Sagada, Oct. 2012
Well, yes, of course everyone wants to take pictures! After all, in some places, they're the only things we're allowed to take. We take photos to help us remember, to preserve the moment, let us show family and friends the things and places we've seen.
By the hanging coffins, Sagada
We take photos to show others where we've been, what we ate, what we saw, where we stayed....or, as Anna's King would say.."etcetera, etcetera!" We take pictures of ourselves having fun, or just being there.
By the entrance of Sumaguing Caves, Sagada
How many times have we come face to face with a centuries-old church,
or a postcard-pretty river scene, or a waterfall gushing out of a rock by the highway
or a simple but beautifully-plated breakfast
and the first thing that comes to our minds is, "Facebook!"
But, picture this: you're on a small boat in the middle of Lake Sebu. It's just you and the lake, because you can't see anything else because of the fog surrounding you. Everyone on the boat reaches for his/her camera, busy clicking away for facebook. In five seconds, the fog lifts, and you only notice it because the reflection of the sun on the water hurts your eyes. And you realize you missed the experience of being on a boat on a lake totally shrouded by thick fog. You were there, but you missed it. And worse, all you can see on your pictures is something like this
Trust us, we're talking from experience and we learned from that.
By all means, take pictures, lot of pictures! But don't just take pictures of the locals; talk to them.
Vegetable vendor along Halsema Highway
Don't just "shoot" the food ....savor it, ask how it's made, how it's grown.
Pancit Luglug, Bangkerohan Public Market, Davao City
Shoot the scenery, the windows, the beach, the mountain...but also stay long enough to just keep still and savor the moment....savor the view, "swim" in the experience of being there. No, drown in it!
so that there are as many pictures in your heart as there are in your camera.
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." - Ibn Batutta
