In the air

Tags

athlete, outdoor sports, philippines, photography, running, sports, subic bay, triathlon

My favourite shot of the whole running leg. I managed to capture Ji Jeong Hwan from Korea (finishes 9th), in which his upper body looks perfectly clear and still, while his legs are levitating and blurry, showing the speed.

I was sitting on the ground at the other side of the road trying to capture Dickson Tam from Hong Kong (finishes 10th), when at the same time a car passed by right in front of me, making the picture looking like as if he was head to head with it.

Again, trying to capture that split second when the athletes are up in the air, above are from the elite women group :  Yuka Sato from Japan (finishes 2nd), Hoi Long from Macau (finishes 7th) and Chen Wei Chien from Taipei (finishes 11th).

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

ASTC Triathlon Asian Championship at Subic Bay

Tags

black and white, outdoor sports, philippines, photography, subic bay, transition, transition area, triathlon

This Asian championship was highly dominated by strong triathletes from Japan and China. Below are some pictures I took.

The two leaders of the pack, up to transition two

T2 area, where Hsieh Shen Yen from Taiwan led the whole Elite Men group. In the end he finishes 12th, while Yuichi Hosoda from Japan became the overall champion.

The second wave of triathletes

The second wave of triathletes, led by Zhang Yiming from China, who in the end finishes 5th.

(As if) choreographed

I particularly like this shot, which shows 3 strong triathletes from China (Jiang Zhihang – finishes 2nd,  Bai Faquan – finishes 4th, and Fang Zhou – finishes 7th) running to their slots. I like how their body positioning makes it as if it’s a choreographed movements.

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

The swimmers and their watchers

Tags

outdoor sports, philippines, photography, sports, subic bay, swimmer, swimming, triathlon

Couple of shots I took over the weekend, during the first day of K-Swiss ASTC Asian Triathlon Championship at Subic.

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Barricade

Tags

barbed wire, black and white, fence, philippines, photography, subic bay, subic bay international airport, wire

Fence around the former Subic Bay International Airport

Over the weekend, I was in Subic Bay, about 3-4 hours drive out of Manila, to watch the K-Swiss ASTC Asian Triathlon Championship. It was my first time to visit this town, which was the location of a major US Navy facilities, also known as US Naval Base Subic Bay.

As you enter the town, you can feel that the Americans were there. Not that I am an expert in anything Americans, nor anything Philippines, but, it’s so obvious. The roads are wide, electrical poles and cables are orderly, the STOP regulations for all vehicles at intersections are obeyed, and the pedestrian walkways do exist!

I captured the picture above as we were walking to the venue of swimming leg and T1, at Dungaree Beach. In the picture, you can see the fence which surrounds Subic Bay International Airport, which used to be the US Naval Air Station.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/1000, f/5, focal length 24mm, ISO 400

 

 

Tricycle

Tags

cebu, motorbike, philippines, photography, public transportation, transportation, tricycle

A row of fully occupied tricycles

This is another version of public transportation here, known as tricycle. The side car ideally can fit 4 people, while 2 people can sit on the motorbike behind the driver, making a total number to 6 passengers!

To be completely honest, their presence can be a total pain in the a**, as they go very slow and think of themselves as a motorbike, without realising that their width is almost like a small car, making it difficult to overtake on small roads. Their habit of stopping everywhere, without giving any signal, plus their inability to see what’s going on their right side (right side view mirror is on the motorbike itself?) make the matter worse.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/400, f/8, focal length 45mm, ISO 400

 

 

The Tops at Busay, Cebu

Tags

architecture, building, busay, cebu, hexagon, perspective, philippines, photography, tourist attraction

Hexagon – view of the covered resting / eating area from the viewing deck

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF-S 10 – 22mm f/3.5 – 4.5 USM, shot in AV @ 1/1250, f/6.3, focal length 22mm, ISO 400

Perspective – the covered resting / eating area

Another angle of perspective

A couple of days ago I went to visit The Tops at Busay. As the name suggests, one can have a bird eye view or city lights (if you visit in the evening) of Cebu. I personally think this place is overrated, as you can actually have the same view from other spots, without paying the entrance fee :-). However, this place has a lot of potentials, if only it would be developed further with proper amenities, such as nice cafes or restaurants, instead of some makeshift drinks and snacks vendors.

I like the curved architectural shape of the resting / eating area, with its repeated circular sections, making it an endless varieties of shots possibilities, just by centimeters reposition of camera angle.

The last 2 photos are shot with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Mini MPV

Tags

bicycle, black and white, boy, cebu, kids, multi purpose vehicle, philippines, photography, public transportation, transportation

Kings of the road

You can see “remodelled” BMX bikes everywhere in outskirts of Cebu. It is mainly used to transport goods, animals, people, well, basically, just about anything (thus I titled my post as mini multi purpose vehicle :-)).

This type above is commonly used to transport goods, while those as public transport have seats on their side cars, which ideally fit 2 people (unless, of course, depends on your size, or if you are willing to squeeze and the driver is strong enough to pedal your combined weight).

I love how the boy at the back posed for me, while his friend was concentrating and working hard pedalling the vehicle.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/800, f/4, focal length 70mm, ISO 400

 

 

Expletive

Tags

bus, cebu, philippines, photography, public transportation, transportation

Apart from the misspelling (How’s my driveng?), I wonder whether this kind of car paint will ever happen in native English speaking countries?

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/320, f/8, focal length 24mm, ISO 400

 

 

National Age Group Triathlon at Sogod, Cebu

Tags

athlete, cebu, outdoor, outdoor sports, philippines, photography, sea, sports, swimmer, swimming, triathlon

The gun start

The first leap

The splash

Starting line is always the nerve racking moment in any race. I love to be able to get very close to capture these few seconds of excitement.

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Four musketeers

Tags

cebu, kayak, man, nature, outdoors, philippines, photography, sea

An afternoon before the race, the race officials and organiser are doing the last checking on the swimming route.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/50, f/4, focal length 88mm, ISO 200

 

 

Balloons

Tags

balloon, cebu, jeepney, philippines, photography, public transportation, transportation

Holding on

First of all, my camera is back sparkling clean, just before the weekend, yay! Right on time to shoot The National Age Group Triathlon Race over the weekend.

Above is a shot I captured yesterday on the way from Sogod (where the triathlon took place) back to Cebu. Standing just outside the moving jeepney, the guy was holding on to the roof with left hand, while the other hand was holding a bunch of balloons. It reminds me of one of my favourite animation movies, Up (well, except, of course, the jeepney didn’t fly away :-)).

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/50, f/4, focal length 47mm, ISO 400

 

 

Lighthouse at Bagacay Point

Tags

architecture, building, cebu, lighthouse, liloan, natural light, philippines, photography, tourist attraction, tower

Locally known as Parola of Bagacay Point

The Lighthouse at Liloan, Cebu, Philippines, was originally established in 1857 by the Spanish. But this current 72-feet tall tower was constructed in 1904 and still remains active, using solar energy, as navigational aid for ships going into the Mactan channel towards Cebu City.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/1250, f/4, focal length 40mm, ISO 250

 

 

Dismounting

Tags

athlete, bicycle, black and white, cebu, outdoor sports, philippines, photography, sports, talisay, transition, transition area, triathlon

One of very crucial moments in any triathlon is the transition. T1, where the athletes are transitioning from swimming to cycling and T2 is where the athletes are transitioning from cycling to running.

During T1, you might have heard of flying mount, whereby they run and mount their moving bicycle, just like a cowboy jumping onto a galloping horse.

Dismounting on kiddie triathlon

Both feet are out of the shoes

One leg behind another on one side of the bike

Before approaching T2, they remove both feet from their shoes and continue pedalling. Closer to the dismount line, they swing one leg over the bicycle so its position is behind the other leg on one side of the bicycle. At the dismount line they are then totally off the bike and running to the transition area for their running leg.

When every second counts, proper method of transitioning can save a lot of time for the athletes.

These are some pictures which I captured during 2nd Talisay Triathlon Race last Sunday, 17 March 2013.

All were shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Just the two of us

Tags

cebu, natural light, nature, philippines, photography, sea, silhouette, talisay

My early morning view while I was waiting for the start of 2nd Talisay Triathlon yesterday.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/800, f/4, focal length 105mm, ISO 100

 

 

No vendors allowed

Tags

cebu, philippines, Street Photography, street vendor

Perfect spot

Shot with iPhone 4S

 

 

Finish line

Tags

athlete, black and white, cebu, liloan, philippines, photography, running, sports, triathlon, xterra

After crossing the finish line, horizontally or vertically

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/160, f/6.3, focal length 105mm, ISO 160

 

 

Split second

Tags

athlete, cebu, liloan, philippines, running, sport photography, sports, triathlon, xterra

I stood at the last corner towards the finish line, trying to capture that split second when both feet are up in the air, striking fast towards their personal victory.

All were shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

XTerra Off Road Triathlon at Liloan, Cebu

Tags

athlete, back light, beach, black and white, cebu, liloan, natural light, off road triathlon, outdoors, philippines, photography, running, shadow, silhouette, sports, triathlon, xterra

I learnt that it’s not that easy to take good pictures during off road triathlon. The course / track is so spread out, without any repeated loops, making it more difficult to get a ‘perfect’ spot. Here are just some pictures from the swim leg, which luckily (for me) is split into 2x750m with a short run in between.

All were shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Dawn

Tags

beach, cebu, liloan, nature, philippines, photography, sea, sunrise

Another early morning view while I was watching and supporting Xterra in Liloan, Cebu this morning.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/6400, f/4, focal length 70mm, ISO 100

 

 

Sari sari

Tags

cebu, convenience stores, iPhone, philippines, sari sari, sari sari store, shop, store, Street Photography

The “regulars” in front of a sari sari store

Sari sari (in Tagalog means variety) is small convenience stores which can be found in neighbourhoods all around Philippines. They are mostly privately owned. Some of the them are free-standing huts, while some are operated from inside the shop owner’s house, as it’s actually occupy 1 room of the house.

They sells basic / everyday necessities, from cooking oil to soap, candies to cigarettes, etc. The goods are normally displayed by the large plastic-covered windows or metal-barred window.

Rather than selling a whole package, in sari sari stores customers can buy the commodities in small amount. Therefore you can see small sachets of shampoo, 3-in-1 coffee, etc. The average spending per person in this kind of shop is around 8 pesos (around 2 US cents).

Shot with iPhone 4S