Batanes: Backpack Photography Workshop June 2010 Day 1

“Batanes in June!? You gotta be kidding? You might get stranded when a storm comes.” Was some of the common reactions I get when I say we’ll be holding a Travel and Outdoor Workshop at the end of June. I couldn’t blame them since Batanes do have a reputation as a stormy region but that was true a few years ago. These last couple of years we noticed the change in weather patterns. Even Ivatan locals there say “Official storm season now starts sometime October” So early morning 24th of June, 2010. I along with 16 other people flew from Manila, braving whatever weather yet  eager to set foot on the northern-most region of the Philippines – Batanes.

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Backpack Photography 101 Banaue Workshop Gallery

Backpack Photography Workshop Gallery

It’s time for me to step back this time and give the photographic spotlight to the participants of the first Backpack Photography Banaue 101 Workshop. The Photography Workshop designed for beginners and starting into photography was held last March 19-21, 2010 at the highlands of Banaue, Ifugao province. It was three days of unexpected fun and cultural immersion. Lagalog and I were more than pleased when we saw the outputs of the participants during the photo critique session. So here are 2 of my choices from each of the participant’s favorite sets.

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Backpack Photography Banaue Workshop Experience

Backpack Photography Banaue 101 Experience

My good friend Oggie of Lagalog.com and I were conceptualizing for some time on how a photography workshop would be set apart from the numerous workshops being offered right now. One, we don’t want to have the usual classroom setting. We want participants to be out there on the field where most of the photography would happen and learn on the spot. Second, we want the participants to experience the place and the culture. Getting postcard pretty pictures is one thing but getting good pictures with relevance is another. So Backpack Photography Workshop is born sharing our style of shooting.

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Backpack Photography Batanes, Banaue, Palawan Workshops

Biking at Pulau Ubin Singapore

Happy New Year Everyone! Enter 2010! And to start of this year’s post, I’d like to congratulate Andrea for winning the Nat Geo Notebook, Moleskine and Mango Mag pack and an Php 8000 worth slot on the Banaue Workshop. I asked a couple of judges to help me out and Andrea’s comment stood out as she’s an avid reader and have utilized the site well on her Batanes trip. And also we’re introducing the Backpack Photography Workshops for the first half of the year. We got exciting destinations like Batanes, Banaue and Coron Palawan. Read on to find out more.

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Nat Geo Winner, Backpack Photography Workshop and a Year Ender Contest

Backpack Photography 101: Banaue Workshop

First of all, thank you very much to all who joined my Facebook Group Page and those who participated in the contest. I filtered out the list and there were 54 names I included at Random.org list. And the winner that came at the top is Jamie Tan! Congratulations! You’ll get the National Geographic Expedition Journal and a copy of Mango Magazine. I’ll contact you later regarding the details on claiming your prize. And now for some important announcements and another contest.

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Nueva Vizcaya: Idyll Imugan

Imugan Road by the River

Just the idea of staying in a forest town for four nights already excited me. It was one of the requirements for taking on this photo documentation project for an NGO on a small rural town known as Imugan in Santa Fe Nueva Vizcaya. It sits right smack in the middle of central Luzon in the midst of the Caraballo Mountain Range just between the Cordillera Central and Sierra Madre mountain ranges.

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