au.was.here.

i don't mope. at least not for extended periods of time. i think the best way of coping with life's turbulence is to keep moving. and so i do. i am dang serious about getting better at photography now. probably because i can't afford to be just a hobbyist. for me to afford the things i love to do, i must find a way to earn from it...hahaha... so maybe in time, i will. right now, this passion fuels my energy to keep practicing.

this is why when i saw a post at phphoto about the Aliwan Festival 2008 and a photo contest on it, i thought the opportunity was golden. i've got gear i need to put to good use anyway and some debts to pay so it would be cool to try my luck at it. even if i don't win anything, it gives me valuable experience and practice. so i locked in a date with my 17-year old daughter to come with me on that day. i would have gone alone except it would be hard to lug stuff around by myself. my 13-ner, upon hearing about the date, wanted to come along. ok then! so it's mom-daughters bonding time...kaya lang i'm sure di lang maraming angal ang dalawang ito, marami pang pa-libre. sige na nga, a budding photographer's got to pay her dues, i suppose.



we hit the Quirino Grandstand at around 10am. it was a hot, hot day! ang init talaga! the actual parade would start at 3pm to 9pm but i wanted to take some shots of people setting up so we came early. however, because of the heat, the first thing we did as buy ice candy. the girls made me buy them wide brim hats too. sabi na nga ba magastos ang dalawang assistant kong ito e! i nosed around the area and did see some people setting up but it was just too hot to walk the wide expanses in front of Luneta so we headed for cover instead. as reconnaisance, i knew if we intend to be there for the rest of the day, we need to find out where the rest rooms are.

we circled the Quirino grandstand and found a place to have lunch almost in front of the Manila Ocean Park. hindi masarap. we went up the Grandstand and looked on to where the participating tribes where practicing their routines. we headed there and i took shots. we walked around and Gabey saw a kalesa. Sakay daw kami because she has never taken a ride in one. I didn't want to leave the practice premises just then so sabi ko, i'll just take a photo of her beside it.


we ducked again to hide from the sun's punishing rays. nalalanta na kami. even our water container was empty. as we hid behind a post with some shade, we found this sleeping security guard statue. i thought it was hilarious so i took some shots of it. nice way to cool down a bit.





then, we heard some drumming. tamang-tama, the sun was letting up a bit. it was almost 3pm by then. we followed the drums to the big uncovered quadrangle in front of Quirino Grandstand. the tribe participants were practicing their routines for the contest. i went trigger crazy...hehehe...and so did some even better equipped photographers there. not only do some of them have multiple cameras and loooong lenses, some even had step ladders! below are my shots of those moments. they can also be viewed here.



i hardly felt at first that some rain drops started falling. the afternoon had just turned nice and cool. at first it was a light drizzle but i put the camera away. i wasn't that brave yet and i couldn't risk ruining my precious gear. wala pa nga akong ibang gamit e! we started scampering for the trees as the drizzle turned to full-fledged downpour with matching thunder and lightning. as we huddled under an umbrella we just bought from a maglalako, i can't help but wish i can take out my camera to take photos! i can even hear some drumming still from a brave tribe who seems to be having fun practicing in the rain. however, it was over for my day's photoshoot. i didn't think i have enough energy to last till the evening's actual parade. besides, i had a scrapping session that night with my scrapping buddies at Mitch's place. we called hubby at the office to come rescue us. maybe next year, i'll come better prepared to get wet and photocrazy-wild.