Biyahe Tayo Video

I've seen this video a few months ago and now tried to upload from http://www.youtube.com/ but I can't seem to make it work. I'm using the new Beta Blogger and it seems like there are still a lot of bugs that need to be fixed. Anyway, click *here* to see the video.

Bugs fixed so here it is.



After watching the video, it makes me want to go visit the Philippines again. I remember visiting Batanes Islands in May 1998 just a month before leaving for the US for good. I've been to a lot of places in the Philippines but visiting Batanes had been a great desire for me since I started hearing how beautiful that place is. I went there alone for a week as a kind of photographic sojourn and I was not disappointed. That time I was still shooting film and if only I can share with you the slides that I made but they haven't been converted to jpegs yet. I would like to visit Batanes Islands again, sometimes even dreaming about it. Aside from the reward photographically, the experience of the place and the people were just too good to be true. Even though it was 8 years ago, I can still vividly recall each day of adventure when I was there. That would be for another topic in this blog.

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Byahe Tayo

Written by: Rene Nieva
Sang by: Lea Salonga, Sharon Cuneta, Freddie Aguilar, Rey Valera, Rico Puno, Joey Ayala, Apo Hiking Society, Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs, Jolina Magdangal, April Boy Regino, Jessa Zaragoza, Paolo Santos, Nina and Rico Blanco of Rivermaya, John Lesaca, and Jong Cuenco

Ikaw ba’y nalulungkot (are you sad?)
Naiinip, nababagot? (Are you restless, irritated?)
Ikaw ba’y napapagod (Are you tired)
Araw gabi’y puro kayod? ( working day and night?)

Buhay mo ba’y walang saysay (Your life lost its meaning)
Walang sigla, walang kulay? (Lost its fun, lost its color)
Bawa’t araw ba’y pareho (Everyday’s just the same)
Parang walang pagbabago? (And nothing seems to change)

Tara na, biyahe tayo (So, let’s go, let’s go back home)
Kasama ang pamilya (Bring your family)
Barkada at buong grupo (Friends and the whole group)
Para mag-enjoy nang todo. (It’ll be totally fun)

Halika, biyahe tayo, (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Nang ating makita (That we’ll see)
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas (The beauty of the Philippines)
Ang galing ng Pilipino. (The greatness of the Filipinos)

Napasyal ka na ba (Have you been to)
Sa Intramuros at Luneta (Intramuros and Luneta)
Palawan, Vigan at Batanes (Palawan, Vigan, Batanes)
Subic, Baguio at Rice Terraces? (Subic, Baguio and Rice Terraces)

Namasdan mo na ba (Have you seen)
Ang mga vinta ng Zamboanga (the vinta of Zamboanga)
Bulkang Taal, Bulkang Mayon (Taal Volcano, Mayon Volcano)
Beach ng Boracay at La Union? (Boracay and La Union Beaches?)

Tara na, biyahe tayo (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Mula Basco hanggang Jolo (From Basco to Jolo)
Nang makilala ng husto (So that we’ll get to really know )
Ang ating kapwa-Pilipino. (our fellow Filipinos)

Halika, biyahe tayo, (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Nang ating makita (That we’ll see)
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas (The beauty of the Philippines)
Ang galing ng Pilipino. (The greatness of the Filipinos)

From city to city,Seven thousand and a hundred plus islas
Sa mahal kong Pilipinas (My beloved Philippines)
Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao ating puntahan. (From Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao)
Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan! (Let’s not be strangers in our own land)

Nasubukan mo na bang (Have you tried)
Mag-rapids sa Pagsanjan (the white water rapids at Pagsanjan)
Mag-diving sa Anilao (to dive at Anilao)
Mag-surfing sa Siargao? (or surf in Siargao?)

Natikman mo na ba (Have you tasted)
Ang sisig ng Pampanga (the sisig of Pampanga)
Duriang Davao, Bangus Dagupan (Davao durian and the milk fish of Dagupan)
Bicol Express at Lechong Balayan? (Bicol Express and Lechon Balayan?)

Tara na, biyahe tayo, (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Nang makatulong kahit pano (So we can help a little bit)
Sa pag-unlad ng kabuhayan (to improve the way of living)
Ng ating mga kababayan. (for our fellowmen)

Halika, biyahe tayo, (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Nang ating makita (That we’ll see)
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas (The beauty of the Philippines)
Ang galing ng Pilipino. (The greatness of the Filipinos)

Nakisaya ka na ba (Have you joined in)
Sa Pahiyas at Maskara (the Pahiyas and Maskara festivals?)
Moriones at Ati-Atihan (The moriones and Ati-atihan)
Sinulog at Kadayawan? (Sinulog and Kadayawan)

Namiesta ka na ba (Have you gone to the fiestas at)
Sa Peñafrancia sa Naga (Penafrancia in Naga)
Umakyat sa Antipolo (or climbed the Antipolo church)
Nagsayaw sa Obando? (or danced at Obando)

Tara na, biyahe tayo (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Upang ating matamo (that we’ll achieve)
Ligaya at pagkakaibigan (Joy, friendship)
Kaunlaran, kapayapaan. (prosperity and peace)

Halika, biyahe tayo, (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Nang ating makita (That we’ll see)
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas (The beauty of the Philippines)
Ang galing ng Pilipino. (The greatness of the Filipinos)

Tara na, biyahe tayo (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Upang ating matamo (that we’ll achieve)
Ligaya at pagkakaibigan (Joy, friendship)
Kaunlaran, kapayapaan. (prosperity and peace)

Halika, biyahe tayo, (So let’s go, let’s travel)
Nang ating makita (That we’ll see)
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas (The beauty of the Philippines)
Ang galing ng Pilipino. (The greatness of the Filipinos)

Halika, biyahe tayo… (so come on, let’s travel home)…

WOW Philippines…

Lyrics courtesy of Lakbay Pilipinas.

Incredible Family Portraiture

Today, the October issue of Vanity Fair hit the newsstands and on its cover is a photo made by Annie Leibovitz, a well-regarded portrait photographer. When I saw it last week online, I was kind of dumbfounded with the awesome family portraiture. It was just pleasantly simple but super incredible. This photo which shows baby Suri peeking out of a jacket worn by Tom Cruise with Kathie Holmes looking on is one of the finest portraits I've ever seen.

With this kind of photography, any man, woman and child will surely look great! In my mind, they don't have to be super beautiful people although that helps. The way the image was composed, the concept, the art direction, the soft lighting are just so perfect. Yes, it was surely posed but the image coveys otherwise, that's why it is successful as a portrait. Not only that but it connotes universality, a quality that makes photographs legendary. Annie Leibovitz is already a legend in her own right. This image will surely become an icon.

Inquirer Article about Ferdinand Marcos

I just read this one today about the Marcos family finally transferring his body to a new resting place soon. I never realized ex-Pres. Marcos is still in his refrigerated crypt up to now. I've been to his house in Batac and have seen his body way back in 1995 (?) on our way to Pagudpud. I was tempted to take a picture but there was a police officer keeping watch inside so I just didn't. Besides there was a sign prohibiting that.

It makes me wonder if indeed it's still him inside especially that's it's been 13 long years since his body was transferred there from Hawaii or if it's just a 'dummy' made to his likeness. I can't tell, the make-up was so heavy. He died in September 1989, so that's almost 17 years already. Has he been 'mummified' to a certain extent?

Here's the article:

***click here***

Note: You can click on the photo here to make it larger.

Watching The World Go By

David was finishing on his weekend homework yesterday when I decided to make a fun shot. The globe has nothing to do with his homework but using props to set-up the shot IMHO is just the way to go. I sometimes do this with my studio shoots. It can make a picture interesting and in this case spinning the globe added some pizzazz to the image. I also made some candid photos of him doing his homework without the globe and that added variety to the images. For this shot I asked David to really keep still as I was shooting using ambient light only (I used a tripod so I can really lower the shutter speed). I also converted the image to sepia and added a custom edge to make it work.



Come to think of it, I think I can introduce David to some geography lessons starting with the globe. Whenever I mention a certain country to him, most of the time he's not aware that it's even a country. He's also fond of Google Earth but more so on the 'coolness' of what it can do. I think the globe will do a better job of giving him a big picture of places that are found on our planet.

Would you like to self-publish?

I recently found a website that that may be of interest to anyone who wants to self-publish personal books like vacation journals, blogs, poetry, photo portfolios, cookbooks, etc. I've been thinking of writing about the trips we've made so far especially with our Spring Break trip to California. It was after all a family reunion that went for more than a week and besides I have enough images to choose from. I think I made about 1500 clicks, technically they're called shutter depressions. People may think that it was a lot but I've heard of wedding and easily sports photographers who make this much in one single event.

Anyway, you need to download a free software from the site and use the built-in templates for your project. You can even print your own pages with your home printer and if you know somebody who does a decent binding, then you already have your own book. If not, you can avail of the printing and binding service directly from the site. I haven't tried this one yet but they're saying (of course) it's coffee table book quality. The prices are not too bad knowing they make custom books and there is no economy of scale here. If you would like to do this, please send me a note about your experience when you have received your book.


The website is www.blurb.com



Here's the website screenshot: