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

 ALL SOULS DAY 2022 On October 23, 2022, a full-week ahead of the traditional visit to the graves of dead relatives, I visited my parents' resting place at the Eternal Garden Memorial Park in Caloocan City. With me were my sister and her husband, my wife and my son. We took the usual posterity shot but this time I had the idea to take it from the viewpoint of my parents' resting place. I placed the phone camera down to their tombstone and set it on a timer-triggered selfie-photo. This was the photo.  This is the first time I had made a photograph at the cemetery which makes it appear that the one in the grave was the one taking the photo. Some would say that their spirit is there "floating around" which implies that they are looking down at us from an elevated point. But I thought, maybe their soul is really lying there and this is how they see us. Who knows if that is not the case really?  Anyway, I believe my parents are happy, if not surprised, to see us this early...

In photo is the Sampaloc Lake, the biggest of the Seven Lakes which the City of San Pablo in the Province of Laguna, some 70 kms south of Manila, is famous for  (San Pablo is sometimes called the City of Seven Lakes or Lungsod ng Pitong Lawa in Tagalog). The lakes are actually cauldrons or crater-remains of once active volcanos in the Laguna area.  This post is Part 3 of a series of posts on a recent visit to the City of San Pablo. Here I'll talk about two of the more famous and most visited lakes - Lake Sampaloc and Lake Pandin. The above panoramic photo I took during our visit shows one of the mountains that surrounds the City. This one is called Mt. Cristobal. The lake sits just right next to the city itself. In fact, it is just a few steps from the backside of the City Hall. There's a  circumferential road where one can go about and explore via one of those rental bikes available at the area. The total distance of this road is about 3.5 kilometers and is also a popula...

This is a close-up shot I took of the façade of the San Pablo City Cathedral during a visit there last June 23, 2022 . Inset is a circa 1951 photo showing part of the original Ateneo de San Pablo. When the church was first built in 1586 by the Augustinians, it was made out of bamboo materials which was, and still is, abundant in the area. A second church was constructed in the years 1618 to 1629 and was made of stone. And finally, the foundations for the present church was  laid in 1680. The stone church building was started in 1714 and was completed some seven years later.  One of the less known fact about this church is that it has "change hands" among several religious orders a few times in the past, among which was the Jesuit Order or the Society of Jesus (SJ). This is probably the reason why an Ateneo de San Pablo was established there (est. in 1947). According to records, the last Ateneo graduation day was in March 1978. It is now known as Liceo de San Pablo, a parochia...

This is the sight that will welcome you upon ascending an 11-step grand stairway ending in Plata, following the oro, plata, mata superstition in Spanish-Filipino architectural design.  Many of the items you see in the photo are part of an antique collection of the owner/s of the place. The Sala Nature Resort and Events Place, is tucked away in a quiet and peaceful corner in the otherwise bustling City of San Pablo in the Province of Laguna some one-and-a-half hour car ride south of Manila. The recent construction of a  network of expressways that by-passes the old and busy highways have made the ride quicker and more comfortable.  Among the features of the place is a small river that runs beside the property with a small man-made dam where guests can actually set-up a table and dine much like the one found in another San Pablo resort called Villa Escudero. * You can bring your pet dogs, too! Within the small resort area are a handful of accommodations overlooking the wate...

The year 2020 is one that will truly go down in history as the year when the world practically shutdown. Many activities, specially those that involve a gathering of people, were actually prohibited including church services and other religious activities such as the age-old tradition of families visiting and praying for the dead loved-ones in cemeteries. An "unintended victim" of this are the dead themselves, or rather the souls of the dead (if you believe in the soul). In a story told to me by my mother, the Day of the Dead is also a very special day in the spirit world and for the dead loved-ones themselves. It is said that the soul of those who passed away await the arrivial and visit of their living kins at the cemetery's gate. To them it is also a joyous day and a time for celebration. The cemetery is considered hallowed ground and the cemetery gates set the limit as to where the souls can stay and wait. They are supposedly prohibited from going out to the realm of ...

Olango is an island east of Cebu in central Philippines. Olango island is part of a six-island group east of the main island of Cebu. It is accessible via a motorized boat ride from the city. It's one of the "must-visit" places in Cebu because it is the location of the largest bird sanctuary in the Philipiines. When I visited the place it was for the specific purpose of observing and taking photos of the birds which are known to have come from as far as northern China and parts of Siberia. At the start of the cold season in the northern hemisphere, the birds start their migration to the warmer climate in the southern hemisphere  such as Australia. The Philippines seem to be a half point in their journey and this is where they seek sanctuary for nourisment and to gain strength which they will need to continue their journey. They take the same route on their way back to return to where they originally started. They come for the 1,030 hectares of mangrove forest, coral reefs...

23 March 2018 The temperature is now in its low 20s. Night still comes late though and there's yet enough light to brighten the night sky but the city is already lit by street lights laden with the chemical sodium which creates the orange color and is more than ready to welcome the dark night. In a matter of weeks, the temperature will start going down to just a little above 10 degrees Celsius on its way to winter. Soon the foliage will turn brown and eventually trees will shed their leaves. Autumn in New Zealand may not be as spectacular a sight as its counterparts in the northern hemisphere but the charm of this littlest and coziest capital city in the world is no less captivating. * what you see is what I see

Yesterday I took the LRT Line 1 (Monumento-Baclaran) at around 5:30PM (peak-hours). I haven't taken a  ride on the LRT for a long time (years perhaps) and the whole experience was quite new and remarkable to me. I got on at Tayuman Stn. and got off at Buendia Stn. It was crowded but you can move around easily and it was comfortably cool. The passengers waiting on the stations and on-board were relatively disciplined and orderly.  By relatively, I mean in comparison with the PNR commuter trains which run from Tutuban to Alabang. The trains there are jam-packed (during peak hours). You have to practically slug it out to enter and exit the car! The PNR commuter crowd is also a rambunctious bunch. There are of course some who are well behaved but endure in silence. But there are those, mostly construction workers and such, who are really disorderly, cussing and swearing, and boisterously behaving while the train is on the move or even as they get on or off the tra...

I had my very first car in 1979, some 33 years ago. The above-photo is similar to what my first car was - a cream-colored 1966 Toyota Corolla four-door sedan. It's been that long, too that I've been going to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to renew the registration the registration of a vehicle. It was such a task then and and oftentimes it took the whole day. If one had a job or work, one had to take the day off (and forfeit a day's wage) just to complete the task of registering a car. Since then, however, there have been some changes and improvements in the procedure. One that has definitely and positively changed and gave the motorists a big break was the adoption of a staggered (based on car-plate ending number) registration period. This has erased the frown on the faces of both the motorists and processors alike, and reduced if not totally eliminated the occasional sharp and sometimes nasty exchange of words between the registrants and the LTO employees, as ...

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).

Sunrise. Although I love sunsets, for me sunrise is the best time of the day. Yes, even better than Sunset. Sunrise is an affirmation of life. The smell of the fresh morning air is proof positive that yes, we are alive. The sea breeze is more gentle, too. And the quiet deserted beach with its sand a little bit moist from last evening's condensation beckons small living creatures to wallow in the mist of morning. Capturing sunrise is also a challenge to me, the hopeless nocturnal creature that I am. It is thus no ordinary feat for me to be able summon my lazy sleepy bones very early in the morning and shoot the photos below. Perhaps its just be me, but I think I just got a bit lucky to chance upon these scenes below. I post them here mostly for my own self-indulgence. But if you guys find pleasure in them as well, then so be it and be it so. Besides, such beauty is too much for one person to keep. It must be shared. Like Death, Beauty comes to us in silence... T...

Beauty is fleeting, they say. I was reminded of this just a few hours ago when I caught a glimpse of the gleaming golden setting Sun seen from our balcony. It took me a few minutes to scamper about and rush back to my room to get my camera. By the time I was able to take a few shots, the beauty I beheld for a moment was gone - gone in seconds - and never to show itself the same way ever again. Nevertheless, I savored whatever was left of the beautiful view. Every second of it. Whenever I see something beautiful, I must give thanks and I break into a smile. This is my silent tribute to Beauty. And as a sign of my gratitude, I try to capture such beauty and share it with others. This way, even as beauty is fleeting, it becomes eternal. Allow me to share with you three of such beautiful sunset view. (And my imaginary conversation with it this afternoon in the twilight). This is the Sun telling me, "I'm still here!" And here's the Sun telling me, ...