Turn Back the Clock

Exterior shot of Rizal Shrine, the birthplace of Philippines' national hero Jose Rizal, in Calamba, Laguna.

Windows to the Past

Pycor through Rentokil and National Historical Institute have given free termiticide treatment worth Php150,000 to Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna. Through the years, those pesky termites remain the number one problem of homes, especially those with National Historical Institute markers. The house of our national hero, Rizal, welcomes around 200,000 walk-in visitors yearly. It offers a glimpse to 19th century living in 3D all for free. This is one home worth preserving for ages.

Color Coded

The penchant for colors of MMDA, the government office in charge of Manila's vehicle and pedestrian traffic, is never more illustrated in its public toilet -- there's orange yellow, electric blue and of course, shocking pink.

Feeling Blue

Or sleepy? A woman in Ice Monster, Banawe, Quezon City.

Lineage II

Working for a company like Asian Media Development Group, distributor of popular software RPG games, is the coolest since work is play or vice versa. I will not mind doing overtime.

apparition

Here's a brain teaser. If there's Buddha Bar in Paris and other major cities in the world which spawned copycats, I wonder how people would feel if someone put up a Jesus Bar?

Black Cat Crossing

The Fuji-YKL Print Shop on Sto. Domingo has surprised me lately: in my last three visits they produced 10 pieces of 10x15 enlargements in less than 10 minutes. Now, I am confused whether it's good or bad.

Cafe Encyclea

If you are in Ortigas, be sure not to miss Cafe Enclea near the POEA office. It's Asiatype's showroom cum cafe. You'll be glad that the maps and guidebooks here including the newest edition of The Lonely Planet Guide: Philippines are cheaper by few hundred pesos.

PBA Kasama Ko

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Kasama Ko outreach program in Cavite last weekend is truly laudable. It assembled a team of doctors, hairstylists, and pharmaceutical personnel to give free medical consultation, haircut, and medicines respectively. However, it easily turned into a familiar circus as one executive of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) hogged the photographers' lens too often for comfort. Strike one?

Power Lines

Having a house below high tension power lines is not something I will deliberately choose in this lifetime after I read from somewhere that it's a probable cause of cancer. Most residents along Aguinaldo highway in Bacoor, Cavite think otherwise.

Here Comes the Dragon

It's the eve of Chinese New Year and Mr. Fire Pig is just a couple of hours away. The Dragon sends his shoutout.

Ominous

Sand traps will always be a golfer's bane. Just when his ball soars over fairways and rough, and green is so close, it ends on the beach. The gray clouds and Tim Burtonesque tree seem an ominous sign.

Retro Line

How about this one Nokia? An antique phone in an ancestral house in Iloilo.

It Took Balls

It took balls for the National Historical Institute to award the Philippines' oldest golf course recognition to Iloilo Golf Club. While Baguio Golf and Country Club and Zamboanga Golf Club vie for the title, it's only Iloilo Golf Club which has physical evidence to solidfy its claim: turn-of-the-century gutta percha balls found in its pond 20 years ago.

Uncle John's

There's a new hamburger fastfood joint in town. It's called Uncle John's and it's a true blue fastfood junkie's heaven offering pizzas and double burgers at very reasonable price. The absence of a mascot resembling a giant bee or a queer clown is such a welcome respite.

Double Take

It occurred to me recently that the most noticeable difference between a seasoned singer (Zsa Zsa Padilla) and a starting one (Toni Gonzaga) is the way they look when they hit the high notes: Zsa Zsa can do it smiling.

Air Race

It's the last day of the 11th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. And tried as I might to secure a slot in the 22 balloons flying out for the day, I couldn't because everyone's going for the race. And in hot air balloon parlance, it's all about accuracy instead of speed. For more info, click on your favorite wikipedia.

Fish Be With You

What will a Pinoy airshow like without tiangge (bazaars) and in this year's Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, the stall that sells miniature hot air balloons and fabric fishes is king. People find the balloons (starting from Php120) as the definitive souvenirs.

Paraglide for Two

How about it? This Valentine's Day why don't you and your date paraglide towards sunset. It's the kinda thing you'll be glad there are strings attached.

Flagged It

A day in the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta always start with skydivers from the Philippine Air Force jumping off to the cue of the Philippine national anthem.

Bamban shortcut

Not known to many, there's a quick shortcut from Bamban bridge going to Capas, Tarlac which frees you from the snarl of tricycles, jeepneys and kuligligs along MacArthur Highway. Just take the sharp right turn after the bridge.

Butt, of course

Who is the tall guy in G-strings in front of the Department of Tourism main office near Luneta Park? I am guessing it's Lapu-Lapu, the slayer of Ferdinand Magellan; or Rajah Solayman, one of Manila's pre-Hispanic leaders.

Revisiting Luneta

It's been four years since I have last been to Rizal Park, otherwise known as Luneta or Bagumbayan. Do you believe that? I am glad to see that the national park has shed (just a weebit) of its shadiness. This afternoon, I see students from nearby high school doing play and dance rehearsals in the park's grassy nooks.

Kid's Play

I got the chance to preview the finalists of the recent PLDT-DPC Visual Art Competition and experienced first hand how the judges shortlist the winners. Not surprisingly, we saw a lot of "gimmickry" among the students' entries as inclusion of 3D objects in their paintings like clocks, slippers, etc. to hide their shimmering flaw -- a basic knowledge of drawing anatomically correct figures.

Back in Manila

This is the sight that greeted me in the airport -- after a week in Western Visayas. Nice.

Fish Cubes

Sutukil (sugba, tuwa, kilaw) market and restaurants near Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Mactan, Cebu never fails to baffle most Manila residents with the freshest sea bounty laid out for personal pickings. It's not so much of the variety -- because there's always Manila's SM Hypermarket in Mall of Asia or the neighboring Seaside restaurants -- but the fresh fishes' bright, rainbow colors. The colors will just blow you away -- it's like shooting with the almost extinct Velvia in this pixel age.

Distraction

After a week in Western Visayas, I come back to Manila to discover most of the shops in EDSA Shangri-la Mall are on sale. Naturally, the wife is happy to tag along. The red color should serve as a warning to all wallets.

Pikit

Parklane International Hotel, near Cebu Business Park, is one of those new hotels built in time for the Asean Summit. Barely six months old, it was designed by the same architect who built Cebu International Convention Center. Parklane has everything -- rooms with chic furniture (very Cebu), a pool with a view, and a decent buffet selection. However, their service falls short of a five-star -- atypical of most Cebu hotels I stayed in. The locals seem to not mind, though, as it has become a popular venue for weddings and small conventions.

Three-in-One

I like shooting a Nescafe product launch since its production numbers have the flair (and pomposity) of most Philippine festivals. It's easy to get into the groove and plan your shots steps ahead because at the back of your mind, the performers will do something formulaic -- like a Vilma Santos or Alma Moreno dance pose finish in the 80s. Chicken.

By Georg!

The last time I was in Cebu four years ago, the only place to get a decent cup of coffee was The Tinder Box, a deli cafe showcasing a Wallpaperesque interior and Santis product lines. And now there's Cafe Georg, a couple of steps from The Tinder Box. It has the moistest and chewiest carrot cake you will find on this corner of the Philippines to go with your good cup of coffee.

Daydreaming

This is the view from room 506 in Parklane International Hotel. At one glance, it seems a mockery at me for not staying at the Disney-like Waterfront Lahug from a distance but at the same time, it's a blatant reminder that I shouldn't bother myself with views, especially if I just have two hours of sleep between air shuttling from the last flight out of Iloilo and the first flight to Cebu.

self-portrait 4

Is it me or is it just me? I always seem to find a good self-portrait elements in Iloilo. Here are infinite portraits of me in a kids' science museum.

Wistful in Emilion

Iloilo is an island -- that's one of the knowledge nuggets I learned from talking to Mannie Gruenberg, the operations manager of the fastest growing cafe chain in Iloilo. The rivers that bordered the city proper are actually small sea channels -- that's why the water is more than brackish. I tasked myself of shooting a definitive photo of Iloilo -- a sweet blend of rural and urban elements. Here's what I have found: a sunset in Emilion, a modern Filipino restaurant with views of the "river" and just beyond the mangrove, SM City Iloilo.

self-portrait 3

At a right time on the 18th hole of Iloilo Golf Course, the olderst one in the country, a row of trees will cast a Tim Burtonesque shadows near the rough and sand strap.

Out of the Woods

The golfer's bane is the photographer's boon. I always find myself wishing the ball to fall on the sand trap. A photo of a golfer hitting from there with trails of sand, ball in midair, framed by the flag and the green is always a keeper.

self-portrait 2

Museo Iloilo turns upbeat with red, yellow and blue colors -- a stark contrast to the city's old attractions of Baroque, Filipino-Baroque, Gothic and Neo-Gothic churches.

caged

A geometric study of an urban mobile phone user.

From Olympus with Love

It was Laarni's first portrait sitting and we just found out she's allergic to mascara--her eyes were all itchy and she couldn't stop herself from rubbing them. A scene presented itself when the sun cast a double flare on my lens. And thanks to Olympus camera's live view feature, I was able to frame it carefully without risk of an eye strain.

Splash Here and There

The website I built from scratch is finally complete www.geocities.com/arleneadto. Although my wife's profile photo is not yet what we envision to be (chic makeup with beauty lighting), this candid photo taken during former BusinessDay editor and BWorldonline top honcho Mike Marasigan's xmas party has to make do. I am sure it will take her forever to shop for her perfect dress (why won't a plain Hanes do?). I am slated to go to Iloilo, then Cebu, then most probably Subic on the next days and "A Page Under Construction" is something my mild obsessive-compulsiveness can not take.

Quirky Quark

Quark is hot. The 26-year-old director of Super Noypi and and A Date with Jao Mapa seems an antithesis to the films he has worked on (both films have dark undertones and both see Jao Mapa die!). His jolly personality cuts across -- uhm, (art) direction -- and shows on film (pixel) whatever my motivation is. (Quark, let's try mysterious... enigmatic... sexy eyes...) Quark, who also directs the latest music videos of your favorite local rock bands, is so hot right now he is strongly considering cooling down next year--as in retiring. Wag naman. This is my first shoot for METRO Magazine, and I hope it's not the last.

Talking Heads

Is it just me or do I hear whispers whenever I look at this photo? I shot this scene last June at Pilar Antique and Craft Store in Kusina Salud. Unfortunately when we came back before Christmas, the place underwent rearrangements and these guys were gone, probably HEADed to someBODY's house.

self-portrait

I have had my driver's license renewed this afternoon (*hint, hint: who's celebrating his birthday) and got to experience first-rate government bureaucracy again. The transfer of Land Transportation Office in La Loma to a new venue across Sto. Domingo Church has done it some good -- the perimeter has been fenced, discouraging fixers to prey on LTO virgins. There seems to be a sense of order now: information desks are placed on important corners, barkers echoing the applicants names after every PA. However, why do they have to allow smoking in the area and why do they assigned a non-photographer to take the license ID. At least, Luneta photographers know how to cue you by counting 1-2-3. Result: I seem to be staring at my right side crotch -- mindlessly. Come to think of it -- there isn't any photo of myself I love recently except for this one taken in HK three years ago.

painting with light 3

Hmmm... what's this? A trilogy? You can only get away with canned formula for so long. There's a limit to people's patience and gullibility so unless it's the caliber of Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or The Godfather -- don't push your luck with the same hard selling plot or production. So please, please forgive this Enteng Kabisote.

Maldita

Maldita (wicked, bitch, damned, witch, [fill in the expletives] girl). Whatever is its etymology, it's worth the catchy name for a ladies fashion wear. Arlene went to SM Mall of Asia with a three-inch stilleto shoes this afternoon hoping she could "winged" strolling in the Philippines' second biggest mall. After 10 minutes, we were shopping for sandals or slippers to ease her pain. Was it a ploy? It could be. Nevertheless, it yielded a picture perfect scene (in visual elements and figures of speech) when we dropped by at Maldita. Sinong nagma-maldita? (Who's bitchin'?):p

Brown and Orange

After spending an extended two-week holiday in Tarlac, Arani is home. (A little FYI to those who care, the word "Arani" is a Greek word for "orange." My wife Arlene and her siblings Arnel, Arnold, and Aricel had a weird notion to name their children "Ar-". Heck, it could be Aragon or Arwen due to their popularity during those times. Arani was the best compromise I could make.) Not surprisingly, Arani grows up to have fascination for colors. Her clothes should always match, preferably pink or purple thank you very much. She calls me her "brown" Dada but in times of her tantrum she longs for a pink one.

painting with light 2

By the turn of the 20th century, doom prophets foretold the death of painting due to the fast emergence of photography. In stark contrast, these days I see more and more digital photographers produce work with painting-like feel. Manny Librodo, one of the best travel portrait photographers, comes up with photos with pre-Raphaelite lighting in his recent Cambodia trip. Dominique James' recent photos in the Mobile Philippines' exhibit are teeming with wayward lines of electric abstraction. Here's another dose of dusk cloud studies.

flying men

When they are in a hurry, they are in a hurry. I had only a minute to photograph these elite members of the Philippine Air Force. I shot at different exposures, even with fill flash but the darkest one seems closest to my taste.

painting with light

It was Belgian expat fashion photographer Frank Hoefsmit who taught me to look at the sky and the horizon at dusk or dawn as a long-time photo project. The colors are different he says (I am paraphrasing or waxing poetic now), richer, more intense and something magical happens if you just let go and sway with the flow (read:slow shutter speed with deliberate camera shake). Frank is one of Manila's image makers who continues to inspire me. And then there's Esta Bien.

top 5 things you will know the Americans left Clark Airbase for good

5. The "commissary" was replaced with "SM". 4. Instead of a salute, the guard at the HQ's door greets you "Gud Murning, Ma'am, Sir!" 3. There's a stainless steel owner type jeep parked on a space for handicapped people. 2. A Harley Davidson ripped-off from China seems "kul". 1. The egg becomes "ebun." My trip to Clark Airfield Pampanga today was uneventful except for the chance to hook up with old colleagues and pilsen pals. My subjects' uniforms, props, and what-have-yous were not complete that we had to resched the shoot for next week. It was ambush shoot anyways. MJ, our production coordinator from the defunct BusinessDay magazine, settled for a token pose for her Friendster account. Don't be deceived by her looks; she can be very, very cruel in her blogs.