The Dubai Chronicles: Rebirth

about dxb chronicles

The saga of Jeff living in the City of Gold. Presently living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, unravel his journey throughout the city with memoirs and everyday life stories.

f o r s a k e n - x

shutter speed: 1/250 sec, aperture: f/2.8, iso: 200, focal length: 50mm, wb: cloudy, af-s nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af, timed remote, wireless flash, tripod mounted

unspoken.

"as long as a word remains unsaid, you are its master; once you utter it, you are its slave."

this will be the final pic post for 2006. the old and rusty galvanized roofing was used as background positioned on available lighting. next, i prefocused the subject (me) and switched the focus to manual. i asked my cousin to hold the external wireless flash and bounce it against the subject to have catchlights. the hardest part of the process was to fix my hair and hiding my face partially. i added a belt to have a "slave" effect.

post processing done was cropping the image to head shot, adjusted the white balance from raw, selective saturation, and added vignette for mood.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:29 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, December 30, 2006

faces of mountain province

now the faces of mountain province and ifugao.

scarred tribesman

nelly goes nga-nga (betel chew)

a young and cute passerby

lonely, i'm mr. lonely...

mayun, a local and beautiful girl

the three-day trip was too short but it's a worthwhile visit. next, the zambales trek with the desrt foxes.

discoursed by jeff @ 10:18 PM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

faces of sagada

the trip would not be complete if we didn't capture the faces of sagada. during our stay, we did some street photography and my favorite field, portraiture. here are some...

mother and child in the market

the farmer's wife

kid playing inside the jeep

the baker

lola in her nineties

next, the sniper shots of bontoc and banaue. :)

discoursed by jeff @ 7:06 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, December 29, 2006

road to sagada: lumiang coffins

on our way to the yogurt house for lunch, we encountered another group with foreign tourists and was asked by the guide on where we heading. we told them that we're going back to town for lunch.

"did you see the coffins already?" he inquired.

"the hanging ones? yeah we did. we just went down to sumaging (cave)."

"no, i mean the coffins in the cave..."

"cave?" we're puzzled already.

he told us that there's another cave with coffins in the entranceway. it's called lumiang cave and graveyard site and told us to tag along with them (another freebie ride) since the tourist spot was closed to public. the guides only have the key in order to enter since a lot of vandals are destroying the sanctity of the place.

on the entrance of lumiang cave... a few minutes walk from sumaging cave

the trail to lumiang cave is somewhat concealed and cannot be seen if you're not observing the side of the road. the guide leaded us to a descending, rocky and steep pathway. five minutes from the road, we reached the cave entrance.

manong, the guide

the coffins are stacked and piled together at the entrance of a deep and cold cave. some say that these coffins were centuries old. he told us that the descent to the cave is dangerous and only serious spelunkers can go in. the place was cleaned and there's a sign telling that visitors should not touch anything from the place. we did our objective by taking some shots and we were requested to leave the premises since the guide is going to sumaging cave.

the "leader" coffin, separated from the others

the coffins in a wide-angle view. sign says "notice. please do not get anything inside. don't open the coffins."

going back to the paved foot path was hard... you have to climb back the steep and rocky trail. we were perspiring hard and exhausted. it took us more than fifteen minutes just to get out of the trail due to rest and slow pace. moments later, we're back in the road.

on the way we met few locals and tourists, some obliged to be photographed. on a curve we saw this shop and started snooping the goods. we ended up shopping for pasalubongs (gifts). since i have no more time for christmas shopping, i bought stuffs for my loved ones as gifts.

a little souvenir shopping

after our wallets and pockets almost emptied from shopping, we headed back to our favorite dining place, the yogurt house. the place is a little bit small but the ambience is nice. food is expensive but it's good plus the serving is big. i'd say you visit this place to eat. :)

lunch at yogurt house

finishing lunch, we headed back to our room and recharged ourselves for another trek...

discoursed by jeff @ 5:34 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

road to sagada: cave dwellers

after the exhausting trek at the echo valley, the place looked like ghost town when the night came. almost all the people are inside around 7pm. we slept at nine and woke up at six for another mission...

...and we're going down to see the caves. before heading home, we asked the info center on how to go to sumaguing caves. they told us that we needed guides to enter the deep and wet subterranean paradise. feeling cheapskates once again, we venture forth on our own.

another long and winding trek

from town proper, the walk would take you 30-45min trek (depending the pace and stopovers). along the way we took snapshots of the peaceful and lush place. moments later, we saw tourists (with a guide!) walking the same direction as we were. we asked them that if we could tag along until we find the place.

ummmm, the tree?

sunflowers are everywhere

hillside view.

minutes later, we were in the mouth of the cave. separating from the main tour, we stopped and took our mission, to shoot. :)

entrance attraction

an accidental light painting. some trekkers passed by my long exposure shot.

we finished our ordeal before lunch. if we were to rent a guide (php400 for 4 pax), we were able to enjoy the inner beauty of the cave more. not really being a tourist, we just trying to test and practice our skills in these conditions. after everybody's done, we ascended and decided to have lunch at the yogurt house (our fave place to eat).

the ascension

next, a surprise adventure...

discoursed by jeff @ 9:25 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, December 28, 2006

manila update 4

just got back from the zambales trek. we went island hopping, climbed and discovered the caves and pigged ourselves out from a place of a hospitable friend (and photographer). the trip was short but worth it.

i'll post the trek on january 2007. i'll finish the blogging of sagada before this year ends. also, i'll post the year-ender report and prospects.

stay tuned.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:27 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

f o r s a k e n - i x

shutter speed: 1/5 sec, aperture: f/2.2, iso: 200, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af, timed remote, wireless flash, tripod mounted

"the weak are the most treacherous of us all. they come to the strong and drain them. they are bottomless. they are insatiable. they are always parched and always bitter. they are everyone's concern and like vampires they suck our life's blood." -- bette davis

the vampire.

another self portrait. this is the most trickiest experiments i've done in my life. first, i mounted the camera on a tripod, preset the focus, positioned myself on a textured wall and set the timed remote setting. next was popping up the flash of the camera, set my external flash (sb800) and set to remote on my right. available light can be seen on my left. next was putting two desk electric fans and installed below my face to uplift the hair for random movements. once i got a clear shot, i fired away.

pp treatment:
- tweaked the teeth as fangs using clone stamp and smudge, healing brush tools
- added texture layer for background effect
- adjusted levels and reduced saturation
- sharpened
- crf and sig

discoursed by jeff @ 1:44 PM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

road to sagada: finding hanging coffins

killing time while waiting for a tire change

few kilometers to sagada town proper, we had a flat tire and waited for few hours to be changed. while they're busy replacing the tire, we went out and took some shots... most of them are snipey ones and macro. as soon as it was fixed, finally we're in sagada.

hello ride

we arrived at early afternoon to sagada and stayed at home stay inn (near st. joseph's inn) wherein we could bunk ourselves during the night for rest. the cost of each person is php200/night and if you want hot water services in your shower, you have to add php50. the place was clean and comfy and ate karen (the owner) was accomodating. it has a television set and an internet (yes almost in every cafe and inns have internet) in the common area. one of the good thing here also was the view of the town extending from the church till the silhouetted treeline of the mountains.

feeling excited already, we went out with our gears and look for a place to eat (lunch). we found a restaurant called masferre. we didn't know that the owner of the place was the relative of the well-renowned photographer of the cordilleras. the place was good but we were surprised of the prices of food there... we had no choice to look for another because we're exhausted and hungry.

an old cemetery. this place gives me the creeps after kurt captured something in his camera...

after eating, we strolled around town, registered ourselves in tourist information center in the town hall and asked directions on how to go to echo valley where the hanging coffins are. feeling a cheapskate, we didn't hire a guide and took our own adventure. they told us that we go to the direction of the church (forgot the name) and pass thru it and turn left to see an old cemetery. after the cemetery, just follow the foot trail and will end up to echo valley. we got lost few times but we managed to see the valley.

echo valley... it really echoed your inner feeling.

peeking to the cliffs, we saw several coffins and decided to get a closer look. the trail going there was very steep, dangerous and slippery. i advise that you wear your hiking or cross trainer footwear else you'll end up like me with blisters in my feet (i wore sandals only). after few minutes of dangerous trek, we finally got there.

the hanging coffins

after taking snaps, we felt like we need to look nearby places for other impromptu photos but we bumped into another place of interest. we found human bones and wrecked coffins.

sidedish... human bones

the trek was a calorie burning type. if you're not into it... you'll end up gasping for air like someone's choking you... but it's well worth it. :)

next stop, the caves... after i get back from two-day zambales trek..hehe. later!

discoursed by jeff @ 7:37 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, December 25, 2006

merry christmas everyone

same smile?

at least, it's been good christmas day. i've spent time with the kids for the whole day. i also got a loving gift from (ex)wife and also spent a little time with her. i know it's odd but somehow i felt happy about it.

ah, i wish it's christmas everyday. happy holidays.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:58 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, December 24, 2006

f o r s a k e n - v i i i

shutter speed: 15 secs, aperture: f/32, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, wb: cloudy, sigma 10-20mm dc ex, timed remote mounted on a tripod

the judgement

"which way shall i fly
infinite wrath and infinite despair?
which way i fly is hell; myself am hell;
and in the lowest deep a lower deep,
still threatening to devour me, opens wide,
to which the hell I suffer seems a heaven."

john milton, paradise lost. book iv. line 73.

photo taken at the mouth of sumaging cave, sagada, mountain province. i mounted the camera on a tripod with external flash and used the focusing of the flash since the place was dark. once i got satisfied with the focus, i turned off the external flash, switched the camera on manual focus, set to timed remote setting.

before firing, i positioned and laid motionless for a couple of seconds since it was set on a long exposure.

later on, i converted the image to sepia, cropped, and sig.

my yuletide presentation. merry christmas everyone.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:48 PM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, December 23, 2006

road to sagada: banaue stopover

at last, i was able to go to sagada. me, cris, a fellow vacationer from ksa (been with him also in the past sessions) and kurt, a pediatrician, who took the opportunity to have a vacation, met at the auto bus station near ust in the evening of 18th and waited to board going to banaue. the bus has only one trip going there and will take us an eight-hour drive with two stopovers along the way.

leaving at 10pm, there was nothing to do but to sleep. i borrowed kurt's jacket beforehand since my jacket was snatched somewhere in lawton before going to the bus station. after the long drive, we finally arrived in banaue with heavy fog and slight rain.

with no time to lose, we boarded a bus going to sagada. since we're only three going there, the trip was cancelled and opted to hire a van going there. with a price of php2500 for one-way trip (originally php3300), we gave it a go since we need some few stopovers along the way. we're photographers and we need to stop for the view... :)

ifugao kid peeping thru the door

before going for a three-hour drive (it became four due to stopovers), we went to town proper and had breakfast. the usual price of breakfast in banaue is much more expensive (php70-80) with rice, egg and meat food plus coffee. if you're in a tight budget, i suggest you bring a lot of coffee sachets, bread, and water just to fill your empty stomach.

after a few snaps and refilled our empty tanks, we boarded the van and travelled. before the trip proper, we stopped three times to get a good view of banaue rice terraces thru viewpoints. each point have different suitable spots to take snapshots. unlike before, banaue now is somewhat less pleasing since there are signs of development such as houses and the like. we did took some photos of the locals in the area as well.

igorot chant their way

the rough ride

after we're done with our business, we took the bumpy and dangerous drive to bontoc. the road was 70% rugged and steep on the sides but the view was superb in any angle. we saw a lot of crystal clear streams, small and silky waterfalls, foggy mountainside, green and lush terraces for rice and vegetables, among others.

along the way came some waterfalls

and some rice terraces

few hours later, we reached bontoc, the capital of mountain province and just passed going to sagada. to be continued...

discoursed by jeff @ 5:20 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, December 22, 2006

f o r s a k e n - v i i

shutter speed: 1/200 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 400, focal length: 85mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 70-300mm g, timed remote

the fallen.

"you fought many battles but in the end you lose the war... no one wins. i mourn your loss."

before i start blogging our trip to sagada, i introduce to you "the fallen" and the 7th addition and first in the philippine setting. this shot was taken at the manila american war memorial located in fort bonifacio. since i didn't brought my tripod with me, i positioned the camera on my bag and served as a beanbag, set to timed remote to 10sec and composed myself.

next was converting the image to bw, adjusted levels and curves, added vignette for mood, crf, titled.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:28 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, December 18, 2006

war memorial trek

another impromptu (always ready for the instant gimmick) with the other photographer friends and we decided to visit the american war memorial at fort bonifacio, makati. since the regulations in the city requires permit, we headed to the office and asked permission to the american administrator. telling the true purpose, he agreed and gave us a green signal to take shots with restriction of not to take closeup shot of the names as privacy.

and so off we go...

hall of the fallen

in memory of...

united we stand and fall...

the (un)traditional group hug

i better start packing and time to head off to the mountains... we will be going to sagada on 18th - 21st. see you!

discoursed by jeff @ 5:10 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, December 17, 2006

manila update 3

the date
last thursday, i contacted her (there should be a name to this somehow...) and invited for a dinner date and drinking. this is the first time we go out on a date to drink. we talked about the problems we're having and went for a straight talk. i did find some answers to my questions...

...and i felt sad and hurt about it. i have to admit, we have to separate ways and the least i could to do if not being a friend, i'll be civil.

there's more to ask but it has to stop from there. i really love her and i guess it's time to let her go. i never forced anyone to love me.

desert foxes invade intramuros
few hours after, the desert foxes (cris, orly and i) met and went for another photo trek. making most out of the vacation, we decided to visit the walled city of intramuros.

i'll post the adventures soon.

wedding shoot with nelwin

irish in her precious moments

few months before, i asked nelwin uy, a renown wedding photographer, to be his assistant to his wedding. he gladly gave me an opportunity to experience the life of a wedding photographer and i must say it's a real tough, tense and fun job. starting from preparations till the final pictorial i listened, observed and test my skills to this field.

thank you, nelwin, for the wonderful experience (and portfolio..hehe) and hope to jam with you again.

i got few hours left before i leave and meet the shutterbugs and head for libingan ng mga bayani (heroes' cemetery) at fort bonifacio.

later.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:11 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, December 15, 2006

taal trek: finale

as promised, the students in the area were sniped by yours truly. the locals here were shy when i asked to photograph them. instead, i did some long range shooting.

we didn't notice that the sun is already setting. we rushed back to the car and sped off towards the predetermined spot for sunset. unfortunately, we got lost along the way and our window for the precious minutes were wasted. we got to the rendezvous point at twilight.

twilight

light streak

although we didn't achieve the main objective, the trek was fun and memorable.

discoursed by jeff @ 6:09 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, December 14, 2006

taal trek: church stopover

after crossing lemery, batangas, we finally arrived in the vicinity of taal wherein a basilica of san martin de tours was located. used to be the largest in southeast asia, the church has gone a lot of restoration but the old details was still there. the altar said to be the most unique.

taal church in a different perspective

interior shots

sniper shots next. :)

discoursed by jeff @ 5:00 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

taal trek: the search for sunset

orly, a balikbayan from ksa, went back to manila coming from his hometown in zambales inviting me to go to tagaytay for a sunset shoot. since after calling two times about the downtime of our wifi access with no success and having no plans, i instantly agreed. later on, i asked him to invite cris, who's also enjoying his vacation here to tag along.

before heading out there, we went for lunch and orly knows a place to dine along the way. this was a resto called "rsm" in pala-pala, cavite (near sm dasmarinas). we ordered that we usually eat in the mideast... pork. :)

lunch

after lunch, the rain passed by and we were nervous. we thought it would affect the whole afternoon but fortunately it didn't. since we have much time before the sun sets, we decided to visit the towns below tagaytay such as lemery and taal. on the way, we stopped for a while to get some shots.

taal volcano using telephoto lens (300mm)

taal lake and volcano using uwa (ultra-wide angle)

local kids snooping around while we're taking some snaps

and some young ladies as well...

snipers at bay

after we're done, we travelled forth to lemery. to be continued...

discoursed by jeff @ 10:45 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

tanay trek: waterfalls

after having lunch hoping the rain would stop (which it did not), we headed to our main objective, daranak falls. upon arriving the place, you have to pay for parking of php20 for cars and php20 to enter the park/resort. the rain grew heavy and we had to wait inside the shelter. while waiting, we geared our equipment for the shoot. some made improvisions to protect their gear.

guerilla sniper

after dressing up and a little close up portrait shots, we had no time but to push through even if the rain was still strong. there are two falls, daranak and batlag. in daranak, the place is great but there's no shelter near the area. and so, we opted to target batlag falls instead. after deciding, we went on with the trek.

on to the falls

the footpath of the place was paved which is easy to climb to the falls area. upon entering, we saw a checkpoint and told us to pay the toll of php20/head. there's nothing to argue since we're already wet and excited to shoot. after passing the checkpoint we headed to the shelter and made the final inspection before starting.

the pond

getting excited, i dressed my camera with plastic to protect from drops and splashes. i also put out the tripod but it gave me hindrance in shooting since the terrain was slippery and uneven. it's either i had to hold still and hopefully avoid shake or hug the trees. i chose the latter for this precious moment but it's going to be dirty.

the flow

everyone's was doing their thing already. some improvised by using plastic tables as bunker to protect from rain. others have chaperones to hold the umbrella for them. i decided to be bold, chose to be wet and hopefully the manufacturer of my camera hold to its testimony that its weatherproofing. taking the shot was very hard because you have to wipe the droplets off from the lens. worse, you have to check your footing else you don't want to get yourself hurt or break your camera. overall, it was a challenging trek and i enjoyed it very well.

batlag falls

full view of the falls.

as soon as they're satisfied with the place. we went off and held a debriefing at max for chit-chats and goodbyes.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:12 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, December 11, 2006

tanay trek: parola

rain or shine, the new found photographer friends decided to give it a go and head out to tanay for a photo spree. the original plan was to stay in daranak falls but since the weather is not cooperating, we did a little stopover in a barangay called parola. the place has a pier on a lake where we stopped and took the opportunity for photos.

here are some...

my salvation

this guy was rowing towards the lake and caught him switching his oar to the other hand by tossing it. i used a zoom lens (70-300mm) covered in a plastic bag to protect from rain.

upside down heaven

moments later, the kids in the area came and went for a dip. although most of them are shy, this kid is all-out. i asked him to run from afar and jump towards the water. luckily, i captured his face in a happy mood. wide angle lens was used (10-20mm).

through the storm

this is my personal favorite. ann, one of the photographers was enjoying her shots when i saw her. i asked her to stay where she was and it was blessed with a gloomy weather. using the same wide angle lens (10-20mm), i metered the semi-bright sky and later on multiexposed the lower part of the image using photoshop.

the jump

before the upside down heaven shot, these guys are having a great time to swim. i'd just captured the moment when jumping to the water. i treated the image with sepia and added some vignette for more drama.

swat team

"freeze! we'll shoot!"

this pic is a documentary shot wherein the boys are having the opportunity for portrait photography of the girl who is passing by. after agreeing to be photographed, the guys buzzed in like paparazzi and start taking snapshots.

after we're done in the place. we had lunch (and good one too!) together and headed to daranak falls.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:09 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, December 09, 2006

manila update 2

after i got sick and out of action for a day from the quiapo's trek, the schedule went back and rolling.

preggy shoot
as planned, hanz and faith's post-nup/pre-natal portrait was pushed through in the evening of thursday. the location was somewhat tricky plus with inadequate lighting, i did manage to salvage it through post-processing. furthermore, my standard lens was not in my list since it was borrowed by a friend.

after the shoot, faith gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. congrats to you both!

christmas party
next was the nikonian christmas party held at the grilla bar and restaurant. it's the first time i met with a fellow photographer who just arrived yesterday from ksa. even though he's using a different camera brand, i still managed to invite him plus another girl friend to join the fun. we've met the people behind those names and pictures they've taken.

my camera was used for the group hug since it has the widest lens and remote available. some of the guys used their external flashes and configured to wireless just to illuminate the place. it was a fun event with lot's of freebies, tips and smiles.

the visitation
missing my kids, i informed their mother that i'm going to visit them in the afternoon. bringing my whole gear and praying for the opportunity, it was a good timing for all of us. i brought them some pizza and spaghetti for snacks and being greeted by her.

the place improved and became more furnished from the last time i left the place. i visited the kids' rooms. miles having a blue motiff and julia's for pink. i must say that she's doing her job well in the place...

we didn't talked seriously about the issue at hand since my purpose of the visit was really to see the kids and spent time with them. we watched a disney movie... a cheesy romantic-comedy type but worth it, played and spent dinner with them. it felt like we were a family once again...talking, taking photos and joking... even if for only just a couple of hours.

after giving goodnight kisses and bedtime, i cancelled the formal talk, thanked her and left.

now, i got few hours left before my next out of town photo trekking and hopefully the weather improves. until then...

discoursed by jeff @ 7:12 PM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, December 07, 2006

manila update

ever since i arrived home, i was fully booked on meeting old and new friends. still having the jetlag last sunday, i went to megamall and meet with fellow pinoy photographers. after the "coffee break" i cancelled my schedule to party and continued having dinner with them at dencios.

digital photographer philippines @ dencios - megamall

after the eb, i finally met my ex and kids and treated them at jollibee and entertainment at storyland. though they felt somehow uneasy, i just left them to my mom and she handled it. i felt hurt and sad when kids are very affected.

the next day, my brother and his wife invited me to pamper myself by going for a swedish and shiatsu massage plus foot spa. after a year, i finally got my toenails got a decent pedicure. :)

after the massage, however, i got sick but still managed to go to divisoria in the morning to see and buy stuffs for christmas. i didn't find any interesting and headed to quiapo and meet two blogger-friends. since they requested that they don't want to show their real identities, señor enrique and sidney are nice and fun chaps. a fellow pinoy photographer based in saudi arabia came along with us and went for a street photography, visited hidalgo where it is called a camera haven for photofanatics, and went for estero eatery in binondo for lunch.

thanks sid for the chocolates. thanks eric for the lunch treat plus take-away chow. :P

finally, i got my internet connection installed at home. the roof repair has been done (at my own expense!! grrr) and bought new stuffs for the house.

more updates soon.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:28 AM | 6 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

p a r a d i s e

at last clouds...
i'm finally home...

updates soon.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:45 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, December 02, 2006

all my bags are packed...

...and i thought i weren't able to post this one. dubai airport is so generous in giving me a free wi-fi access while waiting to board the plane to manila.

"so kiss me and smile for me
tell me that you'll wait for me
hold me like you'll never let me go
cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
don't know when I'll be back again
oh babe I hate to go."

philippine photos soon! :)

discoursed by jeff @ 8:52 AM | 10 comment(s) | permalink

The Dubai Chronicles