Postcards from Manila: #112 Heaven in Motion

Stalking the most beautiful places in the Philippines

Welcome, welcome 'o weary traveler... from where do you cometh? Are you seeking new lands to conquer, perhaps planning a visit to the Philippines? Or are you simply feeling home-sick and hungry for photographs of home? Whatever, feel free to look or share. An adventure awaits.

I try to post new images weekly from my travels across this beautiful land. If you like what you see, please leave a comment or two. Or write me a note, I'd love to hear from where you cometh. Enjoy. Bobby (bobbyw59@yahoo.com) Join this group to receive new postcards weekly or become a fan of my Facebook page.

Monday, March 21, 2011

#112 Heaven in Motion

www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Billions of stars surround our tiny blue planet as it spins around it's own axis every 24 hours. Yet from our humble vantage point, it's hard to believe anything is in motion... until you see a photograph just like this week's postcard.

We were camped near the summit of Mt. Pulag in Benguet. High above, I saw more stars than I've ever seen in my whole life. I set out to photograph the night sky full of stars, in a way to illustrate the motion I described earlier. The result? In today's postcard, the dark silhouette of a mountain is Mt. Pulag, the 3rd highest peak in the Philippines. The reddish glow on the horizon is light pollution from the city of Baguio about 4 hours south. And each streak of light is the path of a single star moving across the night sky... all frozen in time. Now, do you believe we are in motion? Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: It's called time-lapse photography... taking a shot every few seconds, in this case for nearly an hour, all from the same spot. At home, I used a Photoshop action to overlay these photographs, of the same night sky but where each star has moved on to a slightly different position. The result is a sky full of stars that seem to streak across the heavens. To see these photographs stitched together as a video... A time-lapsed sky on Mt. Pulag.)

Where in the world is the Mt. Pulag in Benguet?

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But wait, there's more...
For those who've inquired about buying prints of my postcards, you may purchase them directly from master printmaker Arnel Murillo (murilloarnel@yahoo.com), one of the country's foremost fine-art printmakers. Arnel uses archival inks and museum-grade paper to ensure his prints will not fade. You will not be disappointed. (All my images are provided gratis to help showcase the beauty of our country. But if you feel generous, help me uplift the lives of the Children of Payatas. No donation is too big or too small. Get in touch with Fr. Aldrin Suan at aldrinsuan@yahoo.com of the Vincentian Missionaries in the Philippines. As always, thanks and enjoy.)