The correlation between photography and traveling

When I would talk to my friend who dove into photography with his Nikon D50 two or three years ago, I could not seem to relate with him when he starts talking about his passion for traveling. He is passionate about it to the point that he wants to be part of WOW Philippines. He just can't seem to stay put. He always seems to be talking about going to Bohol, to Puerto Galera, and wherever there is a beach.

Now that I got my own Canon 350D, I seem to have suddenly increased my interest in traveling. Suddenly I find myself dreaming about going to beaches, to the rural areas, to mountains, to fields, to rivers, to fiestas. My eyes crave for color, for "Kodak" moments.

There is indeed a correlation between traveling and photography. Get into photography and travel. Capture the culture with a click. Capture the drama of life.

Ad astra per aspera













Ad astra per aspera, "through the stars with difficulty." When in darkness we feel so alone, it is always nice to know that amidst that darkness there is a star that glows lighting up our loneliness, and even a much better thought that there is another star awaiting to bloom to add light into our solitude. A sign of hope, a sign of faith.

My best portrait yet.

I am not yet a professional photographer yet, but this is my best protrait I've taken so far. These two subjects are my students. I took it during their photo shoot for their yearbook with a professional photographer. They were getting ready for their formal shot (supposed to be in coat and tie), but they only have their ties.

The pristine white walls of the campus set a great backdrop to contrast their dark shirts and colored ties. Thanks to the hired make-up artists who did a swell job on their not-so-blemish-free faces. :)

If you need a photographer for your graduation pictures plus hair and make-up, just ym me. [No, I am not the photographer. I will refer you to the one who did my students' pictures.]

This is not a golf course nor a resort.

The scenery is just breathtaking, no? This is taken across the school building. As a teacher I complain a lot about so many things with regard to how the school is run and what not. In fact, before I took this shot, we just came from an open forum with the higher ups of the school. Reviewing my photos now, makes me realize that there is nothing like this in any other school. Imagine sprawling green grass with mountains and mist just after a drizzle.

Ah, the perks of being a teacher in the school where I teach. Let's forget about monetary complaints for a while, and be thankful to have these non-monetary benefits that other schools may not be able to give.

I did this with Picasa 2

Just got curious with what Picasa was and I installed it on my PC. I was thinking, "what could be better than Apple's iPhoto?" Then there is Picasa 2. It has great photography editing features without the technicalities of Photoshop! Of course, nothing beats Photoshop, but for someone who does not have time to go into the technicalities, Picasa is your choice. Try it now. It's free. :) [Only available for PC at the moment. Linux users, we'll just have to wait. :(]

Just click on the colorful shutter -looking link at the end of this blog. -->

Salt of the Earth

I had an apple for dessert one evening and I have a peculiar taste for apples and iodized salt. A friend saw me - perhaps enjoying my salted apples - dashed salt on my apples. She got curious and tried it herself. She actually looked as if she were about to do a fear factor stunt!

Anyway, she sprinkled salt on her apples, took a bite, and her face lit up with a eureka! She loved the taste of salty apples.

Reflecting on what happened, salt does bring out the taste in food. Consequently, bringing "joy" to the person tasting it. That maxim "salt of the earth" acquires now a deeper meaning. Being salt of the earth means bringing out the "taste", the goodness in people. It means to make the Good "tasty" to people who might find it unattractive.

Such a difficult task, but someone has got to do it.