#253 An Alien Landscape

In Minanga Este in Cagayan, what used to be the mouth of a small bay is now... a ginormous sand dune. We found these two chaps transporting a boatload of sand, carved from the dune formed by miners quarrying the shallows for magnetite. Extracting natural resources while reclaiming valuable seaside real estate sounds too good to be true, until you realize they had to wreck a habitat to do it. Sigh.

(Pixel-peepers: Shooting from a moving barge isn't the best way to capture the moment, but sometimes you just have to take what life deals you.)

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For those who've inquired about buying prints of my postcards, you may purchase them directly from master printmaker Arnel Murillo (murilloarnel@yahoo.com), one of the country's foremost fine-art printmakers.  Arnel uses archival inks and museum-grade paper to ensure his prints will not fade. You will not be disappointed. (All my images are provided gratis to help showcase the beauty of our country. But if you feel generous, help me uplift the lives of the Children of Payatas.  No donation is too big or too small. Get in touch with Fr. Aldrin Suan at aldrinsuan@yahoo.com of the Vincentian Missionaries in the Philippines. As always, thanks and enjoy.)

#252 Bayanihan

When you need to fish around really big waves, you need a really big boat. 

In the town of Buguey in Cagayan, lobster and shrimp farmers have to fish amidst the fury of the Pacific Ocean. The solution of course was to use really big boats, bigger than what the two fishermen who man it can launch from shore. Luckily, BAYANIHAN (communal help) was at work in this coastal town. We witnessed groups of men lift boat after boat onto the water's edge, where they waited for the next big wave to take them out to sea. It was a feat of cooperation that made us proud to be Filipinos. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: Everything in today's postcard conveyed a whirlwind of motion: crested waves barreling towards shore, fishermen walking a boat out to sea, and trailing footprints that reveal the chronology of their task. Now who said photographs can only freeze a single moment in time? Try it today.)

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Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

But wait, there's more...

For those who've inquired about buying prints of my postcards, you may purchase them directly from master printmaker Arnel Murillo (murilloarnel@yahoo.com), one of the country's foremost fine-art printmakers.  Arnel uses archival inks and museum-grade paper to ensure his prints will not fade. You will not be disappointed. (All my images are provided gratis to help showcase the beauty of our country. But if you feel generous, help me uplift the lives of the Children of Payatas.  No donation is too big or too small. Get in touch with Fr. Aldrin Suan at aldrinsuan@yahoo.com of the Vincentian Missionaries in the Philippines. As always, thanks and enjoy.)

#251 The Golden Hours

Colored boats, grass huts, a deep blue sky, and a golden landscape... they're the usual suspects found in scenes typical of our rural outback at sunset. 

We were in barrangay Caroan in Gonzaga Cagayan, anticipating a landscape bathed by the setting sun's orange glow. Fishermen were mending their nets just moments earlier... but have all retired to their homes... leaving only their boats to witness creation's finale. Nature does save the best for last, which unfortunately, is still one of landscape photography's best kept secrets. But now you know. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: Most folks think sunset is all about the setting sun, but the golden hours just preceding it can surprise.)

Sign-up to receive new postcards weekly by email 

Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

But wait, there's more...

For those who've inquired about buying prints of my postcards, you may purchase them directly from master printmaker Arnel Murillo (murilloarnel@yahoo.com), one of the country's foremost fine-art printmakers.  Arnel uses archival inks and museum-grade paper to ensure his prints will not fade. You will not be disappointed. (All my images are provided gratis to help showcase the beauty of our country. But if you feel generous, help me uplift the lives of the Children of Payatas.  No donation is too big or too small. Get in touch with Fr. Aldrin Suan at aldrinsuan@yahoo.com of the Vincentian Missionaries in the Philippines. As always, thanks and enjoy.)

#250 Up at Dawn

Twilight photographers need only one reason to be up at dawn: to capture its colors for posterity.

On the northern tip of Cagayan, where the Pacific Ocean reveals its true nature, we found fishermen already up before us. But they probably have many more reasons to be up at dawn, probably as many as they have mouths to feed. And while we focus on capturing twilight's beauty, we don't forget even for a moment that many others don't have our luxury. So today's postcard is for all of them, for everyone up at dawn because they need to. Enjoy.

(Pixel-peepers: When you shoot the grand landscape, it helps if you try to anchor them with objects that provide a sense of scale.)

Sign-up to receive new postcards weekly by email 

Past postcards at www.PostcardsFromManila.com

Say hello: Bobbyw59@yahoo.com

But wait, there's more...

For those who've inquired about buying prints of my postcards, you may purchase them directly from master printmaker Arnel Murillo (murilloarnel@yahoo.com), one of the country's foremost fine-art printmakers.  Arnel uses archival inks and museum-grade paper to ensure his prints will not fade. You will not be disappointed. (All my images are provided gratis to help showcase the beauty of our country. But if you feel generous, help me uplift the lives of the Children of Payatas.  No donation is too big or too small. Get in touch with Fr. Aldrin Suan at aldrinsuan@yahoo.com of the Vincentian Missionaries in the Philippines. As always, thanks and enjoy.)