Monday Memories: When I Once Faced My Fears

I don't usually ride Ferris wheels due to my fear of heights. But when I do, it had to be on the tallest in the world (2008-2014). And so we did. Last October 2013 I went to Singapore with my dad and my brother and visited several places. Among the places we visited was this: The Singapore Flyer. Needless to say, I was terrified. Fortunately I maintained my composure and continence. Yes I did not soil myself. It took a nerve racking and mind numbing half an hour for the wheel to complete a complete cycle. It was so stable that you can barely feel it moving. When we got off the thing I was relieved. But i actually liked the experience. And I would ride it again if given the chance.

It's actually more daunting than it looks...

Originally posted by Rowe Lee on Thursday, October 31, 2013

Until then, let's get lost and wander! :)

Monday Memories: When I Once Faced My Fears

I don't usually ride ferris wheels due to my fear of heights. But when I do, it had to be on the tallest in the world (2008-2014). And so we did. Last October 2013 I went to Singapore with my dad and my brother and visited several places. Among the places we visited was this: The Singapore Flyer. Needless to say, I was terrified. Fortunately I maintained my composure and continence. Yes I did not soil myself. It took a nerve racking and mind numbing half an hour for the wheel to complete a complete cycle. It was so stable that you can barely feel it moving. When we got off the thing I was relieved. But i actually liked the experience. And I would ride it again if given the chance.

It's actually more daunting than it looks...
Posted by Rowe Lee on Thursday, October 31, 2013

Until then, let's get lost and wander! :)

The Big Wheel At The Cliffside

I've seen that beautiful place and I found some temporary silence as I went on. But the mind wasn't at peace as some questions lingered on. Perhaps further towards the mountains I may find, not necessarily answers but some temporary respite to the boggled mind. And so I went to visit that big wheel on the cliff side. Yes, this is where I went after I wandered off to Nuvali.

And so I ended up here. Because reasons. I once promised a girl we'd go here. I'd never make a girl a promise I know I can't keep. Then again, I never had the chance to keep this promise.

Instead of going straight home after visiting Nuvali, my discontent drove me to go further and farther. I drove up to the hills up the inclines and went on and on until I found the junction at the end of the road and turned right. This time I went to Tagaytay. I drove further up the incline and bending roads until I found the place.

The place seemed fun and lovely. But it was already night and I wasn't in the mood to subject myself to gravitational forces, let alone pay to have that happen to me, so I settled for finding a spot with a good view. Maybe someday I'd have a compelling reason to enjoy the attraction, but for now I'd look silly trying to enjoy the rides alone.

I managed to find a spot among the restaurants that had a good view. Some decent food and a good view. Sounds decent an evening for me. While I was relaxing looking at the rides I feel the cool breeze and hear people screaming and enjoying the rides. It makes me wonder, when was the last time that I was at an amusement park?

This was taken right from where I was sitting. Not bad a view I think.

View from where I'm sitting. Taken with my ever favorite lens. I love it for all its distortion and wide angle of view. Quite sharp too. This was taken with slow shutter hence the relatively bright image and the motion blur of the slow moving ferris wheel.

It's a Monday night but there are still quite a lot of folks enjoying the rides.

Taken with my other favorite lens, the Sigma 30mm 2.8. The wheel changes color every few seconds. The shutter speed was also fast enough to freeze the slow turning wheel.

Caught this one while it's in the middle of changing colors.

I had some peace somehow that I got here. Like I mentioned earlier, I once told someone that we're going to this place. However we haven't made it since she had sudden errands-- we had to pick up her dog from the groomers. I planned to make it happen but I never had the chance to do so. I guess this is me trying to keep somehow some little broken vow. It wasn't just some lofty promise, it was a commitment in my part after all.

I'm about to head back home... But I still needed to make one last stop. For memories. And a habit to keep.

The ride goes on...

The Big Wheel At The Cliffside

I've seen that beautiful place and I found some temporary silence as I went on. But the mind wasn't at peace as some questions lingered on. Perhaps further towards the mountains I may find, not necessarily answers but some temporary respite to the boggled mind. And so I went to visit that big wheel on the cliff side. Yes, this is where I went after I wandered off to Nuvali.

And so I ended up here. Because reasons. I once promised a girl we'd go here. I'd never make a girl a promise I know I can't keep. Then again, I never had the chance to keep this promise.

Instead of going straight home after visiting Nuvali, my discontent drove me to go further and farther. I drove up to the hills up the inclines and went on and on until I found the junction at the end of the road and turned right. This time I went to Tagaytay. I drove further up the incline and bending roads until I found the place.

The place seemed fun and lovely. But it was already night and I wasn't in the mood to subject myself to gravitational forces, let alone pay to have that happen to me, so I settled for finding a spot with a good view. Maybe someday I'd have a compelling reason to enjoy the attraction, but for now I'd look silly trying to enjoy the rides alone.

I managed to find a spot among the restaurants that had a good view. Some decent food and a good view. Sounds decent an evening for me. While I was relaxing looking at the rides I feel the cool breeze and hear people screaming and enjoying the rides. It makes me wonder, when was the last time that I was at an amusement park?

This was taken right from where I was sitting. Not bad a view I think.

View from where I'm sitting. Taken with my ever favorite lens. I love it for all its distortion and wide angle of view. Quite sharp too. This was taken with slow shutter hence the relatively bright image and the motion blur of the slow moving ferris wheel.

It's a Monday night but there are still quite a lot of folks enjoying the rides.

Taken with my other favorite lens, the Sigma 30mm 2.8. The wheel changes color every few seconds. The shutter speed was also fast enough to freeze the slow turning wheel.

Caught this one while it's in the middle of changing colors.

I had some peace somehow that I got here. Like I mentioned earlier, I once told someone that we're going to this place. However we haven't made it since she had sudden errands-- we had to pick up her dog from the groomers. I planned to make it happen but I never had the chance to do so. I guess this is me trying to keep somehow some little broken vow. It wasn't just some lofty promise, it was a commitment in my part after all.

I'm about to head back home... But I still needed to make one last stop. For memories. And a habit to keep.

The ride goes on...

Lost At Nuvali

I've been recently going through some very sad days. But that's for another entry. March has been morose a month for me, and I needed to somehow distance myself from the blues and even for a fleeting moment and get away. And so I went and pursued some jaunts that I've been planning to do with someone, which I ended up doing it by myself. Down south is this place I've heard about but haven't really visited. It's called Nuvali.

The place is more vast than I thought... Lots of vacant grasslands and a lovely lagoon.
Strolling in here is a walk in a park. ;)

Nuvali is a recently developed piece of real estate that now has a growing community, and commercial establishments. When I visited there, I was hanging out at the parks area and the restaurants. (Okay, also, I had no idea about the place. For a time I was kind of lost.)

The whole place looks interesting to me, and it's something I'd recommend to folks who'd wanna take a long walk in the park. Yes, there are nice places in Metro Manila too but sadly, all that air pollution doesn't exactly make it encouraging to walk around. I would wanna spend more weekends here.

Waiting sheds for commuters. These are the most elegant I've seen by far.

The good thing about the place is that there's not too many public vehicles going around.

Lovely blue skies.
I'm rendering this as simulated Velvia film. Fuji wannabe. :p

Visitors get the option to feed the fishes.

Yes, you can get real close with the fishes. Try to not jump in.

 

A man and his kids feeding the fishes.

 

Just look at these hungry critters.

Trivia! The fishes are a kind of carp called Koi, originally bred in Japan. Also, Koi also means LOVE in nihongo. 

Wouldn't it be romantic to find the koi of your life while standing at the edge of the lagoon watching koi and the activity you have in common is watching koi?

(BA DUM TSS!) ... Ugh I should leave trying to be funny to the comedians.

You can do other things as well. For a fee of course.

Safety first. Just in case your child decides to swim with the fishes.

 

Them koi look purty after all...

What do these koi say? Omnomnomnom...

Alright here's my ride back to Metro Manila. Okay, no, not really. This thing roams around the place. You can hop in for a fee. I know they have a station or stopover somewhere.

And I went back to Metro Manila... Then again, I didn't. 

I had other plans, rather than ending the day and going back to reality. I wanted to go to that interesting fun place on a mountainside with someone but things changed, and it'll no longer happen. Ever. It's not ideal, but I guess it's better than not happening at all. Better to wear myself out discovering interesting things than calling it quits for the day and be blue all night after all, right?

I indeed enjoyed my afternoon at Nuvali. But the day doesn't end there though... To be continued in my next entry.

Also, for more information about Nuvali: http://nuvali.ph/

Lost At Nuvali

I've been recently going through some very sad days. But that's for another entry. March has been morose a month for me, and I needed to somehow distance myself from the blues and even for a fleeting moment and get away. And so I went and pursued some jaunts that I've been planning to do with someone, which I ended up doing it by myself. Down south is this place I've heard about but haven't really visited. It's called Nuvali.

The place is more vast than I thought... Lots of vacant grasslands and a lovely lagoon.
Strolling in here is a walk in a park. ;)

Nuvali is a recently developed piece of real estate that now has a growing community, and commercial establishments. When I visited there, I was hanging out at the parks area and the restaurants. (Okay, also, I had no idea about the place. For a time I was kind of lost.)

The whole place looks interesting to me, and it's something I'd recommend to folks who'd wanna take a long walk in the park. Yes, there are nice places in Metro Manila too but sadly, all that air pollution doesn't exactly make it encouraging to walk around. I would wanna spend more weekends here.

Waiting sheds for commuters. These are the most elegant I've seen by far.

The good thing about the place is that there's not too many public vehicles going around.

Lovely blue skies.
I'm rendering this as simulated Velvia film. Fuji wannabe. :p

Visitors get the option to feed the fishes.

Yes, you can get real close with the fishes. Try to not jump in.

 

A man and his kids feeding the fishes.

 

Just look at these hungry critters.

Trivia! The fishes are a kind of carp called Koi, originally bred in Japan. Also, Koi also means LOVE in nihongo. 

Wouldn't it be romantic to find the koi of your life while standing at the edge of the lagoon watching koi and the activity you have in common is watching koi?

(BA DUM TSS!) ... Ugh I should leave trying to be funny to the comedians.

You can do other things as well. For a fee of course.

Safety first. Just in case your child decides to swim with the fishes.

 

Them koi look purty after all...

What do these koi say? Omnomnomnom...

Alright here's my ride back to Metro Manila. Okay, no, not really. This thing roams around the place. You can hop in for a fee. I know they have a station or stopover somewhere.

And I went back to Metro Manila... Then again, I didn't. 

I had other plans, rather than ending the day and going back to reality. I wanted to go to that interesting fun place on a mountainside with someone but things changed, and it'll no longer happen. Ever. It's not ideal, but I guess it's better than not happening at all. Better to wear myself out discovering interesting things than calling it quits for the day and be blue all night after all, right?

I indeed enjoyed my afternoon at Nuvali. But the day doesn't end there though... To be continued in my next entry.

Also, for more information about Nuvali: http://nuvali.ph/

Shooting In The Dark

During workdays this is what I see when I step out to grab dinner.
I'm amazed at how much detail it got. Taken hand held too.

It was another long night. I didn't want to just stay at home. So I decided to get lost somewhere... Again.

It was a lonely night and I was trying to keep the blues at bay. Instead of just contaminating my home with the bad vibes I decided to take a hike. After some shopping I went to BGC and had dinner.

View from the parking lot. Not the best of my moon shots though.
It just looks like a glowing blob here.

I decided there's not much to shoot here so I decided to go home... But not until after I revisit  my old hangout: Ayala Triangle. I stopped by the coffee shop and after that before leaving, I thought I'd try to see what I can get shooting a practically pitch black environment. It's actually a pleasant surprise.

I got some surprising amount of detail aiming at the dark. ISO 5000, 1/4 sec. exposure with f/3.5 gave me this. Also, this was taken hand held.

Sat on a bench and limited the ISO to 200 and aperture to f/5.6, I compensated with exposure time at 6 seconds and I got this.

Just to give an idea as to about how dark it was. This kinda nails it.

It still  doesn't stop me though. It gives a different effect.

A little adjustment and I got to capture the scene with a bit more brightness.

Pathway going out.

I should do this more often.

Now I'm fairly happy with the pictures I got (Yes, I'm not hard to please. LOL) I decided to go home. It's midnight already after all.

Until then, let's get lost and wander. :)