Scavenger Hunting!
I came across NicoleB’s site by chance, after reading a random comment in some random blog. I was drawn by the photos and information in her blog and so I read through it and discovered that she was hosting a photo scavenger hunt. It was like a sign for me, as I recently started thinking about exploring photography as a hobby. So here’s my take on the hunt.
Allow me some creative liberties as I had difficulty finding a few items…can you believe how hard it is to find a real phone booth in the Philippines?!? Anyway, here are my photos!
When ever I go to the beach, I take home a rather unique souvenir, if I say so myself. I scour the shore to find corals shaped like letters to spell out the name of the beach I was in. I take a photo before packing it up and putting them in a zip-lock plastic bag until they find their way to my shelf of shells. This, coincidentally, is how I learned to read! Read more about it here.
I was recently lucky enough to go to Coron, a beautiful island in the island of Palawan, with a few good friends and colleagues. We attempted to see some fish while snorkling but they wouldn’t take our bait, until my friend T thought of using one of the biscuits we had brought. Success!!!!
This is the facade of one of the oldest churches in Laguna. I am not really one to admire this kind of architecture, but this church took my breath away. I really wish I had nice photography equipment so I could have taken a better picture, but I’d like to think that this was not bad for a simple point and shoot camera.
This was one of the more difficult photos to get…mainly because I don’t live near one. So because I was running out of time, I decided to be creative and took a photo of the toys we had in school!
However when I was telling my friend about it he said he couldn’t let me settle for such a sad excuse for a photo so he gave this to me! The Makati City Fire Department is by far the nicest one I’ve seen here in the Philippines.
There are a lot of manholes around the streets of Manila…even around my village there are a lot. I wanted one that was unique though, but I had to settle for this one. Most of the ones I saw were just grey concrete but this was kinda different. I’m not sure what the big M stands for, I’d like to assume its for Meralco, the primary power source of the country. I could be wrong though.
This may be a bit of a different kind of postcard. The usual postcards have scenes of the place it comes from right? However, this is a special postcard to me because it was a pasalubong (souvenir) given to me by a friend who went to Singapore.
When I took my Bubba to the beach, he learned how to swim!!! I love this picture of him in the water. I sent the photo of Laiya to NicoleB when she did a meme on where people live, but that didn’t show the crystal clear waters of that beach.
These days my computer is my most essential communication device. From reading the news to writing on my blog, it is the tool most necessary for my life today! The site on the screen is my “professional”blog, www.theaccidentalteacher.com, which I am so proud to say was nominated in the search for the Ten Emerging Influential Blogs of 2009. The search is still on, so do check out the mechanics of the writing project here!
One of my best friends recently got married. I think this is one of the cornerstone life events ever. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I had ever attended. I also love the photos I was able to take then, still with my P&S camera. The lights that the official photographer had sure helped make my photos great!
When I heard Lily Van der Woodsen tell Rufus Humphrey in an episode of Gossip Girl that she and Bart Bass were going to Anguilla for the holidays, I thought it was just a tiny island that was part of a bigger country. However, when I was scavenging for a stamp to share for this hunt, I saw this! Interesting, huh? This stamp is part of my stamp collection. As a child, my mom and I would go to C.M. Recto or Binondo on weekends to buy some mint stamps to add to my collection. I have a whole book of Disney stamps! I also have a lot of the rare and commemorative stamps in many countries. Most of the stamps are used stamps, and I remember how I would write letters to the ambassadors of various countries asking them for used stamps from their homelands. I got a lot! If any of you have stamps to share, please do contact me because I’d love to add more to my collection 
I actually had a nicer tree picture, but as I walked Bubba this morning, I came across this tree. I’ve seen it a hundred times before but it wasn’t till today that I noticed the treehouse in it. It reminded me of my childhood days, when I’d climb trees and play house with my cousins.
A few months ago I raised some caterpillars. I was amazed to see how they spun their cocoons. I was also amazed that not all cocoons hang on tree limbs. This is one of the caterpillars. Notice the web-like thingys holding the leaves together? Cool, huh?
When I first read the list of items, I told Nicole I didn’t know what a street mirror was, maybe because I always called it a safety mirror or a corner mirror. They’re not too common here in the streets of Manila. They’re usually located only in parking lots, and not in the street per se. Also a lot of these safety mirrors are seen in store corners. Anyway, on a recent trip to a theme park, I saw this. And even if I was on the ride already, I had to get a shot taken! If you look close enough you’ll see me!
I wanted to do something kinda different for decor as well. I thought of taking pictures of windchimes, which is my favorite decor, but I had done it before. I also thought of vases and frames, but it wasn’t calling out to me. Then I thought of something that I don’t see in many houses, except Filipino houses. This is called the Sacred Heart. I honestly don’t know the history of it, but most Filipino homes have something like this by their front gate.
Try as I might I could not find a real flag to take a photo of. So I scoured the archives of our school photos and found this. This was taken during one of our school programs.
I love how fire lights up the sky! To be honest, I have an intense fear of fire. The thought of losing a home to fire or being the victim of a blaze gives me nightmares. But every once in a while, I love the sight of fire.
This was a bit hard to take too. I wanted to get a photo of the typical antenna, but I couldn’t get a good shot with my camera. It was always blurry and fuzzy. So when I saw this dish, I figured it was better than my fuzzy blurry shot. It serves the same purpose, right?
This was the most difficult!!! And yup, creative liberties taken to the max here. I think phone booths are almost obsolete here for two main reasons: first, sari-sari stores (kinda like a convenience store, but home based) allow for phone calls and second, because the Philippines is a widely texting nation, almost everyone owns a cellular phone. What seems to me as the “phone booth” people go to now are loading centers, where they can get their cellphones loaded with credit. Even the malls don’t have much phone booths anymore!
This sign never fails to make me laugh! I’ve been to several hotels that have this and it’s hysterical how a fruit can be forbidden! I don’t particularly like Durian, mainly because it smells bad, but to ban a fruit?!? hahahahahaha!!!! However, the rule does make sense. This fruit leaves a heavy and pungent smell that’s not too pleasant.
This is my favorite place in the world…so far that is! This is another shot taken at San Juan, Laiya. While the sands are not as pristine as the infamous Boracay shores, it’s so much more quiet and peaceful here. Another reason Laiya is so close to my heart is because it is where I found healing when I went through a very dark night of the soul.
This is the view from the penthouse of one of the hotels in Makati City. My friend had a birthday party there last weekend, and I got some great shots of the city. Makati is the business district in the country, hence all the skyscrapers, hotels and big buildings around.
My beach buddy! He hated this….hehe. But he was nice enough to let me take a shot before getting all annoyed at me for making him my muse.
Another discovery from my Tagaytay weekend was this nice carved moulding accentuating the ceiling of my hotel room. Isn’t it pretty? I had another photo in mind when I started the hunt, but this was too nice to pass up.
I know its not the best quality photo, but I love it! When I was teaching my toddlers class about the parts of the body, I took photos of them so they could identify these parts. I have a whole set of eye, ear, nose and lip photos
How much more rural or rustic can one get than with this manang (lady) hand-embroidering a table cloth? This was taken in the province of Laguna where embroidery is one of the main sources of income.
So there’s my hunt! I hope you enjoyed my shots as much as I enjoyed hunting for them. If you liked them, show some love and vote for me here!
