https://www.facebook.com/1822263301363261/

Yc Photography, Makati (2024)

05/04/2024

With Photographers' Club Of Tarlac – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

05/04/2024

With Tarlac Forum – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

04/04/2024

Late Post:
Warning: Graphic Content

Hooded Penitents in the Streets
March 27 -29, 2024
Matatalaib, San Juan Bautista, San Pablo, F. Tanedo, San Vicente
Tarlac City

"As we forgo earthly pleasures, we reflect on our transgressions, seeking forgiveness and transformation."

02/04/2024

Late Post:
Warning: Graphic Content

Hooded Penitents in the Streets
March 27 -29, 2024
Matatalaib, San Juan Bautista, San Pablo, F. Tanedo, San Vicente
Tarlac City

"As we forgo earthly pleasures, we reflect on our transgressions, seeking forgiveness and transformation."

27/03/2024

Senakulo 2024: Si Hesus sa Lahat ng Panahon
Directed by: Markado Castro.
Maria Cristina Park
Province of Tarlac
March 25,2024
Holy Monday

"Senakulo, a traditional Filipino play performed during Holy Week, vividly depicts the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, bringing together communities in a profound expression of faith; actors, often locals, portray biblical characters, enduring physical strain to mirror Christ’s sufferings, while spectators, deeply moved, reflect on their spiritual journey; the play, typically performed in local dialects, unfolds in various settings - from church grounds to village streets, making it accessible to all; despite modern distractions, Senakulo remains a cherished tradition in the Philippines, its powerful narrative reminding us of the enduring message of sacrifice, redemption, and love."

25/03/2024

Palm Sunday Celebration
San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish
March 24, 2024

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, let's remember the true meaning of this day. It's not just about the palm branches and the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It's about the love and sacrifice that He showed us. It's about the promise of salvation and the hope of eternal life. As we wave our palm branches, let's also open our hearts to Jesus. Let's welcome Him into our lives, just as the people of Jerusalem did. Let's shout "Hosanna!" and proclaim Him as our King. But let's also remember the path that He walked for us. The path of suffering, the path of the cross. Palm Sunday is a day of joy, but it's also a day of reflection. It's a reminder of the great love that Jesus has for us, a love so great that He was willing to die for us. So as we celebrate Palm Sunday, let's not just wave our palm branches. Let's also lift up our hearts and our lives to Jesus. Let's follow His example of love and sacrifice. And let's remember that the story of Palm Sunday is not just a story of triumph, but also a story of love. A love so great, so powerful, that it changed the world. And that love is still changing the world today. So let's celebrate Palm Sunday with joy and gratitude. But let's also celebrate it with love. A love that is willing to sacrifice, a love that is willing to serve, a love that is willing to give. Because that is the true meaning of Palm Sunday. And that is the love that Jesus showed us on that first Palm Sunday, and every day since. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Happy Palm Sunday!

28/05/2023

Moon Shot
Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 58.67%
Location: Tarlac City, Philippines
Date: May 28, 2023

Nikon Coolpix P900
F/6.5
ISO-400
Exposure time: 1/200 sec.

The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous, the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word "gibbosus" meaning humpbacked.

https://www.moongiant.com/phase/05/28/2023/Source

13/04/2023

Yellow-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus goiavier
Location: Bolinao, Pangasinan

Date: April 9, 2023
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 50mm

The Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier (Scopoli, 1786), Pycnonotidae) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in Southeast Asia from southern Thailand and Cambodia south to Borneo and the Philippines. It is found in a wide variety of open habitats, but not deep forest. It is one of the most common birds in cultivated areas. They appear to be nomadic, roaming from place to place regularly. This is a species adapted to humans and may even nest in gardens. The Yellow-vented Bulbul lays 2-5 eggs from February to June. Pycnonotus goiavier (Luzon ssp) is a fruit and insect-loving noisy bird called Luklak in the Tagalog region.

Source: https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/240056018 #:~:text=The%20Yellow-vented%20Bulbul

07/04/2023

[Triggered Warning: Graphic Content]
Location: Tarlac City

Hooded Penitent

Holy Week in the Philippines usually features flagellants making their way down a country road, while flogging themselves, an enactment of the Lord’s passion. Flagellant processions began in Europe, spread to Spain, and reached our shores in the 17th century.

Though starkly different, these Lenten practices, introduced by Spain in the days of colonization, have become deeply seated in our culture and originally stemmed from a single purpose—as acts of penitence and punishments, or penitensya, meted out by the church for clergy and laity alike. Other examples of Church-imposed religious penance included fasting, tears of contrition, self-mortification, and flagellation. From the pasyon to the senakulo, these have become Holy Week traditions.

Holy Week traditions in the Philippines have a long history far ahead of the Spanish colonization. The earliest documented flagellant processions in Europe occurred in Italy around 1260-1261. These were believed to be associated with the intensely dramatic sermons of the Franciscan preacher from Perugia, Fra Rainerio Frasani.

Flagellant movements spread throughout Europe in the 14th century, thanks to organized religious cofradias (confraternities), and processions were observed in France, Germany, Austria, and the Low Countries. During the medieval period, these processions were timed directly with periods of social stress, such as plagues, drought, and war.

As early as the 4th century, the Bishop of Barcelona, San Paciano (d. 392), advocated public self-mortification and self-flogging as a form of penance, preferably during Semana Santa. Thus, when Spain expanded its frontiers to include Latin America and the Pacific, its missionaries, particularly the Jesuits and Franciscans, introduced what would eventually become Holy Week traditions in the Philippines. They readily embraced the bloody rituals as part of the new religion and as a way of purification beginning in the 17th century.

By participating in His pain, “flagelantes” believe they are a comforting the Lord Jesus, thus capturing this spirit of oneness, in pain and sorrow. Here, flagellants enter a makeshift visita or chapel to pause for prayers.

Source: https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/holy-week-traditions-in-the-philippines-a2289-20190415-lfrm3

05/04/2023

Anawangin Cove
Town of San Antonio
Province of Zambales
Philippines

Date: April 3, 2023
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 50mm

Anawangin Cove is a semicircular-shaped cove located in the municipality of San Antonio in the province of Zambales. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Zambales during the summer season and it’s just a four-hour drive from Metro Manila. Anawangin Cove is known for having a spectacular white sand beach surrounded by large and tall Agoho trees which give tourists an impressive ambiance of the province. It is bordered by Anawangin Bay and the West Philippine Sea and it’s surrounded by alluring mountains of Zambales like Mt. Pundaquit.

According to its past history, Anawangin Cove was formed during the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the year 1991. During that time, it throws out massive volcanic ashes in the rocky shoreline of San Antonio fishing village. As the years go by, Agoho trees started to grow and quite unique soft white sand came out in a colorless cove which create a beautiful scenery that looks like a paradise for beach lovers. Since then San Antonio shifted to tourism not only solely on fishing alone as a source of living. For this reason, it transformed into a popular tourist destination during the summer season as travelers yearned for some time away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Presently, Anawangin is a cove with a white sand beach bordered by a number of hills not too far from the beachfront. The evergreen trees lining the great length of the beach sets Anawangin Cove and its sister coves in San Antonio apart from most beaches in the Philippines. For this reason, Anawangin Cove is the most popular cove in the province of Zambales and it’s visited by thousands of tourists every year to unwind, chill out, have team building, relax, sleep, and simply enjoy mother nature.

Source: https://hiketomountains.com/anawangin-cove/

09/03/2023

Worm Moon/ Lenten Moon
Location: Tarlac City
Date: March 8, 2023
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 55-200mm

It will be the last full moon of the winter, the full moon will look even bigger than usual when it's near the horizon shortly after it rises.

The name "Worm Moon" may have come from the earthworms typically found as spring nears, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. It also may date back to writings from the 1760s about worms, or beetle larvae, coming out from bark as trees thaw from the winter.

The Anglo-Saxons called the March Full Moon the Lenten Moon. Lenten is derived from Germanic languages and means spring. The Lenten Moon has also given its name to the Christian Lent period before Easter.

The March equinox has had great cultural significance through the times, and many cultures still celebrate new beginnings, rebirth, purity, cleaning, and chaste or lean living around this time.

Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-worm-moon-today-march-7-2023/
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/worm.html

12/02/2023

Angels
Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Ramos - Diocese of Tarlac

Superhuman or heavenly being who serves as God's messenger. Both the Hebrew malak [J; 'm] and the Greek angelos [a [ggelo"] indicate that these beings also act decisively in fulfilling God's will in the world. But these two terms also apply to human beings as messengers ( 1 Kings 19:2 ; Hag 1:13 ; Luke 7:24 ). "Angels" are mentioned almost three hundred times in Scripture, and are only noticeably absent from books such as Ruth, Nehemiah, Esther, the letters of John, and James.

Source: https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/angel/

09/02/2023

San Sebastian Cathedral Bell Tower
Tarlac City

A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house a carillon.

Church bells can signify the time for worshippers to go to church for a communal service, and can be an indication of the fixed times of daily Christian prayer, called the canonical hours, which number seven and are contained in breviaries. They are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service. In some religious traditions they are used within the liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached.

Source: Wikipedia

04/02/2023

Luna
Tarlac City

Wolf Moon
A wolf moon essentially the first full moon that appears during the month of January.

A wolf moon is when the moon has reached the opposite side of the Earth in Orbit to the sun.

This means that the moon’s surface is in direct sunlight and is fully illuminated for us to gaze up at.
https://www.thefactsite.com/wolf-moon-facts/

03/02/2023

Sunset
Bolinao, Pangasinan

Sunset of Life
Sunsets are mysterious. There’s a sense of calmness and the calming and warm colors have a sense of mystery about them. It’s compelling to observe the beauty of a sunset and take in the last breaths of a day, which means that this event can be inspiring for many people who observe it.

In many ways, sunsets and sunrises represent our lives – how they begin with a sunrise, and how they end with a sunset, where the sunrise represents birth and rebirth, while the end of the day represents the end of a journey.

Completion
There’s a sense of completeness when the sunset comes in. After the sun has set, the day turns into night and light into darkness. It influences our mood and makes us feel like we’ve come to the end of an era. This cyclical nature of the earth’s daily cycle can be symbolic of our lives, too.

Cycle
Our lives are also cyclical. They begin with our birth and our childhood, represented by the sunrise. And they end with a sunset, which marks the end of this cycle. That’s why the sun’s motions are often used together to convey certain qualities that involve something that’s cyclical – like our lives.

Mystery
Sunsets are filled with warm colors that inspire a feeling of completeness but also mystery. After the sun has set, we don’t know what will happen. The night is full of unsure events which is only strengthened by the lack of light that happens during the night.
In some ways, a sunset can be a bridge between our unconscious and conscious mind. When there is light, it represents our consciousness. The night represents our unconsciousness.

Calmness
Sunsets are special. Witnessing them can be relaxing, and even healing in many ways. We witness the day’s end, allowing us to summarize how the day has gone for us. It allows us to look back on what we’ve achieved during the day, and end it on a positive note. When you think about a sunset, you perhaps think about those calming moments by the sea, where the air is clear and calm, with the waves gently crashing against the coast. This is a common depiction of the end of the day and also an image that makes so many people love this sort of event.

Beauty
Many spiritual leaders and spirituality practitioners will tell you about the importance of a sunset. It’s a significant moment that’s not only beautiful to observe, but it has strong implications that you can learn from.

Light vs Dark
Sunset is a boundary between the realm of light versus the dark. As the sun sets, dark forces come into play, which is scary and mysterious. It is thus the last force of the light, which brings positivity. In some ways, it’s nature’s way of reminding us of the battle between good and evil.

Source: https://symbolismandmetaphor.com/sunset-symbolism-meanings/

03/02/2023

San Sebastian Cathedral
Tarlac City

During the Gothic period and the Renaissance (1100s–1500s) stained glass was one of the foremost techniques of painting practiced in Europe. It may seem surprising to call stained glass a form of painting, but in fact it is. Look closely at the image here and note that the surfaces of each piece of glass are painted in a wide range of dark tones. One of the most widespread forms of painting, stained glass inspired the lives of the faithful through religious narratives in churches and cloisters, celebrated family and political ties in city halls, and even decorated the windows of private houses.
Source: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/gothic-art/beginners-guide-gothic-art/a/stained-glass-history-and-technique