Final Prep

It was the morning of the day before their maiden voyage. I visited the Balangay Expedition Team, expecting that they would be busy packing, checking, preparing or doing whatever an expedition team would do prior to an expedition. I was surprised to find the HQ in a very festive ambiance with a crowd of visitors chatting, laughing, and taking pictures. It actually felt like I arrived late for a party. I found out that the frenzy started early when the crew from a morning TV show arrived at 5 AM to shoot a live segment. Later in the morning, members of the Philippine Airlines Mountaineering Club, and another another TV crew from ANC, came to join the team on their last practice sail around Manila Bay.






More photos

You can check a real-time location update of Balangay Expedition via Spot Beacon.

Sundrenched Weekend

Last Friday, I rode with the Balangay Expedition Team during their training sail around Manila Bay. It was quite busy on deck with the crew focused on the getting their moves together with the trainers from the Manila Yacht Club. This also gave me a chance to learn how to go around the boat and shoot without being a nuisance to the ones who are trying to sail it.



After getting sunburned from several hours under the Manila Bay sunshine, I ended up spending a scorching Sunday morning shooting the Women Invitational Inter-Collegiate Beach Volleyball Tournament at the Cantada Sports Center.

Testing Waters

The past weeks were mostly spent battling with the flu that has been going around Manila recently. After what seemed to be an endless sequence of recovery and relapse, I finally made it just in time to hitch a ride with the Balangay expedition crew during a test sail around Manila Bay. I posted a report on Demotix and also included a few frames here.







As I write this, thousands of Filipinos packed the streets of Metro Manila to catch a glimpse of the late President Corazon Aguino's funeral convoy transferring her body from La Salle Greenhils to the Manila Cathedral. I am conflicted. I feel an equal obligation to be out there taking shots, as well as here in front of my notebook catching up on deadlines.