Photography and Blogging - A Dangerous Combination

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Ever since I was a kid, my passion has always been photography. My dad said my very first toy was his old Polaroid camera which I unfortunately broke. He said I was curious as to how the images got copied from outside and into that small device, so I broke it apart. Then I moved up to the old film cameras and eventually SLRs. Though I never seem to remember which pictures I took. I never bothered to check because it was my mom who would collect all the developed copies and load them up into those ring bound photo albums with adhesive. She would put captions onto each funny moment, each place we visited, each family affair. As an innocent 7 year old, I asked her plainly why do we have a ton of pictures? She distinctly said, so we never forget who we are, where we've been and how we looked like.

I never realized that her answer would be the very reason why I will love photography. So I do not forget, so I treasure each captured moment. It's like freezing time.

Blogging came to me one boring afternoon. I saw a news feature about bloggers and this new internet craze called blogging way back during its heyday. I took to it real quick as I have this uncanny knack for anything computerized. It fueled my love for the written word, as my dad was a great writer. I idolized him when reading his journals and when he wrote a column for a magazine when I was still in school.

I never pursued a career in writing as I believed that it wouldn't make me rich, at least I was made to believe so. Then blogger.com started to introduce the addition of digital pictures which was the hottest thing to hit the internet. I failed to capitalize on this then since I could not afford to buy a digital camera, much less maintain a fast internet connection. Thus I went into a hiatus. No blogs and pictures for a while.

Then one fateful day, my wife gave me "Nikki" my Nikon D40 as an early birthday gift. I was in heaven! The sniper was born! The very next day I shot some of my best work. Thus my blog was reborn. So a dangerous combination was made. Why dangerous? I am diabetic. I need my rest and sleep but this whole new experience, this power of freezing time was back, and I could broadcast this to the world through my blog. Who needs sleep. Here are some more of my passion pictures. I hope you enjoy seeing them as I enjoy shooting them.

Water is my element. I can create anything when I am in my element. Freezing time similar to these water droplets rippling into a glass container.

This next photo is my expression of how my two passions sustain me. It serves as my daily dose of vitamin gel caps. It keeps me up and running, looking forward to the next day. It gives me my sanity, it takes away my stress, it gives me energy to continue doing what I'm passionate about, much like these gel caps floating in the air. I always feel a natural high.

See you next post.

Dining in Nostagia one Saturday Afternoon

One afternoon my boss decided to treat our team to lunch. She brought us to this quaint place called CAFE JUANITA. It looks like an old 1960's house renovated to a restaurant. On the outside it looks uneventful and simple with a few parking spaces, discreetly hidden in a secluded area in Kapitolyo, Pasig.  Much to our surprise, once we went in it was like we were brought back in time.

Nostalgia hit us. As we entered, this elegant chandelier greeted us on the way in. I just had to take a shot of this massive centerpiece with a colorful array of crystals hanging in the middle of the room. I felt as if I went into a colonial house in the Old Spanish era.

It was such a refreshing change from our 'regular' lunch routine. Eye candy for me personally, good thing I brought my good old "Nikki" my camera along for the ride who my wife affectionally calls my 'mistress' because I would spend more time fondling with it on my free time.

Lunch was great! the menu was a good mix of asian food, a bit of local filipino flavor and a dash of thai food as well. If you are looking for a new dining experience that's also worth discussing about try it for yourself.

Cafe Juanita is located in Kapitolyo, Pasig City, Philippines. They serve lunch, and dinner and they are open from Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. Food prices range from about P400.00 to P700.00. It is also a good idea to call them for reservations specially on weekends.

Cafe Juanita - Tel. Number: (02) 632-0357

Portraits of Life

Sometimes, just like this photo I took at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Rescue Center we often feel caged because we focus too much on the petty things around us, but we would often forget to focus on what we really need. Our eyes and minds can be set to the conditions we would want in our lives. Much like the lens I focused on the subject which fades away the steel cage surrounding it, we can free our minds.