I woke up late on Sept 26. The rain caused by Typhoon Ondoy, which began on the afternoon the day before had not stopped. For the first time our street was totally flooded. It wasn't any cause of concern, since the water was only ankle deep on the sidewalks. We had heard rumors of water being released from the dams. I thought it wouldn't affect our subdivision.


I walked around to check how deep the water was in neighboring streets. About 5 blocks away from ours, the flood was worse. Cars left on the street were flooded about leg-deep. It was the same for the 2 other exit streets out of our subdivision. By this time, evacuating our vehicles was impossible.


After about 20 minutes of wading through the rain and flood water, I returned home to find that the flood had already entered our garage.

When I got in, water was already running in through the backdoor, and down to the basement. This was a time I had to set my camera aside. We frantically transferred all items from the basement to the sala, kitchen, and upper rooms. The water continued rising fast. It wasn't long until the flood had already reached the sala.

I remember sitting on the sofa in the sala, with the water just above my heel, weeping to the Lord and praying that the flooding would stop. Minutes later the water was on my knees; it continued to rise, very quickly.

We transferred as much household items to the upper room as we can, leaving the heavy appliances and furniture where they stood. There was already a blackout in Marikina.

I clearly remember, going back and forth the basement, saving my Nanay's library. The water was about waist high by this time and it continued to rise quickly . I told my older brother Em to watch out for me, telling him that if I shouted for him, it meant that the basement's door shut behind me and I was trapped inside. I made 3 trips to the basement, hauling a bag full of books each time. I didn't make a fourth trip, since the water was already neck-high in the basement. Some books were still left there.

Em talked to the owner of a newly built 3-storey house at the end of our street, if he could transfer his family there. The owner and his wife readily agreed. It was late in the afternoon, when Em's wife, his baby, Nanay, and our helper evacuated our house and took to the safety of the 3-storey house.

Em and I stayed at our house to guard it and to secure items from the water. The flood continued to rise on the stairs heading to the upper rooms. There was a probability that the flood would encroach there as well. If it did, there was no place higher where we could transfer the items. All we could do was hope that the water would not reach the upper rooms. I watched minutes after minutes as the water would eat one flight of stairs after another, going higher and higher.

When it seemed that it wasn't about to stop, I quickly packed my valuables. I took the legal documents of the family and the house, stored them in two layers of plastic and hid them in the highest cabinets in the upper room. Then I headed to pack clothes in case we needed to transfer to the neighbor. After that, I sealed my hard drives in 2 layers of plastic and returned them to their places. The items sealed in plastics would survive the flood. The last of which I packed were my photography equipment and my macbook. Carefully, I decided which gear to bring and which to leave. I brought almost every gear I had, stowed in my camera backpack.

Every moment since the water had entered our house seemed like a dream. I wished it were, so that I could just wake up from the terror and go on with a life devoid of calamity. But it wasn't. Since the late afternoon until the evening, we were moving every household item that we could. I never thought I had so much strength in me. I worked and worked, never feeling tired.

It was past 9 in the evening, and the water was continually rising. If the water reach the upper rooms, we would not be able to open the front and back doors of the house since they situated lower. Em and I decided to evacuate the house and flee to the neighbor. Em took the duffel bag containing our clothes. It probably weighed about 6 kilos. I hoisted my camera backpack on my shoulder. It weighed more than 10 kilos. We left by the front door and found that the water on the street was nearly as high as our chests. It was raining still. When we got out the gate, walking was far more worse than we expected, because the current was very strong. To make matters difficult, the current was opposite our direction. I remember shouting a prayer to the Lord before I stepped out of the gate - "Father, give us strength!"

We walked to the neighbor, a distance of 2 lots (houses), but the distance seemed longer that it was. Em and I carefully walked beside each other in case a current swept one of us away. While one of our arms carried our bags, the other tugged and held on to the neighbor's fences. One step, then one tug at the fences. One step, and another tug at the fences. We walked that short distance with all our strength, resting twice in between, because our arms were very sore at the weight of our bags. After about 10 minutes, we arrived at the neighbor's house, panting heavily. We were dog-tired.

We entered the house, where the 1st floor was already flooded and proceeded to the 2nd floor where we found 2 other families along with ours. When we had washed up, our neighbor invited us for supper. Nanay not wanting to trouble the owner, declined. My last meal was brunch at 10am. It was already 10pm by then. Together with Em and his wife Belle, we decided to accept the neighbor's offer and proceeded to the 3rd floor where the food was served. It was a simple meal of noodles, sardines, hotdogs, and ham. I couldn't eat as much since there were other families.

We slept late that night, our whole family in one small room. With no electricity, there was no fan. Comfort wasn't a ready commodity at that time. Each one had to do with what was available. I had trouble sleeping. Once in a while I would step out to the balcony and watch the flood. By this time, the flood had already covered the roof of a nearby taxi.

It was also during this time that I texted all my disciples and my pastor for help. I knew that we had to remove the water out of our flooded basement rooms the following day.

I slept late, around 3am, and woke up past 6am. The sunrise was brilliant from the 3rd floor deck.


The water had already receded. The taxi on the left of the photo was completely submerged at the height of the flood.


One neighbor inspected her roof for damages. I heard later on that some families had actually stayed on their roofs for the night.


When we got back to our house, everything was a mess. There was mud all over, with our household items scattered everywhere. We had trouble deciding which part of the house needed cleaning first. After a few minutes, we decided it was the sala. So we pushed our vehicles to the streets and slowly moved the items out to the garage.


And placed the trash out on the sidewalk.


A lot of the wooden furniture left in the sala were destroyed. Our kitchen furniture set was saved. The car of my younger brother was damaged. Our refrigerator, washing machine, and airconditioning unit (in the basement), and stove were also damaged.

We cleaned  the house the whole day. Before lunch, 3 of my disciples arrived and helped remove water from the basement. A few more people arrived from church arrived in the afternoon, and shortly did the same. What was important was that they brought food and drinking water. (Please take time to read my blog entry on this matter HERE)

The next day, I went around the next town, to check the extent of damages. Since the town of Calumpang sat beside the Marikina river, there was more mud on the streets. This man swept the mud with a wooden placard.


This is a reflection of the pedestrian overpass in front of the flooded SM Marikina. Water had reach the 2 level basement parking of the mall. Outside, water was mixed with oil and trash.


A delivery van was toppled over by the current on the height of the flood and had damaged the electricity post.


There was still no electricity even on the 3rd day. So I had to use a flashlight for devotions.


It took us more than a week to clean the house. Many friends and churchmates came over to help and bring food and water. All appliances have already been fixed. Ezra's car is still in repair. The van after some oil changes and repair is now working.

Click HERE for more photos.

Aug '08 to Aug '09
Nokia 6120

I've had mobile phones without cameras for a long time. In August 2008, I treated myself to a camera phone with a 2 megapixel resolution, adjustable white balance, low and high ISO setting (of which the high setting was next to useless), flash, effect setting (ex. b&w, sepia, color invert - which I seldom use), and the best feature of all - EV compensation.

Of course, I would have preferred a camera phone with the following additional features: at least 3 megapixels, adjustable aperture & shutter speed, manual focus, flash hotshoe, and interchangeable lenses. Hahaha. But that is non-existent. And even if it were made, it would be the same size as the smallest DSLR (ex. Oympus EP-1 or Panasonic GF-1).

While the features of camera phones fail in comparison to digital cameras, portability is its winning factor (and of course, bluetooth, for fun sharing). The advancing technology on digital cameras draw the users away from the humble capabilities of camera phones.

I'm writing this entry to encourage photography enthusiasts to maximize the use of their camera phones and allow their creativity to be stretched. Here are select photos from my Nokia 6120.

Note: All photos are unedited. One photo contains violence. Refrain from eating while viewing this album. =)



Click HERE for more photos.

While I'm itching to write about how typhoon Ondoy has affected our family in Marikina, there are just so many things to be done and fixed in our house. In the mean time, I'd like to thank all the people who personally came to our house to help out and (even those who visited).

Nanay has worked so hard this week that this afternoon, her BP shot up to 160/90. Ezra, my youngest brother drove her to the hospital to be checked. She had 3-4 140/90 peaks over the week and has been cleaning endlessly since the flood, resting only to sleep, or because her heart will not allow her to work. She was sent home earlier and advised by the doctor to rest.

For those who are concerned, thank you. My family and I are ok. The only major damage is my brother's car which was flooded, his bedroom which is still damp (wet actually, under the tiles), and furniture & 'almost unimportant' stuff destroyed by the flood. Thank you for the prayers and for being there.

I have learned a couple of things from my experience from the flood that I'd like to share partially. At one point while we were cleaning up, in my mind, I could not help but place the friends I knew in categories.

1) Are friends who came in person to our house. Some walked kilometers because our roads were either inaccessible to vehicles or public commute was unavailable. Some walked flooded waters to get to my home, some on muddy roads. They came to work, dirtied their hands, and soiled their clothes. They labored while their strength was strong, and labored still even though they were already tired. They brought food and water, because we barely had none. And when they left, they asked for nothing back.

2) Are friends who texted (or called) out of concern. They remembered where I lived, but because they were unavailable (or very far), instead sent their love by finding out how my family and I were. Some wanted to come, even though they were from neighbouring provinces. But their roads were blocked by the flood as well.

3) Are friends who knew where I lived and could have deduced from news what had transpired in my home. But they never came and I did not hear from them. Some of them, I asked help from. Because if I could have done it on my own, then there was no need to ask help. But they did not come, not a word, not a reason. Some who knew what my family was going through, could not even care to text and find out how I was or at least pretend and say that they wanted to come but were equally busy as I was.

It's true, that in times of calamity, or famine, or war, the true colors of men are shown. Some of those I consider friends never came nor communicated. While some who I barely knew, where the ones who went to my home, and worked on it as if it were their own.

With the exception of a few (who knows who they are), most of the people who personally went to my house are people from my church - Destiny. I only learned yesterday that my senior pastor on Saturday night, during the rains, had rallied and mobilized the whole of the church, and sent them out in groups the next day (to church members affected by the flood), even canceling the morning service to do so.

Destiny people cared not because I was a pastor in my church or any other similar reason. They came because I was a brother in Christ who direly needed help. I'm wondering. Could have the fraternities done the same for a brother? Could a school organization have done the same for a member? Could a company have done the same for its employee? Maybe.

But I am sure not with the same heart and love a christian would.

It's a joy to find out I am amongst men (and women) whose hearts are the same as mine.

I wish that with a click of a button, I can pause life, or rewind it, or better yet, fast forward it to happy days. But the reality is, no such button exists. Whether the season is joyful or not, we need to live through it; counting the minutes, hours, or days before it changes; passing through it on bare feet to feel its cold or warmth, its joys and pains, its highs and lows. We can not pick only the happy parts of life and choose only that, for the unhappy parts are bundled with it. We cannot sleep through it, or go on vacation for it, or not mind it, there is no escape. We have to trudge through life, no matter the situation, because it is required of mortals. And for what? That question is only qualifiable by the kind of faith running in your spirit. -- Hebrews 11:1-2

Apr 04 '09
Megamall

For more photos, click HERE.

Nov 08 '08

For more photos, click HERE.

Alternative Classroom Learning Experience
Topic: Coming out of the Shell - Finding the Christian's role in politics
August 20, 2009, 1-4 pm
NISMED Auditorium, UP Diliman
Speaker: Bro. Eddie Villanueva

I will likely be documenting this event. So if you're from UPdil and would like to meet me in person, please do come. =)

Mar 20-26 '09
Romblon: Sibale, Sibuyan, and Tablas Islands

Warning: These landscape photos would make you want to go out for a vacation. Please stop viewing if you've reached your travel quota for the year. Hehe. =)

Note: Pay close attention to the panoramics I made. Though as simple as they look, it has taken me a great deal of time to photograph them and stitch.

For more photos, click HERE for my multiply.

View of Sunrise from the rocky shores, Aglikay Beach, Tablas
1/8 f/16 ISO200 12mm + Multiple Exposure + HDR processing


Freedom from the summer heat, Sibale
1/400 f/11 ISO200 12mm + SB800 (TTL)


Rocky Coast, Aglikay Beach, Tablas
6s f/11 ISO200 12mm + GND filter


Summer Sunrise
1/80 f/4 55mm


First sun rays of Mar 25, Aglikay Beach, Tablas
1/250 f/16 ISO200 19mm + GND filter


A panoramic view of Sibale Island (7 photos stitched)
1/125 f/11 ISO200 17mm


Bamboo Bridge, Sibale
1/125 f/11 17mm


Dreamy waters of Sibale Coast
30s f/13 ISO200 12mm + GND filters


Sineguelas during Off Season, Tablas
1/125 f/16 12mm


Still Cantingas River, Sibuyan
30s f/8 34mm + ND filter


Geeky Corner: Now for photography enthusiasts reading this and are interested to know the equipment I brought for my trip, here is a rough inventory. I'd like you to know that it was my goal to pack as light as I can.

Nikon D70 & back up Nikon D70s (c/o Roi Francisco)
Nikon 17-55 f2.8, Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon SB800
Manfrotto 190XPROB + 488RC2 Ballhead
Almost-useless Cokin Filters (time to buy the more expensive Lee filters)
Lowepro Computrekker AW
Energizer Headlamp

My D200 whose mirror kept getting stuck frequently was being repaired at the time of the trip. Yeah, it was a bummer shooting with only 6 megapixels and no mirror delay mode. But as we photographers should know, equipment is secondary to our skill. Although, a Nikon ML-L3 remote for the D70 would have made my workflow faster.

Additional equipment I think I should have brought to the trip (most of which I do not own yet):

Nikon 70-300
A lighter tripod
Lee filters (Lord if you're reading this, please give me better filters than Cokin!)
smaller camera backpack with slot for a water bottle

After the trip and evaluating my lens choices, I think the optimum lens selection for a medical mission with some landscape shooting would be:

For DX sensors

Tokina / Nikon 12-24 / Sigma 10-20
Primes (30mm f1.4 and 50mm 1.4; or f/1.8 equivalents)
Walk around zoom (maybe a 18-105 VR)

For FX sensors

Nikon 14-24 (only if you can attach filters), 17-35 / Sigma 12-24
Primes (50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8)
Walk around zoom 28-200
 
But, that's just me thinking aloud. =) Now go out and bring home some excellent photographs!

I am officially welcoming myself back to multiply album posting. Hahahaha. *drum roll* *crowd cheering* *Dan's sort of a silent entrance*

Today, I'll be serving something hot; photos which are just a few days old. And I'm talking about the 14th International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Clark, Pampanga.

This was my second visit to the annual event (the first one was last year which you can find HERE). I joined my family in watching this large (literally) and colorful festivity. Unlike last year where I watched the afternoon show, this year, we opted for the morning show (Em's wife, Belle had an afternoon hospital shift).

If you're thinking of visiting again next year, my vote is for the afternoon show since its cooler and the sky is more colorful as the sun sets.

With a moderate to slow pace, Clark is about a 1.5 hour drive from Manila via the North Luzon Express Way (NLEX). The entrance fee to the Fiesta is only P100. That allows you access only up to the fences before the Hot Air Balloons. If you want to get closer, you'll need to buy press passes, which they pre-sell for P150. Only 100 pieces are sold per day. Digital Photographer Philippines (DPP) sells these press passes. You can also opt to join the Epson Photo Contest by registering for a fee. That also allows you to enter beyond the fences. As for me, I just paid the regular entrance fee and shot as far as the fences.

Don't worry about food and water, because there are a variety of concessioners in the event, including common fastfoods like Jollibee, McDo, and Burger King. Portalets are strategically spread around the event area when you need to go.

If you're a photographer and you're planning what lenses to bring for this event, here are a few suggestions (for DX format):
    - normal zoom (18-50mm)
    - telephoto zoom (70-200, 70-300, anything that reaches 200mm or more)
    - ultrawide (10-18mm)

Of course, the most practical bag for such an event is a shoulder bag. Utility belts are meant for short events and backpacks are meant for long treks. You can also ditch the tripod if you're just shooting during the daytime. I didn't bring my tripod in favor of mobility. Remember, pack smart, pack light. =)

And now for the photos. For more photos, click HERE.

A panoramic view of the hot air balloons before their takeoff. These are 6 photos stitched together using Photoshop's Photomerge Automate tool. 1/60 f/4.5 ISO500 34mm 6photos.

The key when making a panoramic sequence is to lock the camera to the average meter reading and also lock the focus to the average distance. For example, if the left portion of the pano sequence gives a meter reading of ISO100 1/60 f/8 and the middle portion says ISO100 1/100 f/8. Then you should be using the average which is ISO100 1/80 f/8, making sure to set your cam in manual mode and plugging in the respective values. Also, sequence photos need to overlap by at least 30% so as to allow your software to draw more data from when stitching. This panoramic sequence shot is best done with a tripod. For handheld shots, just make sure you're getting a shutter speed of more than 1/60 and carefully pivoting between shots through your waist. Happy Pano shooting guys! =)

When I was photographing this, the concept hinted signs of making a nice cover photo with a little boost in photoshop. 1/160 f/5.6 ISO500 20mm.

Sometimes, the second visit in an event tempts us to re-do old shot ideas, so it's important to look for something interesting every time to spice up your composition. For this photo, I peeked through the viewfinder and locked the focus, before placing the camera down on the grass to take this shot.

This is another interesting angle to shoot from - under the covered viewing area, at the right side of the fences. 1/80 f/5.6 ISO500 14mm.


People are also equally interesting subjects for events such as this.

Two kids read an educational handout while one uses hers to cover themselves from the hot midday sun. 1/640 f/5.6 ISO100 200mm.


Navy soldiers walk by. 1/1000 f/5.6 ISO200 200mm.


And something serious to cap off the day - a photograph with a ranger in camouflage.

Note: That soldier did the korea-japan pose all by himself without my coaxing him. It's good to know that my friendly character is actually infectious. Hehe. :)