Day 119: Nightswimming

Day 119:

Swimming without the sunburns. :p Entirely different allure altogether. Different but beautiful nonetheless.

Day 118: Couple Getaway

Day 118:

Let's run away, just you and me. Maybe not so far away. Maybe just around the corner. Maybe a few hours drive away. Maybe a plane ride and a boat away. Just enough for us to forget about everything messy in our lives. Just enough for us to be us. However far or near that'd be. To be reminded of who we are. For me to tell you how much I missed you all this time.

Day 117: Streetlife

Day 117:

I took this also during the wednesday market.

As a photographic study... I like the feeling of depth. :D That's it. bow.

Day 116: Face of A People

Day 116:

Face of a People.

Trinkets. Tourist souvenirs. Reminders of places that foreigners go to. A form of self-orientalization by the natives. These things that people buy at inflated rates, are not so much reminders of places themselves, but places that may be created in the imagination by ourselves, or the people who visit. We are who we are. But we are also who we show ourselves to be. When we look at what we say to be "natively" filipino, or what is filipino, how much a part of that is really who we are, and how much of that is born out of a need to distinguish ourselves from the "others" who visit us?

Just a thought.

Day 115: Comfort Food

Day 115:

I took this at the Dumaguete Wednesday Market.

On this hot summer day... wouldn't a scoop of ice cream be great... specifically, that street-found "Dirty" ice cream? :p

Day 114: Independence

Day 114:

This is a picture of my brother. He loves the water. This is his independence. (somewhat. :P) This in a pool probably 8-10 feet deep. But he doesn't really care. He jumps into the water, and waddles around with an awkward dog-paddle from edge to edge. He also ventures off short distances when we would stop for snorkling. He apparently isn't afraid of the open sea.

Day 113: Lifeline

Day 113:

SCUBA diving... is one of the funnest, often misunderstood "extreme" sports. To be honest, (I speak as a PADI Certified Advanced Open Water Diver of 3+ Years) to be a diver... you don't need to know how to swim really well. You just have to be comfortable with the water. Enough not to panic as you go down above your head. Swimming is a plus for sure! But do you need to handle 1km of freestyle.... naaah. Do you have to be fit like an athlete? Naaah. Look at me. I'm fat. I'm not really fit. Is diving a life threatening sport? Well... if you aren't careful, and you don't follow the rules, it can be. As long as you do the necessary checks, you should be fine! Just get a physician's clearance for the ears, or any patent morbidities, to be sure. But for the most part, diving is a leisurely, slow-paced scenic tour of the reefs.

Bleh. Go diving. :P Dive Philippines!

Day 112: Floating Vendors

Day 112:

In Dumaguete, Philippines, there's this wonderful protected dive area, the Apo Island. It's a small island, surrounded entirely by beautiful reefs. There's no electricity in the island. Everything has to be shipped in via bangka to the island. Often, tourists, whether snorklers or scuba divers on their surface interval, would dock at the main beach. Sometimes they'd go down to eat at one of three resorts. More often, they'd eat their baon on the boats.

The people on the island noticed this set up wouldn't do for business. They're versatile and creative vendors! It wouldn't do to wait on the shore with a stall and some shirts! Most of the vendors here, who sold shirts, sarong, or other trinkets, would ride little boats (boatlets even) and come aboard the tourist boats, showing their wares.

More creatively there's even a form of credit here. If your a tourist who'd come back another day... you could get your shirt early (because rarely do people bring money when they're planning a day of swimming), and pay to the boat-boys, or the next time you'll come around!

Day 111: Touchdown

Day 111:

I took this photo, as we were waiting our turn for the runway. We were going to Dumaguete (Wonderful place!). Although air travel is still the safest way to travel (statistically), there is still this fear. For so long as you're airborne, 35,000 feet in the air, with nothing underneath you, there's a chance of... horrible things. And until you feel that reassuring jerk, that rumble and bass-filled noise that the plane has landed, you don't feel too... well... too grounded.

Day 110: Transit

Day 110:

People come and go. We meet them. We drift a part. Some people fade away into the nothingness of forgetting. Some people stay. Some we remember faithfully. Some people, we distort into a glorified memory of themselves. Some people, we make up. Some people, we wish didn't go.

Apologies!

Hello everyone!

I think at this point, it is obvious, that for a number of reasons... My posting in my project 365 had stopped... I apologize. I know I can do better. Rest assured that my project will go on! :D I may not have taken a photo a day, but I will show you 365 shots and thoughts by the end of this year... starting today therefore, I shall be posting at least 2, maybe 3 photos per day, until I reach the appropriate count (current count: Day 132; deficit of 23)! Thank you for your continued support! :)

Berbi

Day 109: Moonshadow

Day 109:

I like the moon. It provides light like the sun. Not too much to give you burns. Just enough to see on a good day. It's also not half as audacious as the sun. It rises and sets without much of a scene. I just comes and goes, shining its light so you don't stumble on an otherwise pitch-black night. It doesn't scream for attention. The moon is beautiful in its silence.

Day 108: Angry Fish

Day 108:

Just because i'm really excited to dive in Dumaguete... here's a funny pic we took yesterday. I can just imagine the pufferfish saying... I IS ANGRY FISH! Cheers!

Day 107: Submerged

Day 107:

Hahahaha! I took my camera down underwater for the first time! I tried out my Ikelite underwater casing at Anilao, Batangas. Heavy as hell, but it's sure worth the effort. Although, I'm still struggling with the all new learning curve. I'll get there!

Here's a photo of my brother. This is one of those "for fun" dive sites in Anilao. We were frolicking about waiting for our safety stop to end.

Day 106: Stillness

Day 106:

Now that summer break's on... with some things going slower than I'm used to... Well... things do feel a bit strange.

Day 105: Miniature II

Day 105:

Again, I attempt a fake tilt-shift photo. I think this one is better than the first one! :D enjoy!

Day 104: Vendor of Borrowed Dreams

Day 104:

Movies have a special place in our hearts, doesn't it? For a moment, we're taken away from this horrible world, into another world. Maybe that world would be sad too, like Blue Valentine. Maybe it'd be gory and bloody too, like Saw or 300. Maybe it'd be one where we fall in love and live happily ever after. Maybe it'd be one where we save the world. Maybe it'd be one where we're doomed. For whatever dream we'll find ourselves in as we press play, at least we have that simple reassurance that the world will, even just for a moment... change.

Day 103: Needs

Day 103:

I couldn't help but take this picture. Along one of the streets near divisoria, there's a homeless man. He lives in a push-kart kariton. He asks for change to occasional passers by... but I think he lives off selling junk. I can't really say. I don't want to judge. But I couldn't help but notice those white earphones that scream for attention, as they are snugged against his dark ears.

Day 102: Trailblazers

Day 102:

Took this photo, playing with long exposures along Ma. Orosa St., Malate, Manila.

We are remembered because of the things we leave behind.

Day 101: Naked

Day 101:

Who are we when stripped of the clothes that shield ourselves from the scrutiny of the world? When the pretenses and falsified impressions that form the mask we wear from day to day is hung at the door of our small comfort zones? When we let down our guards, without anxieties and insecurities regarding who we are? When we forget our achievements, titles, accomplishments? When our roles cease to define who our selves are? When we are who we are?

One of the scariest leap-of-faith is to reveal one's self to another, fully and truly, naked and real. There is always the chance of rejection, not the of a facade, or a part of you, but the rejection of one's self. There is the chance that the revelation will result in more pain than security or acceptance. But it is this revelation of self-to-self the drive that pushes our relationships forward, platonic or no. We want at least one person to know who we are, when we are naked. Then we can feel safe being who we are.

Day 100: Scarcity

Day 100:

I took this picture a few days ago during the birthday party of one of my friends. After a good meal, and cake blowing, they played a silly game. A small piece of cake is placed in the middle of a plate. Everyone holds a fork. At the signal, everyone grabs at the piece. The one who eats it wins. Silly silly game. it doesn't fill you up, it just makes everyone laugh.

There's a sense of situational irony for me here because this behavior of each-man-for-himself, is actually what happens in most of the world. Though, it provides a good subject for photography, my friends' greedy aggression is hardly the behavior they would exhibit to each other. But we see this everyday in different parts of the world. And worse, some people have larger forks than others.

Day 099: Connected

Day 099:

There are lines that bind and lines that tie. Lines that connect us to more resources and information. Lines that introduce us and bring us closer to other people. Power lines. Phone lines. Communication lines. Lines that empower us, enable us, and allow us to do more with our lives. But more important than the lines that we set up with poles and cables are the invisible, implicit lines that we create with the people we interact with, the friends we make, and the peers we work with. Love. Friendship. Respect. Camaraderie. Empathy. Concern.

Day 098: Waiting for...

Day 098:

There's not much of a story here... Waiting for a taxi at night... Maybe. Waiting for love to pass by. Maybe. Waiting for.. anything. Or just watching from the gate for time to pass by. Maybe. Nothing much. Waiting for the end to come? Maybe.

Just a study of play with light, composition, and long exposure.

Day 097: Passion

Day 097:

There are things. Actually, maybe most things. You can do well, if you have enough passion. Maybe you'll begin without that much competency. But passion will push you through. Passion will lead you to learn more and more. Passion will be your drive. Passion will make you succeed.

Day 096: Dreams of Tomorrow

Day 096:

Ladies and Gentlemen... I present you with the lights of tomorrow... or rather today. Located in the Faculty Medical Arts Building of the PGH, we have Operating Rooms that are lit by shadowless and heatless sources of light, designed specially for safer, faster, more effective medical interventions.

I also present to you a dream. My dream. Or at least one of my dreams. (Together with being a Divemaster or scuba instructor and a professional photographer!) Surgery. hahaha. Maybe in the future, it'll change. When I see what surgery means, or how surgeons are made. But now, at least I have a dream.

The next important step, is looking at people who have "achieved" their dream. Look at what models they've patterned their life after. Will it work for you? Look at how they live their lives or the decisions they've made. Can you do the same? Look at who they are. Would you like to be similar to them? Then you look at the dream again. Is it still your dream?

Day 095: Dark and Scary Corners

Day 095:

I took this photo on one of my night strolls around Manila. This is a sidewalk along Pedro Gil, a major road beside my university. On a normal day, this path would be bustling with people going to and from work, students rushing to their classes, doctors and healthcare workers hurrying to save lives, and vendors pushing and shoving to make a living. That is, of course during the daytime...

At night, normal paths like this become more than a little ominous. I think I was brave carrying my tripod and Canon7d around the streets of Manila at this time. Although, admittedly, this sidewalk is relatively safe and close to civilization... the streets of Manila are not exactly your best site for an leisurely evening stroll. But, as a photographer, there is beauty to be seen here. I love the way this photo came out. Slow shutter speed and a tripod. Very useful.

Likewise, there are paths in our lives that are ominous presences. We cannot help but be afraid, as we enter them. Exams, entrance tests, rites of passage, neighborhood changes... all of these are moments of uncertainty. We look at them. cringe a little. gather our guts. lunge forward. hope that it will be worth it. And like this photo... It often is.

Day 094: Time-Bound

Day 093:

Time changes our orientation about everything. A seemingly mediocre task, when placed within the confines of a time limit becomes rattling and challenging. As the time of judgement comes closer and closer, things just become seemingly more and more impossible. We can panic and lose our heads... or we can do what we have to do. As doctors, I think we must be ready to do the latter, under any form of pressure, from everyone, from time, or from ourselves.

Day 093: From the Eyes of a Child

Day 093:

Today, my 2 year-old brother is a guest photographer in my blog. He's pretty funny. Before he learns how to write or read, he already knows how to operate a digital camera. He loves playing with my mother's dual screen samsung. Thank God he doesn't take vanity pics... well, at least not yet. But he often walks around our house, with an awkward hold on my mother's red-and-black camera. He'll call our attention, point and shoot.

Most of his shots would classify as low-angle shots. Understandable. But if you go through the things he takes a picture of (most of which are blurred, or covered with his own finger), you'll get a glimpse of what a child sees in the world. Wouldn't that be something? :)

Day 092: Slippery Business

Day 092:

Balancing different responsibilities is a troublesome act... the danger of failing one, the other or both is always high.

I took this photo... I just found it funny. The placement of the sign just lent itself to a humorous interpretation... maybe one too literal. Hehehehe.

Day 091: Sometimes the day...

Day 091:

... it just sucks.

Sometimes, the day just doesn't go right. Anxiety hits in. Arguments ensue. Nervous about an upcoming exam. Waiting for past exams results. Unstable realities. Harsh difficulties. Hopeful for the future. Worried about the present. Take a moment. Rub your aching head. Think about what you've done wrong. What you've done right. Reflect. Change what you can. Accept what you can't. Take action. Expect the worst. Hope for the best. Do your best. Don't rest when you're tired. Rest when you're done.

[Note: Thank you Nino Venida, for taking this photo. As obviously, I was the model. I haven't done BW post processing in a while. I missed it. So here's a rough go.]

Day 090: Miniature I

Day 090:

Break from the mindfarts and reflections. :) An exercise in post-processing photographs.

A few days ago, I got curious. I browsed through a Canon shopping primer. In the lenses section, after the Zooms and Superzoom lenses, there was a special section for lenses they called "Tilt-shift" lenses. These were specialized prime lenses (17mm, 24mm, etc.) that had special knobs you used to shift the plane and path of focus, or tilt it. This is used for certain effects. I did a quick search on wikipedia and youtube. I was amazed. Look at this tilt-shift video. or maybe this explanation as to how it works. I was filled with geeky glee... until I saw the six-digit peso price on each one. No way man. A lens like that... I'll probably only use once or twice.

So I opted for an alternative. Graphic alterations via photoshop. With enough youtubing... you'll learn everything. I spent today, between the errands I had to do, looking for an appropriate "miniaturized" photo. I tried, in this photograph, to mimic how it would feel to shoot dioramas or models. Of course, it isn't perfect, but... hey this is the first try.

Day 089: Under Construction

Day 089:

[edited to reduce noise]

I couldn't sleep. I had a lot on my mind. Not so happy thoughts. As semi-catharsis. I did the brave thing. I took my camera, a tripod, and a warm hoodie. I stepped outside the house for a short stroll. I went to the college and back. I snapped a few night shots, of the streets. Total time... 10 minutes, tops. I was afraid someone would notice me and take interest in the stuff I was lugging around. So I took what shots I could, then I scurried on home. This shot was one of my shots tonight. [Note: Tripods are a blessing from God.]


Under construction.

There's a field in pediatrics, named developmental pediatrics. Come to think of it, there is a subspecialty of psychology also called developmental psychology. They're very similar, often dealing with pre-adult individuals, marking milestones and growth, whether physical, social, cognitive or emotional. But this field, especially with the nomer of the MD specialty may be misleading. It gives the impression that childhood or pediatric patients are in the "Developing" stage while adults would fall under the "developed" stage. But come to think of it, we make most of the mistakes that actually matter (and therefore become anecdotal life lessons for us), as we get older. The older we are, the more we are "developing" into who we ought to be.

Erikson made so much sense.

Day 088: Texture

Day 088:

Before I went into medschool, during the time when most of my world revolved around Quezon City, Pasig and Makati, my dad said, "Alam mo, kaiba ang Manila... May iba siyang texture na sa Manila mo lang makikita." (You know, Manila is different. There is a different texture that you will only see in Manila.)

He was right. I went to divisoria today. I had the balls to bring my precious camera with me, wrapped in a towel, hidden in my old, falling-apart bag. After a short shopping spree, I took out the camera. Snapped the first scene in front of me. BAM. This was it.

This photo is genre. It is the normal everyday look of Manila, Divisoria. I took the camera out. Snap. there is no more normal-er than this. But, even here, there is a distinct feel to it. Urban. Dirty. Gritty. Rough. Tight. It's as if the texture is something that jumps out to you, and captivates you. It rubs itself across your face, such that you can't ignore its presence.

I find the feel of Manila, tremendously draining to be in. Walking along the streets is a constant sensory overload. everyone is moving. every car and bus is honking. you must be vigilant against thieves. you must move quickly. But the feel is also immensely rich, in its own sense. After less than 5 minutes of taking my camera out, I realized that I will not run out of subjects. There will always be some story to tell, or some image to be seen. Kaiba talaga.

I should arrange a photowalk sometime.

Day 087: Celebration

Day 087:

Today, March 28. Today is my parent's 24 wedding anniversary. Congratulations to them! 24 years of a continuously amazing relationship, that has flourished into a great family, with developmentally-advanced children. Hahaha!

I went home today, unlike my routine of weeks-in-manila would be. Of course, to celebrate this momentous occasion with my parents and family. my sister surprised them with a cake (or rather cakes) she baked herself (with the younger ones). I couldn't let that one pass by.

Chocolate fudge. So good. So sinful. Why do good things have to be so detrimental to our health? :( Chocolate. bumming. food in general. ice cream. SIGH.

Day 086: Words

Day 086:

A scene at the dinner table. My youngest brother (2 y/o) is conversing with my other brother (17 y/o). Well. sort of.

My brother is at a wonderful age. For himself. For everyone. It's a time of discovery. You'll hear him fumble at words. He says my name in syllables "Kuu-yah". He says a few often used words flawlessly, "'yaw ko." (I don't want to). He's learning words left and right. This is a plate. This is your nose. This is my ear. This is a pencil. This is a car. As a bystander to this amazing stage of growth, I celebrate with my family every whole semi-sentence my brother says. "Open dor.

Each word he says is happy. honest. true. a moment of celebration. a moment of grace. Words.

Somewhere along the way, we lose it. Thinking about conversations I've had as an adult. I think words are horrible things. We use it to lie, to decieve, to hurt. to get what we want. Devoid of trust for the utterances, I hear some words, and I cringe. We are no longer in a stage of discovery and wonder. We are in a stage of disillusionment. Lost is the cheering. Lost is the happiness.


Childhood beats adulthood by far.

Day 085: Darkness

Day 085:

Today is the day of Earth Hour. 60+. From 830-930... probably onwards, people are implored to turn off all electronics, all electrical appliances, all lights. At least, let's become aware of our dwindling and crumbling natural resources.

Of course, children don't really like the dark, do they?

Day 084: Sprint

Day 084:

Disclaimer: Do not try to take a shot like this if you are driving. That would be silly. Drive safely always. Please please. Stay safe.

If you've run or sprinted 400m or more... provided you took the sprint seriously... there comes a point where, you're floating. Somewhere after the 200m mark, before your legs collapse under you, you see the finish line ahead. You're out of breath but your hyperventillating. You can't feel your legs, but you're moving as fast as you can. Your body can no longer keep up with your indomitable spirit that continues to push forward.  Your peripheral vision blurs. That seems okay. At that point, it seems like it doesn't matter anyway. Nothing else does. Keep your eyes on the prize. The finish line is near. You're running on sheer will power. Sprint.

Day 083: Backgrounds

Day 083:

Today, we had our year-ender class party. One wild night. Among the more-than-a-few photos i took that night, this is one of my favorites. I'm particularly happy how I was (more out of luck) able to capture the right background light (these were flickering like they wanted someone to seize), with the right position of the performer. I actually have a couple more shots, some yellow, red, white or green. But I like this one best. Wonderful. Very happy.

A bassist.

I don't play the bass. But I love looking for the bass line whenever I listen to a song, whether it be orchestral-classical, rock, R&B or other genre. There's a special nerdy-giddy feeling when I actually find it. They're my favorite part of a band. I think they work with the most subtlety and finesse. They provide texture to music without drawing too much attention to themselves. They stay in the back, nodding their head to a slow beat they keep, shifting bass notes or chords as the melody steals the show. They rock.

Day 082: The Game

Day 082:

I am happy with this shot. No explanation needed.

Day 081: Intensity

Day 081:

Reasearch work never ends! It's our research presentation tomorrow. We are tense.

Day 080: Cramming Level Up

Day 080:

I haven't done a cramming stint like this, since my thesis draft submission. Bring a printer to school. Lots of paper. Laptop. If the pass deadline is at 3:00, you can work until 2:45 if your paper is less than 75 pages. hahaha. Push to the limit!

Day 079: Spinning

Day 079:

Sometimes I feel the world's moving too fast. Or maybe I'm scurrying the world to quickly... That even when I take a moment to breathe. to stop. to rest. the world still spins around me.

Dizzy.

Day 078: Bloods

Day 078:

Bloodletting technology is amazing. Blood is collected, processed into various products, and distributed to patients. Blood is used in operations, transfusions, and other highfaluting-jargon-technical-terms. Lives are changed. Lives are saved.

Look at bloodletting as a poetic element.

You lose a part of yourself.
Someone becomes of your blood.
You share a bond.
It lasts forever (or at least until the blood cells are destroyed).
A life is saved.
You become more than you are.

Isn't it a beautiful process?

Blood brothers. Blood sisters. Blood siblings by choice.


Love it. Live it.

Day 077: Unlimited

Day 077:

Unlimited rice. This is a common marketing sell for restaurants around manila. Mang Inasal. Chic-Boy. Tokyo-Tokyo. They all promote rice-all-you-can.

Imagine.

Rice all you can at a 24-hour restaurant! That's chic-boy (along UN Avenue). You could theoretically live your life there. Start at 7:00am. order CB5 (Cebu Lechon Chicken). Ask for rice. Bring books to read and things to study. At around 10:00am. ask for more rice. Put chicken oil (that's free), and garlic (that's also free). Eat. Repeat forever.

If you think about it, the promise of unlimited rice is the promise of unlimited energy. (Rice = carbs) In so long as you're a customer of chic-boy, tokyo-tokyo or mang inasal, you shall not experience hypoglycemia (provided you're normal) even if you stay there forever!


Now reality.

I ate there with my batchmates. We started very late, but stayed there for more than 2 hours, talking, laughing, planning silly stuff, getting emotional... and othernots. I got three servings of rice that night. Others had more. We walked out of that restaurant, around 1am, feeling happy, energized and ready to face the next day. We had a lot to do, lots on our mind. But we were driven to do all we could, the best we could.

Unlimited energy. Not so much the rice, but the people you share your rice with. Friends. Batchmates. Classmates. Peers.



[personal note: Hmm... I'm getting cheezy.]

Day 076: Balance

Day 076:

Balance is an agonizing thing to accomplish. Whether in a photo, in neurological examinations, in academics, or in normal everyday life.

Take this photo, I took this standing in the approximate midline between two towers. This was my 8th photo in a series of 13 or 14 shots. I kept on reviewing the photos, and every time, I noticed some inconsistency. Even this one isn't perfectly symmetrical, but it's the closest I've got.

Student life, isn't particularly different. Unlike a photo, you usually only get one shot at it. You also don't have a review button. Neither can you delete things you've done. But, the same rules of balance apply. Never too much of anything. Always know what you want in the end (what "life-photo" you want to take). Try and try. Begin with the end in mind.

They say you can only hold so many things on your tray. The amazing people don't have big trays. They just know that the most important items should be placed first.

Day 075: Contrast

Day 075:

This photo works because the plant in the foreground gives up its details and its colors in order to accommodate the bright colors of the setting sun. It becomes a bare outline, jutting out against the characteristic sunset. That way, both the plant, and the setting sun become part of an aesthetic whole. Should we take a picture of the plant, or a picture of the sunset alone, we would find the photograph lacking or incomplete.

Likewise, there are aspects of... life... I guess, that work best through juxtaposition and contrast. Pleasure-pain. Hot-cold. Lethargy-inspiration. Anger-happiness. You know what you should become by seeing what you don't want to be. You realize how high you can fly, by seeing how low you are at the moment. You realize what you want, by someone almost taking it away from you.


Contrast.

Day 074: One... Two... Three... Smiling!

Day 074:

This is my class. 2015. My contemporaries and peers as I move up the medical ladder. For the first time in the year, we were able to mobilize everyone for a fairly decent class shoot. We have other more wacky shots. :P This is the only one I'm actually in the shot (being caught running to get into the frame doesn't count). Cheers! Go UPCM!

I wonder if we take a serial shot of ourselves. Once every year... will we see any difference at all? :p oh well, to be seen.



I had to borrow a 17-85mm lens to get this. (I wish we had a 10-22mm, but alas. no.)

Day 073: Impressions

Day 073:

As not to spoil the post. Impressions. Enough said.

Day 072: Heroes

Day 072:

My little brother is in the phase of his life that he's all about superheroes. Among the few words he can say, he says "Batman" flawlessly (when he can't even pronounce some of my other siblings' names properly! hahaha!). In the Sunday I was home, there wasn't a moment I did not see him holding either a superman action figure, a batman action figure, a spiderman action figure, or any two of the three. He's in that wonderful stage of childhood, when we still have heroes.

Heroes.

A little bit of philosophy from undergrad. In Plato's construction of ethics, what is good and imperative is known only through the revelation of IDEAs, those perfect constructions that exist beyond this world of "light and shadows." We only have guidance about what is really good, what is really real through insights about this world that tell us about the perfect IDEA.

One way of identifying these IDEAS are through IDEALs... which are embodied by Heroes. Heroes are often embodiements of IDEALs in an untainted, straightforward, pure manner. Superman, Batman, Spiderman. That's why we need heroes... they guide us in finding ourselves. They point to what is "right". Questions like "What would Jesus do?" help. Children know this. That's why they play with action figures with all the joy in the world. At least, somehow, they find a way to play out their ideals.

We need our heroes.


[personal note: I feel fortunate to have met more than a few this weekend.]

Day 071: Remember, remember...

Day 071:

I wasn't able to take any picture today because... well... I ran out of time. I spend the day scurrying between a medical mission, and studying. This is therefore, an old photo, one I took... when I visited the Katipunan area last week. This is a part of the newly(ish) renovated Kenny Rogers/SBC! The place is so study-friendly.

I kinda miss undergrad life. If only because (although it didn't seem so then) I had so much damn time... to do anything I really wanted. Be with friends, get things done, study, sleep. Everything was manageable and bearably placed. Sayang. I hope I maximized that part of my life somehow. Because based on stories I hear, medical education doesn't give a student much breathing room (for the most part). :P

We move forward. Go west! hahaha.

Day 070: Night Lights

Day 070:

This is me being experimental. I try. Hahahaha. While covering an event along Roxas Blvd. (With a pending "threat" of a tsunami within the hour.) I got my 24-105mm lens, put it to the longest focal length, F/4, and blurred everything out.

I like the circles and the colors... but it just seems dirty overall. I need tips.