most remarkable thing was the funeral ritual. The corpse was seated and tied on a chair until it became stiff. The corpse …
“Life is complex. Each one of us must make his own path through life. There are no self-help manuals, no formulas, no easy answers. The right road for one is the wrong road for another…The journey of life is not paved in blacktop; it is not brightly lit, and it has no road signs. It is a rocky path through the wilderness. ” ― M. Scott Peck Shot in Temple of Bayon, Angkor Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia (January 2011) Read more of my adventures here