“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.”
“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
“At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough.” — Toni Morrison
Food shoot at Crepelato Gelato in NCCC, Davao Food styling by Gerlie Bagsarsa Photography © Jojie Alcantara
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.
“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic — the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.” ~ Charles de Lint Morning walk with the locals on the shore at daybreak. There were actually around six of them, but the few remains to be a blur, as they walked towards and past me, oblivious of my gears and tripod. Times Beach, Davao City © Jojie Alcantara 2012
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.” ― Susan Polis Schutz Taking a candid shot of my good friend, Epong Soliban, who is now a master in landscape photography Times Beach, Matina, Davao City © Jojie Alcantara 2012
Halo-halo is from a Tagalog word “halò”, which means “to mix”. This delectable concoction is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk, and added with various sliced fruits and boiled sweet beans, and served in a tall glass or bowl.
“A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn’t see the clouds at all – he’s walking on them.” ~ Leonard Louis Levinson Morning Has Broken © Jojie Alcantara 2010 Took images of a glorious sunrise overlooking Davao and Samal Island at 5am from a high elevation in Mountain Haven, right after day one of our workshop back in June 2010. The weather was perfect, the sky marked with attractive cloud patterns in soft orange hues. This photo was taken straight from the cam, and only resized and watermarked. I used a Canon 7D.
“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
“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
“Even though fixed in time, a photograph evokes as much feeling as that which comes from music or dance. Whatever the mode – from the snapshot to the decisive moment to multi-media montage – the intent and purpose of photography is to render in visual terms feelings and experiences that often elude the ability of words to describe. In any case, the eyes have it, and the imagination will always soar farther than was expected”. – Ralph Gibson
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” ~ Gail Devers Zsaharah in the forest Loleng’s Resort, Davao City © Jojie Alcantara //
“What’s really important is to simplify. The work of most photographers would be improved immensely if they could do one thing: get rid of the extraneous. If you strive for simplicity, you are more likely to reach the viewer. ” ― William Albert Allard Simplify. A most handy and practical tip for the photographers. Simplify. A most handy and practical tip to use in life. Waking up at 4am to catch the sunrise in a remote coastal barrio within my city is rewarding and most often, my feel good therapy. © Jojie Alcantara 2012
“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
My photography is simple in composition, more often emotional and dramatic, but easy on the eyes. Because of my orientation as a painter and artist, I view each capture as evocative scenes I want to brush on canvas. The changing header you see above are snippets of my life as a photojournalist all these years.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” ~ Barack Obama Early morning walk and a sunrise shoot. Hypnotized by the swirl of red-orange tones and yellow skies, I stepped lower with my tripod and reached down the waves, trying to capture the solitude of the replica of the Little Mermaid. At break of dawn, people started to arrive in the park, jogging, picnicking, doing aerobics, walking. She will be a little less lonely, for someone is bound to notice her. But in her misfortune and enchanted state, she continues to sit there, waiting. Baywalk, Times Beach, Matina, Davao City
Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.” ~ Og Mandino View large image here
The Scene Stealer 