The C-Spot: A Photography, Travel and Culture Journal

An invitation from a Hongkong-based niece who was in Manila for a visit led me and my wife to a short unscheduled overnight stay in a vacation house in Tagaytay City - that city from which ridges one can see the famous and sometimes violent beauty of Taal Volcano. The house itself was nothing short of amazing, from an architectural viewpoint. A view of the house from the hilly garden showing the small swimming pool. This is actually the view from the back of the house. A view of the living room which center-piece is a salvaged tree ravaged by termites, with a virtually unimpeded view of Taal lake The "grand" staircase with colorful stones and great masonry work. Also loved the natural handrail made of preserved tree branches. A view of Taal lake and volcano just outside the living room area. The view from the house is also breath-taking. The early morning stake-out for the sunrise was a very rewarding one and below are some of the still photos I took....

The whole afternoon I was debating with myself whether I should take a photo of what's being billed as the Super Moon of 2012 which is supposed to be 14% bigger and brighter than the usual full moon. I wasn't really that determined to do it since the sky was a bit overcast. In fact the local weather agency was twitting about rainfall in some southern Luzon provinces which may also affect the Manila metropolitan area in the late afternoon or early evening. So I went through most of the evening doing the usual routinary things, e.g. watching TV, having dinner with the family, watching more TV shows, and browsing the internet. But the thought of that Super Moon continued to pre-occupy my mind. Eventually, just about half an hour before the stroke of midnight on May 6, 2012. I decided to give in to an urge. With my trusty Canon digital compact camera on one hand, I unlocked our front door, dragged a small chair to our driveway, looked upward to the sky. And through the lea...

This was taken at around a quarter before 6PM as the Sun was setting on a slightly overcast sky at the Manila Bay. This was the view at the back of SM Mall of Asia (MoA) near a gigantic Ferry's Wheel dubbed "The Eye at MoA." Unlike my previous post, this one is a genuine sunset at Manila Bay. (Photo was taken with a Canon G9 camera borrowed from my daughter).