gloomy days

Photo by Mike Mendoza

raining. pouring. persisting.

Mike and I shot the ominous black clouds hanging over Malasag Hill last January 2. We never had an inkling it would lead to torrential rains for days and for displacing families when the water level rose and flooded houses in some areas of the city.

Mike and I again went out into the night last January 10, watching and waiting for the moon, purported to be on its brightest and biggest that night. After two hours of wondering if the clouds covering it would give us a lucid window, the moon shone above our heads and Mike and I snapped our pictures. But only for a very few minutes, for clouds once again covered the moon as fast as it let us into an opportunity to click. We also didn't have an idea that this would lead into another series of heavy rain and strong winds all over the city and its environs!

Three days into the torrents and here is the Philippines:


Where are Mindanao and the Visayas islands? Incredible! For the first time in my twelve years in Cagayan de Oro, I am seeing powerful winds sway the branches of the mango trees in our garden and rattle the french windows from their hinges.

Hand in hand with blasting radio commentators are my mother's invitation for the family to spend the next few days in Davao City, where the rains are not as bad. Some friends losing their houses AND some friends working on relief operations to assist those affected by the disaster all around. Private sector organizations rounding up donations AND politicians trying to be visible for election points.

Students preparing for major examinations AND students glad to stay at home because of the rain. People scaring each other with calamity stories growing bigger by the minute AND communication companies enjoying the endless forwarding of messages all over the country. Worrying over the family pet getting wet in his doghouse from the rain shower AND dead farm animals floating along the town streets.

Thinking that the people behind the miserable drainage system of the city must be damned AND relieved that the non-locals who barraged into the city and set up settlements in areas beside rivers must finally decide to go back where they came from so the city will be cleaned. (I so totally avoid starting on those denuded forests AND irresponsibility of corporations.)

Finally - I worry that I just am not able to capture rain perfectly in my camera AND praying that this rain will grow silent soon so life will return to normal.

Image from Google Earth

theater by the harbor

Oh what a delight it is to know that one of my photos has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of the Schmap Sydney Guide! Taken during my Australian trip last 2006, I never had any indication that a few years after, that shot will return to that country continent to grace one of its city guides.


Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre

Seating 1,547, this is home of the renowned Opera Australia and Australian Ballet. With an outstanding repertoire of both new and old, both companies stage several productions, running on consecutive night, around four times per year. The theater has a wooden ceiling, which enhances the acoustics. It has a proscenium stage and a screen above it onto which English subtitles can be projected for performances sung in their original language.


Here is that page:

www.schmap.com/sydney/entertainment_opera/p=38556/i=38556_21.jpg


This shot was taken during a walk with the city mayor of Cagayan de Oro and other local officials and business leaders when we went to Australia and New Zealand for a trade mission. It was one of those days when the sun was kind to tourists like us.

I entitled this photo "It Stands There."


Flickr Photo by This Girl

landing on the moon

I admit that I have been remiss of my blogging for a while. I was even afraid that like the past year, my zeal for doing this online journal has died too. But I think I am ready now to start 2009 with a little bit of good news.

A story came out in PC World online and one of my photos was featured.


Fantastic Flickr Photographers

Millions of photographs are posted on the photography site Flickr, but a small subset of them demonstrate a leap of technique and imagination. We showcase some of these interesting artists.

by Kathleen Cullen, PC World


The page where my photo above is featured is here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/155808-12/fantastic_flickr_photographers.html

The photo, "Wish Someone Could", is my shot of a morning moon and a bird flying by, camera settings with the help of Mike. And for its post-processing, I used some of the free textures available in the Internet to create the picture I have imagined. As taking photos and processing them is a pleasure in itself, this opportunity to be noticed and invited into articles like this is indeed a feather in the cap.


Flickr Photo by This Girl