Photo Friday: Difficult shot

here's my plan: i'll be collecting my posts about my vacation in europe, if ever i finish writing it all down, and have the links in one post. i may be posting them not in chronological order as i luv remembering things as they strike me

i lost track of the holy week. we chose the perfect season for a vacation. we based it all on when the cure will have their concert, then reserved the first weekend flight to Amsterdam.

Prior to the flight, i wanted a day to day journal, i even bought a small scrap notebook, but i had no step by step plans, no schedule to strictly follow, nothing but pure adventure and unconditional trust to my tour guide *.*

Thus, i let each day pass with spontaneity. i lost track of my plan to write down a diary, but thats the least of my worries. in fact, i had no worries at all.

so, this will be my first entry.
maundy thursday, march 20, 2008, franeker.

After our afternoon walk (dont forget the fotoshoots - lol) in the streets of Franeker, and an early dinner of dutch food, he said he has a surprise for me. we rode his bike to a park. you have to cross a short footbridge to enter and a tall iron arch gate awaits at the other end. the park has a pond in the middle with about three species of ducks glazing by.

We were surrounded by trees waiting for spring, awaiting to bloom. the branches of the trees reflect their intricate details thru the water's pond, which in turn mirrors the faint dark hue of the sky. it was a beautiful scenery and i cant stop taking photos. wow it is a surprise! ..but that's not the surprise, he said.

sunset. he said i'll be seeing something that i may not have seen before at any moment. so i stood still, waiting. i felt the cool breeze pierce my layers and layers of coat, jacket and blouse. i smiled and closed my eyes raising my head up to feel the soft wind sliding thru my scarf, tickling my neck. the crisp air with the lingering smell of acorns and pine almost hypnotized me. then i heard something weird.

a distant growl of hisses chirping from afar, echoing in my ear. but as the echoes fade, i hear them coming closer by the second. so i opened my eyes and saw such an amazing sight.



and there they were. hundreds of swallows... no, thousands of them! floating in the air, flying over us.



they circled the park and went from tree to tree. they would settle on branches for a few seconds then fly away again.

later on, a new flock of birds from the opposite direction came flying towards them, like waves of the sea, only looking up, i saw how the groups merged into one. in a few seconds they fly going further like little black holes in the clear aqua blue sky. then, they separated again, in grace.

a ballet in the sky, as they dance with the wind. floating over us mortals who couldnt do anything but just look up, admire and be mesmerized. i was simply blown away, wide eyed and and bewildered! i have never seen so many birds fly so freely..



and yeah, it was difficult to take photos of them as more than half the time i was frozen on my toes in amazement.

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note: all photos best viewed in large. especially the last one. this is my entry for photofriday's topic difficult shot.

illo friday: worry

there is so much positive energy for this week's IF entries. well i broke my rule today as i went over to check some of my fave artists entries before doing mine. but i already have an idea before doing so. and here are some worries that i would luv for you to see..

first, i got worried about.. anon's missing parrot, jack (thanks to ces who made a tribute for him). i also got worried on how studiololo saw rude people living behind their cats, they just couldn't see how cats can be companions too, unlike sketched out. they can be like dogs too as they worry of having their owners leave them behind, just like Rat, the dog of valgalart.

yep, i worry like m heart. i also got bit worried of the people who swim too close to boats just like aynaku. what also worried me was the scary hand usually dreamt by kids, drawn by vhrsti. got scared too of the idea of not having ideas like rrramone. and although ginger's little girl is so worried of the frogs, it worried me more when she reminded us of global warming. and that ants should worry about it too, as shown to us by princess pepper cloud. so we all should spend a worry-free day, like what kathleen rietz drew, with our families and loved ones, while we are still alive!

reading about common worries and the positive comments by their visitors made me once again agree that there are still a lot of good people out there.

and, like the song of rbaird goes.. ..don't worry — be happy. in every life we have some trouble but when you worry you make it double..

this song helped me get over my greatest worry.. yes, the first thing that came to mind when i saw this week's topic was how i live so close to the most dangerous road in the philippines. the commonwealth avenue. (some even claim its the most dangerous road in south east asia)



worried about commonwealth ave
900 x 650 (orig.)
MS Paint collage



for more than 2 decades, i pass by this road and saw how it transformed. literally. it was once a long road of vacant lots and trees on numerous points, until they widened the road, and widened it some more. this meant, cutting down of trees and literally pulling them out off the ground. this also forced some squatters to leave their homes, and small shops to permanently close. gone are the vulcanizing shops, auto shops, barbers and salons, the goats doomed to be pinapaitan (a native delicacy), the palochina furniture makers, the videoke bars, beer bars and carinderias (small restaurants).

now we have a mall, a big church (st. peter church) which was inspired to be a replica of the basilica in rome, additional public and private schools (about 5, not including the university of the philippines), more buildings, a golf course and a golf driving range (separate locations), 3 call centers, plus an industrial science and technology park that is ongoing construction (said to be owned by about 5 huge corporations - IBM, HSBC, ABS-CBN etc).

now industry and destruction of the environment have its blow on us. im not really against progress here ok, but widening of road means more cars, more buses and all sorts of vehicles. more vehicles means more people gaining access. more people increases the accident rate. and sadly, not to mention, crime rate. well, it is the 2nd most populous suburb in the world, tied with Giza, Egypt and Incheon, Korea. only Yokohama, Japan is larger.

but the big danger is not because its where the house of representatives (where the congress holds its sessions) is located. but there was one news, about the data gathered from the police reports, that from August to September of last year alone, an average of two to three crimes and accidents happen in a week. this does not include the 'smaller' accidents and crimes that doesn't get reported, including over-speeding, small bumps on cars, pickpockets, etc. i even witnessed accidents (or its aftermath) almost every week last january to february. so im guessing the ratio will still be the same, or worse!

well this is not something to be proud of indeed. but fortunately for me, and thankfully, nothing has happened to me. and i pray that i'll still be safe. although i had a brother who got snatched of his mobile phone while in a bus without realizing it, and my dad's car was hit by a small truck when he was doing a u-turn at philcoa (found at the beginning of the avenue) thankfully, there were no injuries. but so far living here for more than 2 decades, that's it.

worrying is not the first thing that should overrule your mind. living here for so long, you just get used to it. but sometimes even though you are very careful, its just a matter of chance and being on the wrong place at a wrong time.

Illo Friday: Wide

wide open sky
900 x 650 (orig.)
MS Paint


Achlum.. yep, Achlum again. my third illo for this city.

if i were to choose and re-live just one day of my stay in holland, i'll choose the day we went to achlum. of course i love all my days there (as short as it may have been) as each day was an adventure; with a new place to see, new museum to go to, new art to discover, new people to visit, new food to taste and new things to do.

this illo is based on a photo i took, as well as the other two:

       

well, what can i say? i just fell inlove with the place.. and fell inlove with my moogie *.* all over again..

Illo Friday: electricity

i cant believe that a week just passed by so fast.. i wasnt even able to finish my illo for the topic "seed".. well ok, not even started with one. but i have the image in my mind until now.

so here goes a couple of camera paintings that is well suited.. but dont touch your screens or the electricity will stun you! };-}

when work eats you alive...



...you have to fight back or you're dead.



coz life without art is not life at all. you are just in autopilot.