September, 2009. I treated all of my siblings in Manila to a holiday treat in Naval, Biliran our hometown.  We had our grand reunion so to speak. We had the usual fun when we were still young sans our parents.  Ours is the ery picture of a happy family.  I know, our parents would be very happy to see us like this.  Oh, if only they were still here… if only we could turn back the time…

On our flight back, we were delayed though because of trouble at all NAIA terminals back in Manila.   Instead of taking it negatively, we took the stranded time as more bonding moments for us.  Hence we roamed around Tacloban and see more of  its wonders.

Tips:

If you are stranded in Tacloban,  you could check-in at Budget Hotel.  Theirs is a low rate one could afford.

Chapel in Barangay San Pablo.

Chapel in Barangay Caraycaray.

Chapel in Barangay Larrazabal.

Chapel in Barangay Calumpang (under construction).

Chapel in Barangay Sto. Niño.

Chapel in Barangay Santissimo Rosario.

Above, Kitchie, the family pet, swimming (with a life vest!) at San Pedro Island in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.

The holidays are over and it’s time to reflect on the year that was. Looking back at 2008, I can confidently say it was a very good year.

I beg for your indulgence now and allow me to reflect and count the blessings I had for the year just passed.

In summary, I was able to visit and take pictures of several must-see places, among them: Canigao Island, Tabango, Biliran, Calbayog, Dagami, Abuyog and Hinunangan in Eastern Visayas; the Ilocos Region, Baguio, Palawan, Malapascua, Cebu; Bohol; Bislig, Surigao; and Davao; and, overseas – Beijing, Singapore and a brief visit to Malaysia.

I couldn’t be more thankful and blessed for all these travel and photography opportunities. Aside from these, there was the meeting of new friends and photo hobbyists and bloggers, and new photography gigs as well. Photoshoots with the newly-founded leysamfoto photography group were numerous, including some sports coverages (Carrera Habagat and PBA), weddings, as well as some pop-rock concerts.

The year also saw me getting to use a few new photography gear, including migrating to a new computer system (a Macbook), and honing on one’s photography skills including fine-tuning and adopting some new post-processing techniques.

There is still much to learn, no question about it, and certainly much more to yearn for, specially in the area of additional camera lenses (whew! pricey, no doubt), and visiting and covering distant places we’ve never been to.

I will continue to shoot photos while I am given these opportunities and share them here with you all.

For all these blessings I am very much thankful to the heavens above, to friends and clients alike, and to you, our readers and followers of this blog who have continually provided me with such an enormous source of inspiration to continue taking photos.

And, yes, I am thankful for a very-much loving and supportive wife and family behind me. They have come to realize and appreciate (embraced it, too) this all-consuming passion called photography.

Cheers to all! And I pray for all the best for 2009!

I was in Higatangan Island Wednesday, May 14. Despite the stormy weather brought by the southwest monsoon or habagat winds, we braved the rough sailing from Naval to the island (the waves were much taller than me!) just to show off to some guests the famous “Shifting Sand Bar.”

But lo and behold when we finally reached the island – the shifting sand bar, which normally extends some 200 meters into the sea was truncated by the strong waves. Two-thirds of its length had vanished! hehe

I’m sure, though, that once the winds and strong current calm down, the sand bar would re-emerge.

Here’s how the sand bar normally looks like during calm days:

Chapel in Barangay Atipolo.

Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish.

Cathedral Parish of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. Barangay Santissimo Rosario Pob. (Santo Rosa).