Through My Lens

I'm starting to love going to provinces by aircon bus. I must admit it was just recently that I discovered this as a better alternative to driving my own car. Although it takes a bit longer to reach one's destination, removing  the physical burden of driving and the possibility of sleeping through the trip is priceless. And so, it has become easier for me to submit to my spur of the moment whims of packing and leaving Manila for a day or two. The first week of November,  I decided it was to be Benguet just to unwind at the Bencab Museum. When asked why I wanted to check the museum, "He's a national artist, for Chrissakes! Let's get educated!" Further, for an art lover, Bencab's museum is the perfect place to savor Baguio's awesome cold climate amidst walls of  mountains and lush greenery. View of Benguet houses on the way to the Bencab Museum.  At the museum a painting of this view by Steve Santos hangs by the hallway. Facade of the muse...

Not a Filipino tradition to be carving jack o' lanterns but well yeah, some Pinoys have been doing it and decorating their lawns with them.  I happen to pass by a plant shop  looking for sunflower seeds and chanced at  these cute mini pumpkins. If you've been looking for them, just proceed to Waling (Flowers from Davao) at the Manila Seedling Bank along Quezon Ave.  Decorative mini pumpkins and gourds are sold at P180/kg while the huge ones perfect for carving are at P80/kg. Mini pumpkins also called Jack B. Little pumpkins for the orange variety and Baby Boo pumpkins for the white ones. Jack B. Little pumpkins Decorative Gourds A scarecrow will attend to your shopping for gourds! Soon to be Jack o' Lanterns

Taal Volcano at the background. While seemingly small, it used to be 18,000 feet high. It was a Sunday sunrise drive to Tagaytay, totally unplanned yet enough to fill my day with fun, good food and relaxing scenery. The weather was just perfect to take a few shots. Fog gave drama to the highlands while late morning sun afforded color to the foreground. Taal Volcano Taal Volcano - photo by my best friend and shooting buddy sunrise drive to Tagaytay Highlands B/W shot by my friend

October 18, 2013 full moon- "Hunter's Moon"  “Hunters tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: Silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale as a corpse, its cold light betraying the creatures of the wood.” - NASA ©alana palomique 2013

I'm no mall rat and going to SM MOA is not something I was raring to do until a photographers' forum was held there. Well, I didn't get to listen much to the talks. The sound system was horrible. It reminded me of being outside the church listening to Sunday homily delivered by a boring priest with a muffled raspy voice. So, I just purchased me a new tripod at the gear exhibit and went off.  It was 3 in the afternoon and I thought a couple more hours of waiting with my good friend won't hurt. We were already in a place where the sun in its majesty sets for a visual feast.

all images © alana palomique please do not use images without permission from the author