Zamba Attack - Skimboarding Competition

This March is the much awaited Zamba Attack 2010. My friends an I decided to come and enjoy Zambales with the Alon Skimboarding Club Members. I for one met a couple of new skim mates and it was actually good to put a face to the club forumers.

We were also treated to a very exiting wave riding exhibition and met one of the Exile Pro Boarders from Florida Beach. Skimboard Competition, booze, great music, great crowd and awesome display of skills, what more can you ask for in a weekend.

In short we were all - STOKED.

More pictures here.

Panagbenga 2010

I've been to Baguio a couple of times but never during the flower festival until recently. The Panagbenga Festival is held yearly during the month of February. The celebrations are held for over a month and peak periods are the weekends. The Panagbenga Festival showcases the many floral floats and native dances. The fragrant smells that could be presently teasing olfactory senses are probably less from the now-dried flowers from Valentine's Day than air floating all the way from Baguio City. At this time of year, the City of Pines is almost surely in flower fury over Panagbenga festival, the city's biggest festival.

We were there a total of 3 days just in time for the Street Dance Parade and the Float Parade which was the highlight of the Feast.

Day 1: since it is also my Friend's 1st time to visit the city of pines, I decided to tour her around the city so I dedicated our whole 1st day to show her around. We went to the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Mines View park, Wright's Park, The Mansion and The Botanical Garden in the morning.

For Day 1 pictures click here.

Day 2: Basically this is the day for the Dance Parade. Our morning was dedicated to this event alone. After lunch however, we went to Burnham park for a little stroll and then off to Camp John hay for some Ice cream and my favorite mini golf course. As recommended by a friend of mine, we also visited the Forest House Restaurant for snacks and a little rest for our busy feet. In the evening we had a bit of drinks at the Nevada Square and met with a group of Photography Friends before settling in the hotel for tomorrow's parade.

For Day 2 pictures click here.

Day 3: This day is for the Float Parade which was the highlight of the Festivities. I specifically chose La Brea inn just because it was located along Session road meaning this is a very good place to take pictures of the Parade. This is also the day we went out to buy Pasalubong in the afternoon and prepare to leave the cool city of Baguio.

For day 3 pictures click here.

All in all the trip is a blast! Hopefully next year I will be able to experience an even grander and even livelier Panagbenga Festival!

Skim Trip Feb. 20, 2010

This year I plan to dedicate more effort and time to my skim boarding hobby. This means Skim Trips twice a month. With this in mind, I have decided to go back to the last Batangas resort where we stayed (Maligaya Resort). It was a bit quiet since the only person available to accompany me was my best friend who was, at that time in need for an escape from office related work load and problems. Same routine, arrive, buy food for grilling, rest a bit, skim till I drop with the Locals.

That night (after a few drinks), a surprise text message came from our skim friends that they are already at the resort! We talked a little and decided to try out their brand spanking new Boards very early next day. 6 am came, we did not mind the cold breeze and lack of breakfast, even the lack of sleep (due to endless videoke singers), off we went to skim!

It was a very fun day since all made progress riding. Even my best friend got the hang of it a bit. I'm proud to say that the only rest we had was lunch! All in all, it was a day of skim boarding, sun burns, laughter, food trip, and of course... pictures!


My Thanks again to the skim gang, Dhen, Wayanne, Camile?, Shamae, Jed, Janella, and Jean for the laugh trips and fun filled skim trip!

Next meet... Zamba Attack! (Hope everyone can attend!)

To view the complete set of images click here

1st Skim Boarding Trip for 2010

My buddy and co-photographer PJ had me drawn to this sport for quite some time now. I even had designed and ordered my very own skim board. This February, we invited a couple of friends from work to go to Nasugbu for an overnight weekend getaway and my board's break in. Unfortunately they weren't able to come due to schedule issues. Instead only me, PJ, and another good friend of mine, Jean were free this weekend and were able to experience Nasugbu.

We we're also joined by members of the Alon Skimboarding Group and three lovely ladies, 2 of which are also beginners. As usual PJ instructed the beginners including Jean with the basics for safety and guaranteed fun.

After the fun in the sun, all 6 of us enjoyed a good old inihaw meal we prepared and a couple of drinks later. We then had a little group hug shoot before waving goodbye to our new found friends.

Early the next day, we had another run of skim boarding, packed up, had lunch in Tagaytay, and head on home. It was fun meeting new friends who are as excited and drawn in by the same sport.

Thanks to PJ for the invite and basically organizing this weekend getaway, to Dhen, Way, Anne Sha Mae, and Jean for a night of laughs, poses, pictures, and Fun. Hope to meet up with you guys soon for another Skim Trip Getaway.

To view the images click here.

Weekend Getaway

Last week my teammate invited me to go to Tagaytay and then Batangas for the weekend. The first thing I thought was a weekend shooting session. So Weekend came, I was a bit late since I have Tennis practice in the morning.

First destination: Lunch at Tagaytay. There were 6 of us. Me, Hender, Amiel, Jean, Ice, and Hazel. Upon arrival we had to pickup Amiel and Hazel. Tagaytay is the home of Sinigang na Bulalo so we decided we had to eat the specialty for this place. We chanced upon Green ATS Bulalohan and it is here that we treated our tummies with Sinigang na Bulalo, Fried Tilapia fish, and Fried Tawilis fish.

Second on the list is Sonya's Garden.This was supposed to be Sonya’s private paradise, open only to family and friends and eventually, friends of friends. But after much prodding from all who have enjoyed the country living experience to share with more people what otherwise would have been her retirement lifestyle, she finally but reluctantly relented. In February of 1998, she opened the doors of her secret garden to the public in time for Valentine’s Day. This venue was also famous for wedding receptions, and this weekend was not an exception. There were 2 Wedding receptions that time and the garden has been rigged for romantic poses. This was when Me and Hender clicked away.

Lastly we wanted to visit Ice's resort in Batangas so we head on out to Good Luck Beach Resort for some fun in the sun, a little bit of swimming, drinking session with a little bit of sound tripping, and a whole lot of picture taking. And did I mention a lot of fun? Dinner time came and we were treated to a yummy Batangas style Beef Tapa and Fish Ginataan at Ice's home 10 minutes from the resort.

For the complete set of images follow the links below:
Green ATS Bulalohan Images
Sonya's Garden
Good Luck Resort Batangas

Thanks to Ice for the invite and to Hender for the Ride. And to Amiel, Hazel, and Jean for the great time. We should do this again.

Until the Next "Lakwatcha" Sessions!

My First Prenup Shoot

Did a prenuptial shoot with my Aperturista buddies Yesterday. As a hobbyist I was always amazed at how the Pros do prenup shoots and wedding photography. So, as soon as one of my clubmates asked if I wanted to do one...
I immediately said YES!

Theme: 40's?
Soon To be Groom: Edward
Soon To be Bride: Camille
Where: somewhere in Quezon City.

This is actually my first time to do this kind of shoot so please bear with the images.

Yet Another Self Portrait

With nothing to do and a new manual flash to boot, I figured what the heck. I'll just play around and do another self portrait.A couple of clicks and a wee bit of Photoshop action and whala!

This is the result.