Lost Wandering Tokyo Drifter?

How is everyone doing? For the past few months or so, I've been stuck working from home, and apart from the occasional errands, I'm just mostly staying at home. I realized I've been away here for too long, so I thought, why not go back into writing? Yes, sorry I took so long. So here it is. Remembering the time last year when I had that week in Japan... In pictures.

Shibuya Crossing. My idea of organized chaos. It begins when the lights turn green.

The Update I Almost Never Got Around To Doing

Three Generations, From Two Families, In One Picture. Find the third generation.

Call me Tito. I've had nieces and nephews from my cousins, but it hasn't really sunk in until it comes from your a sibling. I'm an uncle now in our immediate family now. So I can't say I'm a monkey's uncle anymore because that would insinuate my niece to be the monkey. She's all adorable but I can't share pictures of her yet...

My Quick Summer Jaunt

It has been a fairly busy year for me. This year, 2019 may promise to be among the busier ones...  We're expecting an upcoming happy occasion in the family, and this led me to an errand across the street...

This gate leads to my destination.

Okay, not really. It required me to travel to the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

End Of A Roll

The year 2017 has been quite a wild ride. Among my roller coaster years, this has been one of the most surreal for me, regardless of reasons for good and bad. I take the time to be grateful of the good things that have happened to me this year. Despite all the bad times, I still have lots to be grateful for.

This is Minnie. Some see a camera. I see provenance.

I take this time to mention the adventure, the blessings and the amazing people I had the privilege of meeting going through life this year, especially in relation to my shutterbug habits.

The Strangers I Meet - Everyday People

After that hike last August, life has gone back to some semblance of a routine. I can't say that it's totally the same, but, it's not necessarily a bad thing. There's the usual me habitually wandering into places, but now it's gotten a different.

Familiar Stranger. What it's like to meet for the first time someone you know for a long time. Shot with #agfavista in #belomovilia . . #thestrangersimeet #lostwanderingdrifter

A post shared by The Lost Wandering Drifter (@lostwanderingdrifter) on Aug 31, 2017 at 10:00am PDT

Apart from the usual food photography, the portraits of the Starbucks baristas I made friends with, our utterly adorable dog, and the random knickknacks in between, I may have acquired some fixation to take pictures of people I find interesting, if not fascinating...

The Strangers I Meet - The Kindness Of Strangers

This happened not merely just because of me. While it's true, I went to the top and back with my own power and not riding a horse...

This journey I took knowing it will be an ordeal, chasing the shadow of what's now a distant memory - a fantasy that was once reality. I have now arrived where I wanted to be - the first destination among many. I did not find the shadow I chase, but I found something somewhat more rewarding. The plans and promises made, ones I intended to keep from my end regardless of how everything else went awry, this is the first of many journeys for the rest of my life will try. Now from where I stand looking at something I've never seen with my own eyes, I find myself in the company and kindness of amazing strangers I never met before. Under the clouds forming with the air getting damp and droplets falling, I reached the peak, and the purpose of this journey. The skies shower me with some respite from the cruel sun. I look beyond and I saw this - the view that goes beyond, further and out of sight from the comfort zone. This was worth risking for. Safety and fear never helped me through the worst; This adventure was worth risking for. This was the first of many - there will be more. . . . . Story Link in bio. . . #lostwanderingdrifter #colorphotography #photography #nature #trailadventours #taal #hike #naturehike #whenintaal #taalvolcano #naturetrail #outdoors #sharelifeoutdoors #olympus #olympusepl5 #rokinon #rokinonfisheye #fisheye #defished #lake #craterlake #taalcraterlake

A post shared by The Lost Wandering Drifter (@lostwanderingdrifter) on Aug 13, 2017 at 8:46pm PDT

... I admit with no shame and with lots of gratitude that this wouldn't have been possible without the kindness of strangers around me. Don't get me wrong, everyone on the hike has been amazing. There are a few I've really appreciated though and they made it memorable. I'm mentioning some of them here - partly because I feel I owe them some measure of gratitude.

The Strangers I Meet - The First Steps

It is said, that the ones who can hurt us the most are the ones closest to us. There's no pain like seeing someone you know intimately turn into someone else and look at you like you're a stranger. Time and again I found myself in the receiving end of that for the past decade or so - I kept losing people I held close.

But before this becomes a sappy morose story, let me end it at that. To make a change in this status quo I now endeavor to once again go beyond my comfort zone- the world is full of interesting people. A lot of them I see, but I never had the chance to talk to them. And so there's this crazy idea - why not capture them on film and a bit of their story?

So, basically I now find the world to be a vast room full of strangers. Why not go chat them up?

Today I learned something from this anonymous stranger. Let's call him Alex. I'll remember him as the WD-40 guy. He'll be the first of many I intend to feature on a new theme I endeavor to show here and take a portrait of them on film. I'm hoping to work on my social skills along the process and not come across as some creep. I would like to believe that it's a self esteem thing but the creeped out looks I get in real life is abundant and very real. With aesthetics and prejudice working against me, it's easier said than done. Today I managed to break the ice with this stranger and take his picture along with a bit of story from this afternoon. I believe there are many around me like him and I hope to find and feature them. They'll be tagged as #thestrangersimeet in my collection. Catch them soon. . . . . #lostwanderingdrifter #rnifilms #solo #stroll #lafinca

A post shared by The Lost Wandering Drifter (@lostwanderingdrifter) on Jul 22, 2017 at 7:27am PDT

Except for a few trivial things - rejection affects me a bit more than it should, I'm the least appealing person in terms of looks that I know of, and I'm also socially awkward with inept social skills... Ay, there's the rub.

To The Top And Back!

The previous entry, was just getting half way there. That wasn't the destination. That was the halfway point in our long walk. Things get even more interesting after that.

This wasn't the destination. This was the respite; This is the relief - the extraction from that tiresome endeavor. Beyond these planks is our ride that brings us back to the familiar. Leaving behind the tedious adventure -  and our footprints. But we bring back with us the dirt in our shoes from this, along with the pictures, the memories and the sense of accomplishment. Taal has been kind to us in this.

 

This is the second of the two parts. In case you missed the first one, it's in here. As what our guides would say to fellow hikers we come across along the way, "Keep it up! You're halfway there."

The Other Side Of The Comfort Zone

August 5, 2017.  I went to climb a volcano to jump off the crater. Then I remembered that I have acrophobia and was too tired to even jump when I got there so I just enjoyed the view and took pictures instead. The end. Okay, not really. There's so much more to it. I am now here. Looking out to the scenery - searching for the places where I used to stand while looking at the place I'm standing in right now. So, this is the view from the other side...

This journey I took knowing it will be an ordeal, chasing the shadow of what's now a distant memory - a fantasy that was once reality. Nonetheless, the die is cast, I find myself on the edge of what I've only looked at from afar before, and there is no other way but forward. For plans and promises made, ones I intend to keep from my end regardless of how everything else went awry. Because I promised them. Because I planned them. Now from the outside looking in, I find myself in the company and kindness of amazing strangers I never met before. Under the scorch of the cruel sun and intermittent respite of the clouds, each heavy step I take, off to tread where I've never dared before. Halfway getting there I look back to see this. So this is the view from the other side of the comfort zone. This is worth risking for. Safety and fear never helped me through the worst; This adventure is worth risking for. This is the first of many - I'll be back for more.

This read might get as long as the journey...

Downtime At Bacolod

During my stay there, I maximized the time staying at home. Yes, I'm not there often and I enjoy the lazy days there. That's not to say that I just stayed at home though. Apart from that I've gone to a few interesting places with dad and my brother. Here are some of it...

Monochrome Terminal

"Monochrome" and "Terminal" paints a different picture that comes to mind to IT folks. It reminds us of green/gray text on black computer screens from days of old. It's also rather similar to Photography. Before pictures came in color, a lot were in monochrome (black and white commonly, but it also came in sepia, among others). The difference is, though, monochrome persisted.

Monochrome has always been a fascination of mine. In this age of overwhelming bleeding edge technology where newer technologies lead to more vibrant colors, I tend to step back every now and then to regress to basic black and white, and all of the two hundred fifty-four shades in between that my camera can muster. Though I imagine it'll be much fewer shades than that due to the mixing I do for contrast.

I had the chance to play with it when we traveled to Hong Kong. I had the time and luxury to experiment so I rendered some images in monochrome. More of the tones and textures here...

The Colors Of Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is a marvel of engineering. It is among the most amazing man-made structures I've seen both in scale and in elegance. The whole airport is practically a small city in scale and I pretty much tired myself out exploring just the passenger accessible areas in Terminal 1 departure. 

More sights of this monumental marvel in here...

Going Home - Taxi Ride To the Airport

Time surely is fleeting when you're having fun. While not everyone may agree considering that we didn't exactly go to the usual tourist attractions, I still think it was awesome that we got to see a piece of Hong Kong. Just like that it was time to go home. We checked out at the hotel and grabbed a ride to the airport.

Short but sweet, here are some sights we saw along the way...

Strolling To Harbour City - Through The Subway

Second day in Hong Kong. Yesterday we had a long hot day, and today was no different. What is different though, is we know better now. Today we had the whole day to ourselves.

We're off to a long stroll today. Lots of sights to see, coffee to drink, food to eat, pictures to take... Did I mention food?

Afternoon Hong Kong Tour 2 - Lights In The Sky

This is a continuation of our tour that started here.

After a few turns on the Observation Wheel, we hopped on a bus to be showed around places in Hong Kong.

Just being in Hong Kong give a look and feel of being in the Asian Movies. It's as every bit awesome as it was in the films.

A portion of this story was updated as it happened on Instagram, but a lot of the sights can also be found here. Captions can be found on the Flickr page if you're interested to read them. Just click on the image and you'll be redirected there.

Afternoon Hong Kong Tour 1 - Fresh Off The Boat

This is a continuation of the previous entry.

Hong Kong is amazing. After lunch and shopping, we had a chance to take some rest. At four in the afternoon we got ready and went on to an adventure I'd not forget- An afternoon tour of Hong Kong. 

With Hong Kong being a vast place though, we picked the least stressful tour. We didn't want to spend the afternoon running a marathon playing catch up with time and the tour guide.

A portion of this story was updated as it happened on Instagram, but a lot of the sights can also be found here. Captions can be found on the Flickr page if you're interested to read them. Just click on the image and you'll be redirected there.

Hello Hong Kong

Every once in a long while, I get the chance to travel. This year, I won a trip for two to Hong Kong. I reckoned it's a good idea to spend some time with dad traveling. Coincidentally, my auntie also won a ticket. However, she didn't have the the availability at the time, so she gave it to my uncle instead. That's how it happened.

Here's what we've seen during our stay there, among other things. 

A portion of this story was updated as it happened on Instagram, but a lot of the sights can also be found here. Captions can be found on the Flickr page if you're interested to read them. Just click on the image and you'll be redirected there.

Rainy Day Roadtrip

It was a weekend, I had plans to attend a birthday celebration. Attending a birthday in Tagaytay was potentially jeopardized by inclement weather, but by some fortune, the weather seems to have cleared up enough for me to go there. Going there was relatively uneventful (Which for me, means not too many things went awry), but the view was breathtaking, even surreal as it was in a different weather condition.

This one's taken from the place. I've never been here while it was heavily raining. I think it's really surreal. I stayed mostly indoors, but I still had a really good view.

2014 Back To Reality Via Taiwan - Revisited

A revisit to that time when I partook in a journey to escape a bleak daily reality. It was when I left my old bland self, albeit temporarily. And on my way to a world that's surreal I took a stop at somewhere that is both surreal and quite strange.

I've seen wonders in Taiwan. And I didn't even have to leave the airport for it. To me it was quite a treat, and truly was beautiful!

2014 San Diego Beach - Revisited

I don't usually go to the beach... But when I do, it's in San Diego, California...