#134 Dumalaylay River Crossing

On our way home from baranggay Panipiason in Aklan, we crossed the Dumalaylay river twice on a bamboo raft deftly maneuvered by this boatman and his son. They provide a valuable service to travelers in these parts, specially those who don't want to get their socks wet.

The river crossing was one of the highlights of the entire trip. That journey on a roaring bike took us through rice fields, down paths cut through the woods, and along steep trails carved through those fog-kissed hills on the horizon. Every moment was like a roller coaster ride. Highly recommended. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: The sudden downpour soaked my camera's electronics, shorting my display. The trigger still worked but without the display it's hard to tell if my manual exposures were correct. Luckily, the light that morning was pretty constant so all I had to do was to shoot around the general settings I used before the electronics conked. It worked.) 

Where in the world is Madalag, Aklan?

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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.)

#133 Photographers@Work

From Kapispisan Island in Aklan, we headed towards a nearby fish pen for a quiet dinner under the stars when our boat suddenly stalled. The tide had dropped so low that we literally scraped the lake's muddy bottom. We're stuck somewhere in the middle of this lake! The shoreline was still quite a distance off, as you can tell in the photograph. Images flashed through our minds... you mean we have to wade all the way back to shore? Will we be able to get there before dark? What about our gear? And dry socks?

It was an "oh God moment", but life often has a way of lifting us out of our misery. By this time, the sun had dropped below the horizon and lit-up the dusk sky around us. Low flying clouds turned a bright orange and the sky, a brilliant blue. Now who has the time to worry about getting home when the moment calls? We quickly assembled our gear and went to work, with the ensuing silence interrupted only by mechanical clicks and an occasional muttering of awe. You just have do what you need to do, life will take care of itself. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: There was no place on a shifting boat to plant a tripod, so the next best thing was to shoot with high ISO and set apertures nearly wide open. It's not ideal, but it's the difference between getting the shot, or not.)


(For those in suspense, our host sent another boat to divide the load, lifting our boat just high enough to return to shore. I told you life usually works out.)

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Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

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.)

#132 An Elusive Sunset

How many ways have you photographed sunset?


We were on Kapispisan Island in Tangalan, Aklan, the site of a major mangrove reforestation effort. We arrived just in time for low tide, very low tide. A footbridge that connected neighboring islands was now perched on dry land.  And around it, random puddles of water is interspersed among isolated stands of mangrove. I instinctively glanced westward and saw the sun had begun to set behind a row of mangroves. We're going to miss this one, I thought.


It helped that we decided not to leave for a better vantage point. The ultra-low tide meant our boat could be beached on the way to the other side. The only recourse was to find a way to see the colors of sunset in spite of the mangroves, and that's when we saw the puddles of water turn a deep orange as light streamed through the undergrowth. I had been chasing twilight for over five years now. This was a first. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: I could see the water turn orange, but without my trusty light-meter I could not determine the precise exposure to faithfully record the orange glow. In our film days, you'd bracket your exposures around what you thought was the right one, and one of them was bound to be correct. High-five!) 


Where in the world is Tangalan, Aklan?

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Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

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.)

#131 Bridge of Life

I see a bridge. Wait till you hear its story.

We spent the night in baranggay Panipiason in the town of Madalag, somewhere 3.5 hours away from Kalibo, Aklan. Getting there on a wild bike ride was part of the fun. The other part was photographing a place electricity hasn't touched. Life here is simple, around a steel bridge with a story. This bridge connects the villagers, and the abaca (rope fiber) they make, to market. Early in the last decade, the bridge was made of tree vines that didn't last six months at a time. After they got the money to build a cable bridge, they had to figure out how to get those steel cables all the way to their remote baranggay.

(...translated from tagalog...)

"...we loaded the five rolls of steel cables onto barges and floated them down the river. That got us to within 2 kilometers of this place. Then we un-coiled each roll and 20 men, spaced evenly apart, carried each 80 meter cable on foot until it got here. We didn't pay anyone, but we fed them. It was a community endeavor that benefited everyone..."  What a story. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: It was a Sunday morning and we expected bales and bales of Abaca to be hauled across the bridge, presenting a perfect photographic opportunity. Unfortunately it rain hard so the men, and their bales of dry abaca, stayed home. Two innocent bystanders gladly obliged when we asked them to demonstrate a typical Sunday morning scene. I know, I know, it was a set-up. But hey, at least we're honest.) 

Where in the world is Panipiason, Madalag, Aklan?

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Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

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.)

#130 The Old Man & the Sea

The sun was about to set into the sea when we found this Old Man still in pursuit of his catch, probably believing just like Santiago that his luck was about to change.

We were on the western coast of Aklan, on the shores of Buruanga, to shoot the sunset.  I had been struggling all day to find defining compositions, images strong and distinct enough to help tell the story of coastal Aklan. It's always a challenge to capture unique images when you're in a place for the very first time. Too many variables and time is always on your heels. But just like that Old Man, we believed our luck was about to change. Did it? You tell me. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: The setting sun provided the only color in the sky, but it was incomplete without a foreground subject. The Old Man was skimming the sea shallows, left to right and then back and forth. I selected the best part of the horizon and simply waited for him to drift into my composition. Click.) 

Where in the world is Buruanga, Aklan?

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Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

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.)