Landscapes of Philippines

anonymouscuban · January 26, 2011

OK... I'm far from a landscape photographer but I took a stab at a few during out travels last month. Would love to hear what you think:

1. Pano of the rice terraces of Banaue, Philippines

2. Rice terraces of Segada and the Chico river... again in Philippines

3. More rice terraces

4. Mountain settlement along the Chico river

5. Couple shots inside a cave in Segada

6. One more of the terraces and river

schmoo · January 27, 2011

How green! The land looks rugged and old, no doubt tossed by the weather, too. I love the shots from inside the cave. Reminds me of that recent article about those incredible caves in Vietnam.

canghuixu · January 27, 2011

Very nice. I like #3 and #5.

kdog · January 28, 2011

I like 1, 2, 3 and 6. Very lush and interesting landscape. The rice terraces are cool. Those cave shots would have made good targets for HDRs, given the huge dynamic range you had to deal with.

Marc Muench · January 28, 2011

I can tell you put some effort into your compositions

Looks like a great trip

anonymouscuban · January 28, 2011

@Schmoo... It really is a place all must see. It was breathtaking. So beautiful.

@Kdog... the cave shots there are HDR. I used three exposures. I tried to keep the tone mapping subtle.

@Marc... thanks. I tried my best. As I said, I don't shoot landscapes often and all of the vistas were shot from the side of the rode with a 16mm wide angle so I didn't have the ability to really select my vantage point. I really didn't do the views justice. They were beautiful.

Debashis_A_ghosh · January 29, 2011

Its indeed nice to see this series.

annnna8888 · January 29, 2011

Very cool. I almost went to the Philippines last summer but then ended up in China.

I know it can be very challenging to get a good pictures of rice terraces. They all look so picturesque but on closer inspection there is so much clutter, electric poles and wires, concrete houses that seem out of place in all that greenery...

Considering all that you managed quite well IMHO and I particularly like #2 and 3. So what is your opinion of the country in terms of landscapes - worth going? I've heard so many contradicting reports and am always looking for new insight. It's a big place though; where exactly did you go?

Ana

anonymouscuban · January 29, 2011

annnna8888 wrote: »

Very cool. I almost went to the Philippines last summer but then ended up in China. I know it can be very challenging to get a good pictures of rice terraces. They all look so picturesque but on closer inspection there is so much clutter, electric poles and wires, concrete houses that seem out of place in all that greenery... Considering all that you managed quite well IMHO and I particularly like #2 and 3. So what is your opinion of the country in terms of landscapes - worth going? I've heard so many contradicting reports and am always looking for new insight. It's a big place though; where exactly did you go?

Ana

Yes. You'll hear a lot of different opinions of the Philippines. I went there with very low expectations. My wife is Filipina... well, she was born in the US but both her parents are from there. She had visited the Philippines as a child and had very bad memories of the place so that is what I based my expectations on. Boy was I wrong.

The Philippines is composed of 7106 islands. Many are uninhabited. Luzon island is where most live and where Manila is located and where we spent most of our time. If you spend most of your time in and around Metro-Manila, don't expect to see beautiful scenery and landscapes. It's a very congested metropolitan area. Lots of traffic, I mean lots! People always coming and going. Lots of pollution. Large high rise buildings surrounded by shanty towns. You'll see a lot of homeless people in downtown Manila. Stuff like that. HOWEVER, I found this just as interesting as the beautiful vistas pictured above.

The people of the Philippines are wonderful. I knew that already since I've been married to one for 19 years.

They are very welcoming, easy going and friendly. They love foreigners, especially Americans. Not so much the Japanese... a little baggage from WWII but for the most part, most foreigners are treated exceptionally well. Honestly, at times I was treated so well that it made me feel a little uncomfortable, almost like a celebrity. Like when I was standing in line to pay at a store and then had me come to the front of line to pay ahead of all the Filipinos. Stuff like that happened a lot. You get used to it after a bit but still made me feel weird at times.

I felt very safe traveling within the Philippines. Even places that I had been warned about. Of course, you have to be a smart traveler. You don't want to wonder around drunk at night while hold bars of gold and diamonds in your hands while screaming "I'm rich" at the top of your lungs.

You get my point. Don't do things you wouldn't do here America and you'll be fine. And I wouldn't go down to the radical muslim provinces of Mindanao, which is an island in the far south. This is where the abductions occur. But I have a feeling that this again is more legend than anything else. After all, Manny Pacquiao is from Mindanao so how bad can it be.

The other great thing is that everyone speaks English. This makes it very easy to travel without knowing a lick of the the local language. Even in the Northern Province where people are a bit more isolated they spoke fluent English. Of course, I have learned a bit of Tagalog over the years so I try my best. Often the response to this is giggling and laughter because an American is speaking Tagalog. But again, no need to speak it. All the traffic signs, most of the billboards and business signs are all in English. This makes it so easy to travel.

Once you travel even a few kilometers outside of Metro-Manila, you'll be surprised how much open land there is. Aside from the few small farming neighborhoods, you'll see a lot of lush tropical landscape. To north on Luzon are the mountains. That is where I took the photos above. I don't need to explain how beautiful that was. To south, there are place like Tigaytay that has the large Taal lake and Taal volcano. Again, beautiful.

If you want to see beautiful beaches, then you have a ton of choices. We went to Boracay, another island. It was pretty but a little too touristy for me. Although we didn't get to go and plan to next year, there I islands like Palawan, Cebu, and Bohol that absolutely breathtaking. If you dive, I've been told the Philippines has the best diving in the world.

The last important thing I should share is how cheap everything is there. Right now the exchange rate is 45 pesos to 1 dollar. As long as you're not buying electronics or cars, you'll be floored at how cheap things are. For example, a 90 minute massage at a luxury spa is 1300 pesos. That's 20 bucks! Two kilos of freshly caught lobster... 700 pesos. A haircut with tip and scalp and shoulder massage include, 150 pesos. Manicure and pedicure 200 pesos. Our roundtrip flight from Manila to Boracay was $35 each person. Your dollar will go far in the Philippines but don't be stingy. Make sure you give good tips

I can go on and on. Like I said, I had low expectations going in and I left completely in love with the country. Did I mention that my wife and I came very close to buying property there, in Tigaytay? We didn't because we had no plans to and I don't like doing things like that on impulse. But when we go back next year, we probably will end up buying land there to later build our retirement home. If you want to go to an interesting and beautiful country and you are used to traveling to 3rd world countries, then I highly recommend the Philippines.

schmoo · February 1, 2011

Wow thanks for the detailed writeup, Alex.

Tracker · February 1, 2011

nice write-up and nice pics. For some reason, #6 just sticks with me.
thanks for sharing.

zoomer · February 1, 2011

Really nice photos. Colors look amazing.
I think 1 and the first cave photo are my favorites.
Appreciate the write up on your trip also.

GOLDENORFE · February 1, 2011

very nice, good compositions in first 2 frames

love the cave shots

annnna8888 · February 5, 2011

Thanks so much for a detail report!

I've traveled extensively in the South East Asia, but the Philippines somehow fell off my itinerary every time I headed to that part of the world. Personal feedback like yours definitely helps make a decision to visit.

Ana

Landscapes of Philippines

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