the Glimpse, part 2

(continued from The Glimpse part 1)

There are two exhibits being displayed this week at Parkmall in Mandaue City. One is by Images, Cebu’s oldest camera club. The other one is by our group, which being basically a nameless aggrupation of photographers, was, by a funny twist of fate, dubbed by the Park Mall as “Cebu’s Top Photographers”. The tag, which probably and unwittingly would raise other photographers’ eyebrows, made me smile.




The exhibit runs from Nov 15 to Nov 21, and sits at the south entrance of the mall (the one facing the direction of SM Cebu). Each of us contributed 8 pictures that are in 12x18” full color prints.


My daughter Cacing seems to have made her choice as to which is her favorite (the one she can reach! LOL)


I don’t do this often but for posterity, here is my mugshot taken by my wife

For those who could not come, here are the 8 photos I chose. As a challenge to me, I picked out photographs which had no or little post-processing. All are uncropped and corrections were mostly on some sharpening and lightening.


Damgo, the Good Friday procession in Bantayan Island, Cebu
I am afraid this is fast becoming my staple, the number one photo that I would pimp. This has to be my best photo yet and has garnered 1st place in the nightscapes competition of Canon’s SMILES photocontest in the Philippines last year.


incantation, Ta Prohm temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia
I submitted the original unedited version. No post-processing is necessary.



Tirta Empul, Tampaksiring, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Of my countless Bali pictures, this must be one of my best as it has an emotional punch. Technically, this also was difficult to achieve (natural lighting, timing, positioning, the unchoreographed worshippers). The only postprocessing was some lightening and color correction.



after 6 months, Zanzibar, Tanzania
The picture continues to haunt me: a gorgeous beach with a scene showing abject poverty. The woman was harvesting coconut husks she buried for 6 months. The softened coir is sold for a mere handful of dollars as mattress fill. This has no editing save for the removal of spots (sensor dust).



row, Mekong Delta, Vietnam
This was a risky shot as I had to stand on my feet, trying to maintain the balance of the small boat I was on. I only saturated the colors to bring out the brown hue of the river.



breathless, Ramena Beach, Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), Madagascar
After “Damgo” (above) which has >1,100 favorites in flickr, this comes second with >800. The pure unbridled joy on the children’s faces was priceless. I lightened the color to bring out the details of their smiles.



imbang, Sukawati, Bali, Indonesia
This is special as I took this the day after our wedding in Bali. My wife and I led the tour of some 50 guests when our car was interrupted by a procession. The photo was sharpened.



Bantimurung, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
This is not color-corrected in any way. I only lightened the photo. The orange tint came from incandescent lighting which contrasted sharply with the bluish tint of the fluorescent lamps on the waterfalls. Early dusk provided the rest of the effect.