Sunrise

Sunrise, from a hill in New Manila, Quezon City.


Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Corydoras (Corydoradinae Catfish)

I collect corydoras. Corydoras belong to the callichthyidae family of fishes, commonly known as armored catfishes. This is attributed to the two rows of armored plates that cover the flanks of this particular fish. They are known to "wink" as their eyeballs can move in many directions, while they observe their environment for food and predators. These sudden eye movements sometimes resemble winking.

They are generally easy to maintain and can live as long as 7 years. They are bottomfeeders so they require fish food that are specially designed to sink to the bottom such as wafers and sinking pellets. They can be observed to make occasional dashes to the surface to breathe atmospheric air. I've kept 16 species of corydoras.

According to Planetcatfish.com, there are 318 species of callichthyidae counted across 9 genera.

Corydoras Trilineatus

Corydoras Paleatus (Peppered Cory)

Corydoras Elegans (Elegant Cory)

Corydoras Haraldschultzi

Brochis Splendens

Camera: Kodak Easy Share LS633

Picnic Grove, Tagaytay City

Picnic Grove is one of the scenic locations on the Tagatay Ridge with a great view of the Taal Volcano. It is located right 600m over sea level, overlooking the Taal Lake and the the Town of Talisay Batangas.

The Taal Volcano

The Taal Lake and Province of Batangas in the background

Talisay, Batangas in the background

A forest on a ridge

The Tagaytay Ridge West of Picnic Grove

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ-50

Palaisdaan

Fish farming was once the major source of income for Malabon city. Fishponds (Palaisdaan) used to cover a substantial portion of the City's landscape. Today, there are still several left, but fish farming is no longer main industry in Malabon. Rising tides and and environmental changes made it more and more difficult to drain the waters from these fishponds, which is important to the lifecycle of the fishpond, killing.

A fishpond located in Barangay Muzon, Malabon City

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Some owners allow the less fortunate to fish from their ponds

"No fishing." Some don't.

Landfilling. This fishpond is being converted for use as residential land.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Dogs of Foo (Fu) II

We were not able to photograph all the Pekingese of the Alohabears Kennel in our last photo shoot. So we were able to catch two more last weekend.

Meet Marcia, she was following me around the whole afternoon.

I am new at this hobby, and taking shots of moving objects is
outside my current skill level. After several megabytes of poor shots, the Chico got tired.

We posted a picture of her before, but Chiqui loves to pose for the camera
so I am posting another one. Chiqui is the mother of Chico, Monty, Murphy, Mojo's, Maguay & Ginger.

Maguai is also not camera shy. And he does not run too much.

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ50

After the elections

Mayor Tito Oreta and Vice-Mayor Arnold Vicencio, were proclaimed last Friday, May 18, 2007 as the winners of the May 14, 2007 elections for Malabon City. The first order of business was a thanksgiving mass early Monday morning.

A simple thanksgiving mass at Plaza Rodriguez

Followed by some fireworks...

simple ceremonies...

and a simple lunch.

Vice-Mayor Arnold Vicencio and Mayor Canuto "Tito" Oreta, both were popular choices receiving over 70% and 90% of the votes cast, respectively.

Camera: Panasonic DMCFZ50

Bag of Beans

Bag of Beans, located along Aguinaldo Highway in Tagaytay City is a small mom & pop's shop known for its excellent coffee, English pies, freshly baked bread and cozy ambiance.

This is what you look for while driving down Aguinaldo, Highway

The entrance to the shop where you can buy pies, pastries and coffee to go


The entrance to the backyard garden restaurant

Creative use of flora and fauna gives a sense of privacy


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Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Talisay, Batangas from Tagaytay, Cavite

The 600 meter steep ridge in Tagaytay City gives some nice views of Talisay, Bantangas, which lies at the bottom of the ridge. I snapped a couple of shots when I was there last weekend.

Talisay, Batangas Town Proper

A closer view of the shoreline with the lake

Fish pens of Taal Lake

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Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ50

Mall of Asia

The Mall of Asia is the largest mall in the Philippines. In terms of floor area it is the seventh largest mall in the world. It is located at the reclamation area in Pasay City being built right on the waterfront.

The front facade of the Mall of Asia

The back of Mall of Asia facing the Manila Bay

Inside the Mall of Asia

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Spidermania grips the Mall of Asia

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Dogs of Foo (Fu)

Pekingese is an ancient breed of dogs from China originating more than 2000 years ago. The Chinese call them Dogs of Foo (Fu). They are very friendly dogs but are distrustful of, and sometimes hostile, to strangers. While they are toy dogs, they make very good watch dogs and are willing to take on adversaries several times their size.

I had a chance to have a photo session with 5 of the 8 Pekingese of the Alohabears Kennel in Bacoor Cavite.

Chiqui

Monty

Ginger

Maguay (Magi)

Murphy

The Alohabears Kennel has its own blog here.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Barkers

A "Sarao" jeep supporting the campaign of Sonny Belmonte
and Vincent Belmonte, for mayor and councilor of Quezon City

Barkers are those annoying vehicles converted for election use by adding speakers and banners to promote the election of a candidate. Well, initially they are amusing, but when one passes by at your house at 6:30 a.m. playing loud music they becoming annoying.

These campaign vehicles play songs or tunes blaring out the name of one candidate or another. It is hard to imagine these things actually convince people to vote for a candidate, but they have been around since every election I remember so the must work.

A Isuzu Elf of Henry Camayo, candidate for Vice-Mayor in Caloocan City

A vehicle on the campaign trail for Marjorie Barreto,
candidate for Councilor in Caloocan City. Marojorie is the sister of Gretchen
Barreto, a popular actress in the Philippines. The vehicle is an Asian Utility Vehicle.

One of Maritoni Francisco Barkers. She is
running for Congressman in the Malabon-Navotas District

While all Barker's are rolling billboards, some are more
creative than others. A barker of Ian Borja, candidate for Councilor of Malabon City.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50