"good things happen everyday"

"hold on tight"

"If flowers can grow through blankets of fallen snow, I shall have hope too. 

- Tyler Knott Gregson

"whisper your wish to a butterfly"

"good love will find you. one day."

"Some people are always grumbling that roses have thorns;

well, I am glad that thorns have roses."

- Alphonse Karr

I just needed my favorites - the sun, the sand and the sea.

"colors are my caffeine"

I love it when it rains... and I can hear the raindrops. 

Find Your Passion

"Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." - Julia Child

Top photographs for the year 2012

2012 - the year when I decided to pursue my passion in photography though I do not have any formal training.

I first started posting photos on Instagram. And, without any expectations, I received wonderful comments both from the amateur and professional photographers. It was very encouraging! This has then paved way for me to take a leap and decided to start my own photo blog.

Taking photos is something that I really enjoy doing. And, hearing genuine comments from different people is something that I really appreciate. :)

Below are the photographs I took which has been featured on:

#iGers Pinoy (instagram)

 

#Kawaii of the day (instagram)

#Just follow them (instagram)

 Jux.com (web)

Having my photos featured, is definitely something that encourage me to continue and give me a happiness considering that there are various entries photographed both by amateur and professional photographers.

With all of these, I couldn't be happier!!!

THANK YOU!

On the last day of 2012...

It's December 31 - the last day of the year. And, we are only counting hours and, finally, 2012 is coming to a close

Today, I decided to work on my annual goal setting aka my new year's resolution. Apart from it, I also decided to take photographs since this activity is something that I couldn't do anymore when I am officially back in Iloilo since school is starting in 3 days. =/

But looking on the brighter side, I am happy still. :)

This 10-days of once in a blue moon paved way for the break I have been yearning - to read books, be reunited with old friends, to savor home-cooked meals and breath some fresh air. But what I love the most about going home is the wonderful feeling of being reunited with my loved ones. :)

Below are the random snapshots I took...

Today is the last day of the year and whatever ways we have decided how to spend it - whether making our thank you list, new year's resolutions, or just simply used the time relaxing and sitting on the couch...

It is important to remember that we should always know how to spend our time well, not only on the last day of the year but also through all the days of our lives.

Happy 2013, everyone! 

Let us lift our hopes up for a brighter year!

Cheers!

:)

Summer wrap-up and photographs

Before my "official" summer vacay started, I promised myself to make this vacay a little bit different. With this, I came up with my "summer-to-do" list: explore a new summer destination, try out something new and develop new skills/talent. And, I can say that I am happy with how it turned out. :)

I finished 6 books: The hunger games trilogy, The winner takes it all by Paulo Coelho, The happiness project by Gretchen Rubin and finally, after ages, Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks. =p

I was able to learn more about myself as I tried something new.  May it being more adventurous with my nails as I tried bolder shades like neons, red and purple. Since I would usually stick to pale pink shades so I don't attract too much attention. :)

If I have one realization this summer, it is that, we don't have to go very far for us to have a rocking summer vacation, as our country has many different spots to discover - Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, and our newly explored summer vacay destination - Guimaras. :)

I also love how my summer vacay turned out to be a perfect time for honing talents and discovering the new sides of myself. Since there were no school works waiting to be done, topics to study, I had more time doing and designing my spiritual journal (where I write all my favorite bible verses), writing on my blog. and, of course, taking photographs. :) you can visit my photo blog project here :)

Now that summer is ending and med school is about to start, I can say that I have something even more special than the bottle of white sand I have collected. :)

The little things

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." 

I see this phrase everywhere... but I think it is somehow misleading. 

If we measure life by breathtaking moments, we miss the wonder of ordinary moments - eating, sleeping and breathing. 

These might seem to be ordinary, in the sense that we do it in our every day routine, usually without so much thought.

But, did we even realize that they are not ordinary at all?

Every bite and every breath we take are miracles.

In fact, to breath is more miraculous than anything that takes our breath away. :) 

Let us all be reminded that it is important to find joy in ordinary things and realize that bigger is not always better and more doesn't always mean an improvement. 

Instead of looking for meaning in breathtaking moments, we should find meaning in every breath we take, and make our every breath meaningful. :)

In full bloom

I have been taking nature photographs for a couple of months which is ironically, the type of photography I considered to be not my forte. Probably because I considered it to be challenging. As one of the most "abused" photo subjects, some of them are just poorly taken. Hence, as an amateur, I don't want to be mediocre so I just choose to stay on my safe zone.

As ironic as this might sound, but yes, I'm enjoying doing nature shots. From sunsets, leaves, flowers, raindrops... I hesitated at first, there were a lot of "what ifs", I was very pre-occupied about what other people, professional photographers specifically, might think after seeing my very amateur photos...

Fortunately, when I started posting my nature shots on my instagram account, I was so overwhelmed with the positive comments I received from my followers, both amateur and professional photographers! Yayyy!:)

Today, I can say that I am fairly satisfied with the outcome of taking risk and trying out something new. :)

Have a good day, everyone!!!:)

Aesthetic Inspiration

Months ago, there was a point when I felt completely anhedonic - too lazy to work for something that I want to do.

Those were the days where all I just care about was to finish my grad school classes (which I had been doing in a very carefree manner...and it worried me). There was also a point where I just feel completely lost, which surprisingly included my sudden lack of passion for something I thought I would never get tired of doing - photography.

I am not exactly sure how it happened. But it seems that every photo I took only depicts mediocrity.  I believe I kept on doing the same things, over and over again.  I hate to admit this, but yes, I was losing it.

I am completely clueless how I have taken back my creative mojo, but one thing is for sure - 

I don't want to lose something that makes me happy...:)

Strangers in paradise

Talking to strangers when I was a kid was strictly a taboo.  Since my parents would regard them as someone who would just take advantage of my innocence. 

As a grown up, I still have hesitations when talking to strangers, though I come to slowly realize that talking to people from distant lands, language or even culture could also be interesting.

Father and child.

Taken when we watched The Sea Lion's Show at Ocean Park Manila (03-26-12)

Patiently waiting in line...

Guiding every child's footstep...

Companionship...

P.S: Thank you dear strangers for letting me take your photos. If this bothers you, let me know. :)