it's a small world party

the invitation... designed by the brother-in-law of my sis...

a traditional filipino dress... this was made by the aunt of my sister-in-law.

one big effort by my sister-in-law who conceptualized and made this cake possible.
mobilized her staff to cut the flags and fitted the cake with world flags...
cake was served with a flag...
surrounding the cake are the bag of goodies put together by my sister...

early on - very calm... looking straight ahead at the camera wondering what's going on in here.

it took me several shots to take this one decent photo -- she was definitely distracted with all the on goings...

my 'Inay', my 95 year old aunt. she won't miss this for anything in the world... look at her, she is enjoying her ice cream cone...

the set-up... catered food of choice, ice cream stand, lechon, pastries, balloons, souvenir bags with goodies, game paraphernalias and the nice 'christmassy' decor that enhanced the ambiance of the festive event...

this party was held as an advance celebration of micah's first birthday. we were in our home province so we took this opportunity to share our thanks to family, close relatives and friends. A very 'special thanks' to my sis who made this event possible.

simple pleasures of fatherhood...

photos taken on christmas day by michelle while micah and i were setting up the 1.5 feet christmas tree at our house in phnom penh, cambodia.

a game of hide and seek with micah...

while we were preparing for her "it's a small world party", micah got busy playing hide and seek with the hanging toys that will be used in one of the games in her party.

why not... black and white

i have always wanted for some of my photos to be in black and white... the reason that is holding me back in doing so is the frustration that i get seeing a gray overtone instead of the highly contrasting black and white (high contrast with no overexposure of some areas). i guess this is one shot that i am starting to be satisfied with my black and white shot...

the two most precious 'women' in my life... michelle and micah...

sunset series #2: along road 48, province of koh kong

traveling along road 48 in the province of koh kong, as we tred through the mountain passage, we were met with this beautiful sunset. engulfing us on that day...

with my point and shoot camera and cruising at an average speed of 85 kms / hour, here are the shots i took...

sunset series #1: smach meanchey town, riverside, province of koh kong

as i got out of the building after the meeting at 5:45 p.m., i saw the sky ablazed with a rich orange red color. i was not mistaken, as i ran to the river side of the town, here was the sunset on that particular day. i am just so glad that i have my canon sd 950 - my point and shoot camera.

i took series of shots, trying different angles and iso number. here so far are my favorite shots.

tatai waterfalls, koh kong province, cambodia

koh kong has long since been promoted as an ecotourism destination and rightfully so.

This waterfalls is located just off national road #48, a little bit further from the fourth bridge (if one is coming from the capital city, and fifteen or so minutes of dusty bumpy ride going inside and a five minute walk to the waterfalls itself. It's all worth it.

Koh Kong Spirit House

it has always been a tradition in Khmer homes or in any of the houses in the mekong region, the presence of a spirit house for protection of the property and inhabitants as well as to bring good will and prosperity.

here is the spirit house located in front of the house that i am staying at for the past four years. i offer incense every now and then...

reposting pic...

it never ceases to amaze me how photos can be manipulated to suit one's taste... here is one that i posted previously which i worked on further... looking so different from its original... using ps3.

phnom penh street scene...

in one of those trips... going out of phnom penh on our way to my work base at the border of cambodia and thailand... again... ready to take shots... this time its with my nikon D80.

my hair at its longest...

nobody liked it...

but my stubbornness prevailed... photo taken two years ago.

and that was it.

saturday tennis play ...

it has always been a routine for the past two years that whenever i am in the capital city of cambodia - phnom penh - i would always play tennis with the the filipino tennis playing group at VIP Sports Club or if there are special events whereby we cant use the place, there is always an alternative court at bassac city homes. a resident of the place is a good friend of one of the tennis players.

its always fun...

kep city, kampot province, cambodia

temple out of nowhere...

ever since i came to a full realization that the project i am handling is finally finishing in three months time - i make it a point that i have my camera at hand ready to take shots of scenery that i find interesting. my point and shoot camera - canon ixus 950 IS is ever reliable.

i was seated in the front seat of the car and with a speed fluctuating between 90 and 100 kms/hr, i have to be fully alert and always on guard, ready to take shots... this afternoon... i took these shots while on our way to the province of kampot from phnom penh taking the back roads through kep city. whew, that was a 165 kms trip on rough roads.

we were cruising through endless scenery of rice fields, palm trees and irrigations (the dig and flow type - the traditional way). this is the kind of trip that somehow inspires me on what i am doing workwise for i can sense that deep inside this luscious green scenery that is so soothing to the eyes and evoking a strong sense of relaxation are communities that are considered hard to reach in terms of access to social services.

somehow as one breezes through these sceneries, it all starts to blur... but this route is really out of the ordinary - shapes of mountains from a distance triggers a sense of awe and certain scenarios juts out that jag me to grab my camera and take shots...

here are my favorites on this trip.

postscript: the second photo is the result of my crude attempt on digital manipulation.

Olympus, Turkey

i was browsing through my photo files and i came across this photo that i took in turkey during our travel there last year. this photo was taken in olympus. an interesting place - have to travel downwards from the main highway to reach this spot - a good two hour drive. but its all worth it... coastal in location with smoldering volcano somewhere - we didn't actually see the natural fire that would randomly occur spewing from under the earth. as it is in all of turkey - this place abounds with artifacts and ruins of the ancient civilization. this place is particularly interesting as there is a thriving beach crowd awed with the sight of rock mountains, a cove like enclosure and sand dunes forming from the waves of the sea.

i will post more - once i get to fully have time to check on my photo archives.