The belfry of Cagsawa Church, a parish buried in lavaflow when Mt. Mayon unleashed her fury on February 1, 1814.

This photo was taken with an f-stop of f/4, an exposure time of 1/400 sec., an ISO speed of 80, an exposure bias of 0, a focal length of 7mm, using the Canon PowerShot A650 IS. Heavy post-processing in Adobe Lightroom 2; watermark added in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

A couple of eagles in a wildlife park in Camarines Sur.

This picture was taken with an f-stop of f/4, an exposure time of 1/125 sec., an ISO speed of 80, exposure bias of 0, focal length of 11mm, using the Canon PowerShot A650 IS. Very little was done to the picture during post-processing in Adobe Lightroom 2, and the watermark was added in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

The control tower of Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

This picture was taken with an f-stop of f/3.5, exposure time of 1/100 sec., an ISO speed of 100, exposure bias of +0.3 step, focal length of 17mm and max aperture of 3.625, with a Canon PowerShot A650 IS camera; heavily post-processed in Adobe Lightroom 2; watermark added in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

A baby in the arms of his father. Taken at the Eco-Village in Naga City.

This picture was taken with an f-stop of f/5, an exposure time of 1/100 sec., an ISO speed of 80, 0 step exposure bias, focal length of 25mm, using the Canon PowerShot A650 IS camera. Several elements were modified during post-processing using Adobe Lightroom 2.

A dancing doll welcomes patrons to Cafe Laguna in Cagayan de Oro City

From the City of Golden Friendship with love, I wish you a belated merry Christmas and a joyous New Year to come!

(Picture above taken with the iPhone 3G, 2 megapixels)

Apples and Oranges in a grocery in Cagayan de Oro

Apples and oranges on a rack in a grocery in the City of Golden Friendship, Cagayan de Oro.

Wikipedia on “comparing apples and oranges”:

“Apples and oranges” refers to the idiom “comparing apples and oranges” or “apples to oranges”, which is used to indicate that two items or groups of items have not been validly compared. The idiom evokes the apparent differences between items which are popularly thought to be incomparable or incommensurable, such as apples and oranges. The idiom may also be used to indicate that a false analogy has been made between two items, such as where an “apple” is faulted for not being a good “orange”. Conversely, where the comparison or analogy is valid, the idiom will usually take the form “comparing apples with apples”.

Taken with the iPhone 3G (2 megapixels)

Keychains in the shape of fish at the Caraga Regional Schools Press Conference 2008 in Tandag, Surigao del Sur.

This author won first place during the said competition and will be traveling to Bicol early next year for the National Schools Press Conference.

A Christmas decor hangs on a door in a government office in Butuan, Philippines.

The Philippines is the only Christian country in Asia, and has arguably one of the longest Holiday seasons in the world. The yuletide air is felt as early as the -ber months and ends in January, usually on the Epiphany. Pinoys’ insatiable holiday spirit is apparently affected little, if at all, by the slow economic times, as malls and department stores are inundated with Christmas trees, garlands, and whatnot, and as we all slowly count down the days to December 25.

Happy holidays to you.

Girls on a beach

Two girls stroll along San Agustin Beach in Surigao del Sur.

Camera: iPhone 3G, 2 megapixels

Why do others lose hope when the leaf falls from the vine?

This was taken on the same beach trip as this one. I particularly like it because it reminds me of a short story by O. Henry, “The Last Leaf”, which we took up in English class this grading. If you want to read the entirety of the selection, here’s a Google SERP for you.

The gist: as Winter approaches in New York, Johnsy becomes afflicted with pneumonia. She says that when the last leaf on the vine growing on the wall outside her apartment window falls off, she will have to go, as well.

Her neighbor, Mr. Behrman, wanting to give Johnsy more hope, decided to paint a leaf on the wall—a leaf that would never fall. Wet and cold from painting outside at night during a storm, Mr. Behrman himself became ill with pneumonia and eventually died from the disease.

This gave hope for Johnsy to keep on fighting and conquer her illness. She eventually recovered from the disease, all thanks to the sacrifice of Mr. Behrman.