4/18/08

Today is the birthday of The Artschool Girlfriend.  Here’s one for you.

Keep On Truckin

Here’s a happy truck. Trick or truck?

4/16/08

Still from the Mt. Matalisbong trip. Here are three shots of Zambales pines, in different stages of “leafy-ness.” Don’t you just love a lonely tree?

Auburn

Sway My Way

Season Ender

Don’t even start me on “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer. That poem makes me squirm.

4/15/08

Just when I thought it would be a sad, sad weekend for me I got a hasty invite to accompany an exploration team to Mt. Matalisbong to check out mining developments on their claims.

We thought the SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) would be open so we exited at Mabalacat in NLEX only to find out that it is closed once again because of some repairs. Because of this we turned back to San Fernando and wasted a good 30 minutes and precious gasoline. The SCTEX developers should make an early warning system regarding the status of their expressway so as not to cause travelers unnecessary inconvenience.

The road to Sta. Cruz is a long drive, passing by Pampanga, Bataan and finally Zambales. I once thought that Sta. Cruz was a developed, bustling hub because almost all of Victory Liner’s buses had the town as its ultimate stop. There had to be something in Sta. Cruz worth warranting the bus placards. It turns out Sta. Cruz is a small, sleepy town and is Zambales’ northernmost town. A few kilometers further and we’d have hit Infanta, Pangasinan.

We arrived at Sta. Cruz at around lunch time and almost everything was closed since it was a Sunday save for a small Jollibee cart at the plaza selling Regular Yums, Jolly Hotdogs and pineapple juice. That was it. But still, God bless the bee.

Mt. Matalisbong was still mountains away. Those who were riding “city cars” were asked to transfer to a Ford Everest and a Ford F150. When we encountered a deep river crossing, the Everest owner decided to leave his car behind and then transferred to the cargo compartment of the F150. Leave it to the F150 to survive rough terrain! It’s been with us since 2002 and has trucked its way all throughout the Cordillera’s roughest roads.

Enough talk. Here are the photos.

Almost Temperate

Flare Problems

Hi! Ho! F150 Away!

Dead End

Rich in Minerals

I really have mixed feelings regarding mining operations. On one hand, it provides a source of income for the community but then I have to add the disparity in profit between the claim owners, the operators and the humble workers.And then there’s the whole issue concerning the environment. It’s complicated.

4/14/08

Back to digital photography.

Lately I’ve observed that I gravitate towards taking images of old, rural, small town establishments. They have a certain feel of authenticity to them. At some points, they’re even heartwarming.

Here’s a pharmacy I found in Sta. Cruz, Zambales yesterday. It’s Zambales’ northernmost town and is pretty popular for Potipot Island and some caving.

Farmacia San Miguel
Sta. Cruz, Zambales

3/19/08

After the Anawangin Camp, we decided to stop over SBMA to have our lunch. We were supposed to have lunch in some generic place that serves typical Filipino food but we passed by this cafe and I remember hearing good feedback from those who tried eating here before.

Xtremely Xpresso Cafe is located near SBMA’s Boardwalk where Legenda Suites is. Their tarp outside says “It’s the biggest pizza you’ll ever see!”

I can’t really confirm if it really was the biggest pizza I ever saw. But sure, at 22 inches the Big Ben, which is their premiere pizza, is big enough.

The pizza, although big, has a thin crust which I like in pizzas. And it tastes good, even if I had to pick out the onions and green peppers. For some reason, I tolerate olives. Sarap, hehe. (P649)

We also had Fish and Chips (P160) which was okay and Meat Lasagne (P140) which had really delicious cheese/cream topped on it.

And then we had desserts. Banana Split (P150) and Cakes (P90 per slice).

The place is a cafe but we never got to order any coffee-based drinks. We were too full.

This place is really good. I’d give it a 4/5.

Nope. I still don’t have an IR filter. I remember reading something before about how to achieve the IR look using post-processing. I ran these images under Adobe Photoshop CS3 and played with the luminance of the green, yellow and orange channels. I converted them to monochrome and then toned them with gradients. I know it’s a far cry from the authentic infrared images but these will have to make do for now.

And my favorite. Tsamba! Hahaha!

My birthday is coming soon in less than a month. I hope somebody gifts me with a 77mm Hoya R72.

Woot!

Far away from the city, Zambales offers unadulterated views of the night sky. I remember a line from “Wish You Were Here” by Incubus.

“The sky resembles a backlit canopy with holes punched in it.”

We’ve ate our pork steaks, started our bonfire which eventually died when we ran out of fire wood. So we were left lying on the sand, bathing in the moonlight, waiting for shooting stars. How cliche. But it was what it was.

And then I got the idea of trying out star trails. These are my first ever attempts at photographing star trails. Time to abuse the remote cable release I recently purchased.

This first one was exposed for 504 seconds, ISO 200, F6.3, manually focused to infinity. Damn, my focus was really off.

I got a little more risky. This next one was exposed for 900 seconds, ISO 200, F6.3, manually focused to infinity. Although I like the star trails better, the sky was a bit overexposed because of the brightly shining moon.

I’m gonna read more about star trails? Any good resources out there?

The first time I was in Anawangin, I took sunset shots from the extreme right. This time, I shot from the extreme left. There were around 5 of us side by side in the water as the tide was still high. All of them were sporting Nikons on tripods. I was the lone Canon ranger. Alone but not lonely. Adik.

Around 10 minutes before sunset. I should’ve used the telephoto instead and captured the SUN.

It was a weak sunset. Pinilit ko lang.

Here’s a 30 second exposure. I used the Twilight Picture Style of Canon which turns the blues into purples. Neat trick.

The last time I was in Anawangin, I was in a group comprised of about 30 photo enthusiasts. It was a rabid, mad dash for photos. Now, I was the only one with a DSLR in our foursome. Though there were so many DSLR-wielding weekenders who had the same idea.

This was shot on the way to Anawangin.

The famous river at the back gives a Northern American feel to a very tropical place.

There’s this iconic boat in Anawangin that just begs to be photographed.

And some more.

Photos were taken with a Canon 40D, a 17-40 F4L, a 70-200 F2.8L and a Sigma 10-20 F4-5.6

The past week I was debating with myself whether to bring a car to Anawangin or to just commute. The factors were cost efficiency, convenience and my driving mood. It’s been awhile since my last veritable road trip so Friday night, I texted Irene (my girlfriend), Carms and Glenn about our meeting place, 6AM at Caltex (J. Vargas corner Meralco Avenue). It was almost always our meeting place when we have road trips. I love that place.

I think Irene and I arrived 30 minutes late. It was our mutual fault. We had a lot of time anyway so it was okay. Carms, Glenn and Irene were so looking forward to this trip because it had been a while since they had hit the shores. They were even starting to look really pasty. The office airconditioning is to blame.

To start off we gassed up P1500 worth of unleaded gasoline and zoomed on to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and got off at the San Fernando Exit. We also had our breakfast pit stop at Jollibee since I had been craving for their longganisa for the longest time. I have to wake up earlier.

From San Fernando, we pushed on towards our destination passing by more Pampanga towns and a bit of Bataan heading to Subic or Olongapo. You could actually enter SBMA and cut through saving you time but we decided to pass by Olongapo to buy our lunch: Andok’s Super Jumbo and Liempo! When you reach the Ulo Ng Apo (hence Olongapo) monument, turn right and it’ll bring you to the towns of Subic, Castillejos, San Marcelino then finally San Antonio.

For those who forgot to buy some stuff or who are unwilling to haul “fresh” food, the town market in San Antonio is your best bet. There are no big name restaurants or establishments in San Antonio. We arrived Saturday, which I think is their market day, so supplies were pretty abundant. I’m not sure if the case is the same during weekdays.

From the town proper, we pushed deeper into the suburb (Brgy. San Miguel) and made a left turn at the suggestion of the signage “This way to Brgy. Pundakit.” Tama naman siya.

I decided to park my car at Canoe Resort because I already had some connection with them. They charge P200 for overnight parking and a P120 entrance fee for each person which enables you to use their facilities, like their bathroom for example. I think the parking fee is reasonable. The P120 entrance fee is stiff and rude.

I also arranged the boat transfer through the resort. For a drop-off and pick-up the next day, we paid P1500 or P375 each. It was almost noon when we seated ourselves at our good-sized pumpboat. The sun was high, commanding and the water was pretty choppy so we were sprayed.

Coming to Anawangin, I noticed that there was a burned portion of the mountains on the left side. It really is getting dry and campers should be more responsible of their impact on places such as Anawangin.

And just like that, I was back in Anawangin.

Getting there (by commuting).

1. Take the Victory Liner bus bound to Iba and ask to be dropped off at San Antonio (P219, 3 1/2 - 4 hours). It is best to get the early morning trips to maximize your trip.
2. Take a tricycle to Brgy. Pundakit (P80-100 per tricycle, 10-15 minutes)
3. Hire a boat to Anawangin (P700-800 per roundtrip, so if you’re gonna be dropped off and then picked up the next day it’s P1400-P1600 per boat, 30 minutes)