Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

This week’s photo challenge revolves around the theme “Sea”. If ever there were a perfect photo challenge for this blog, this would be it. So what does the sea mean to me?

The sea means meeting things head-on. Yes, even that oncoming wave.

01 waves

The sea means going with the flow. Every day is an adventure.

02 walking

The sea means looking at the bigger picture. When you’re stuck, take a step back and reassess.

03 islands

The sea means having fun!

04 pips

The sea means taking care of the environment that sustains us all.

05 cleanup

And finally, the sea means embracing life. There’s so much to see and so much to do!

06 airport view

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lunchtime

Can I just say how much I LOVE this theme? Because seriously. FOOD! I love food! Our family’s life literally revolves around food. I love smelling it, I love watching people cook, and most of all, I love eating it! Confession time: I don’t cook 😛 This week’s phoneography challenge was to document “lunchtime”. Another confession: I don’t like taking pictures of cooked food. Once food is served on the table, it’s meant to be eaten. I give the Glare of Death whenever my dining companions make me wait while they use their smartphones to take photos of our food. So how do you document “lunchtime” without taking photos of your lunch? By taking photos of what goes in it, of course!

The resort I work for grows its own salad greens! We have around eight greenhouses on the Palawan mainland where we grow Red Rapid lettuce, Curly Green lettuce, and arugula. These are the baby lettuce. Give them 30 days and they’re good to harvest and serve!
03 growing lettuce

We also prefer to buy locally caught fish. Of course, the fish shouldn’t be of the endangered variety and should have been caught using passive gear, like nets and fishing lines. I took this photo while this fish was being delivered to us.
02 fresh fish

And finally, we also have an organic farm! This is where we grow string beans, eggplant, bitter gourd, tomatoes, watermelon, sweet melon, mangoes, and lots and lots of other goodies and yes, pineapples too!
01 growing pineapple

What does your lunch look like? 🙂

Phoneography challenge: my neighborhood

So this week’s photography challenge is “My Neighborhood”. To make it even more interesting, all the photos should have been taken using a mobile phone. At present, my “neighborhood” for most of the month is Bacuit Bay in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines. It’s got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. They say that the best camera is the one that you have with you, and my iPhone 4S hasn’t left my side since I bought it last year. So behold – Bacuit Bay as seen through a smartphone’s lens 🙂

The view from up top (Matinloc Island). This was taken using the iPhone’s Panorama option.
[minor tweaks in levels using Photoshop CS6]

The view from up top (Matinloc Island)

Same view, different boat and focus (Matinloc Island, El Nido)
[minor tweaks in levels using Photoshop CS6]

Same view, different boat and focus (Matinloc Island, El Nido)

Miniloc Island Resort’s water cottages (Miniloc Island, El Nido)
[minor tweaks using Snapseed]

Miniloc Island Resort's water cottages (Miniloc Island, El Nido)

Breakfast for two at the Miniloc Island Resort clubhouse (Miniloc Island, El Nido)
[minor tweaks using Snapseed]

Breakfast for two at the Miniloc Island Resort clubhouse (Miniloc Island, El Nido)

Outrigger boat – the only way to travel (Bacuit Bay, El Nido)
[no editing]

Outrigger boat - the only way to travel (Bacuit Bay, El Nido)

Bacuit Bay as seen from the seat of a kayak, taken using the iPhone’s Panorama mode (Bacuit Bay, El Nido)
[no editing]

Bacuit Bay as seen from the seat of a kayak, taken using the iPhone's Panorama mode (Bacuit Bay, El Nido)

What does your neighborhood look like? 🙂

2012: a year in pictures

This is the first time I’ve ever done this. Hah! It was a challenge to try to summarize an entire year in just a bunch of photos but I think I got it right. Lots of challenges but lots of fun too.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting Moment

That fleeting moment

I’m hard-pressed to find something as ephemeral as fireworks. Most of the time, I don’t bother with shooting them and opt to just relax and enjoy the view. Last January 1st was different because I finally had a tripod with me and set up my camera ahead of time. This is my favorite photo from that night. Taken with a Canon S95.