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TREKKING MT. PINATUBO, PHILIPPINES
In June of 1991, a volcano in the Philippines erupted and some considered it to be the biggest eruption in living memory. Lahar flow covered much of the surrounding villages, towns and forest. Neighboring cities were carpeted in a layer of ash that put normalcy on hold for months. The eruption rendered 2 of the biggest US bases in Southeast Asia useless and affected the rest of the world through weather patterns.
Read more on Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia Blogs
Or take a look at the 3 Part post here on MACphotographyDY with more photos.
FOR PHILIPPINE PASSPORT HOLDERS
Now that low-cost airfare are accessible to the most adventurous traveler it’s time to check on which countries allow non-visa entry for Philippine passport holders. All that is required is a round trip ticket back to the Philippines and enough dough to sustain that adventurous lifestyle. But don’t max out the free visa days. Getting caught over staying in another country is no rose garden.
- Brunei Darussalam: allows 14 days
- Cambodia: up to 21 days
- Fiji: up to 120 days-free visa issued upon arrival
- Galapagos islands: visa not required. Call consul for amount of days
- Hong Kong: allows 14 days
- Indonesia: up to 30 days
- Laos: up to 30 days
- Macau: up to 30 days
- Malaysia: up to 30 days
- Maldives: 30 days
- Mongolia: up to 21 days
- Singapore: up to 30 days and don’t bring cigarettes.
- South Korea: Philippine passport holders will not be charged a fee for tourist visa but will still need to apply for one.
- Sri-Lanka: up to 30 days
- Taiwan: allows non-visa entry with the exception that passport holder has a valid US, Canada, UK, Schengen, Australia, New Zealand and Japan visa. Passport holder will need to register before entry. Here’s a link for more info.
- Thailand: up to 30 days
- Vietnam: up to 21 days
Here’s a list from Wikipedia
BUDGET TRAVEL MADE EASY
10 years ago, traveling from one country to another cost more than a monthly budget. Now, there are many airlines in Asia with flights that won’t break the bank. Need a vacation now or connect to a domestic location?
It’ll be fun, just recently a video went viral of a Cebu Pac flight attendant dancing while demonstrating flight safety procedures. Here are some airlines with great fares and beats taking the bus.
Air Asia: Main hub in Malaysia/Thailand and serves major Asian cities plus the UK- Cebu Pacific: Main hub in the Philippines and serves major Asian cities.
- Dragon Air: Main hub in China and serves major Asian cities plus North America, Saudi Arabia, UK, Italy, Russia, S. Africa, France, Netherlands.
- Go Air: Main hub in India and serves local routes from Mumbai to Srinagar.
- Jet Air: Main hub in India and serves many major cities around the world.
- Lion Air: Main hub in Indonesia and serves mainly local routes plus Saudi Arabia.
- Tiger Airways: Main hub in Singapore and serves major Asian cities.
- Zest Air: Second biggest budget airline in the Philippines and serves local routes.
Only in the Philippines and just in case you missed it…
SHOOTING A SUNSET AT LOW TIDE
So, it’s low tide, I mean really low tide. Where I stood at sunset during the day it’s about a few feet of water.
Don’t be afraid to get the tripod wet. Just clean it up after with bottled water and a clean soft rag. To get rid of the salt that is already on your gear from both the air and water spray. Having those rubber air blowers will come in very handy as well to get small particles of sand off the camera and lens before you wipe.
Use aperture priority and play with the numbers from f/11-f/20 and shoot until you are satisfied with the photo. On aperture priority you manually set the f-stop (lens opening) and the camera sets the shutter speed. More importantly do wait for the sun to sink into the horizon first. A big no no though, is flash-either shut if off or throw it into the water. Shoot a series of photos with varying apertures.
After downloading photos into the computer study the photos and compare the 3 triumvirate of photography-aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Compare the effects that each has on the sunset shot. The exif of photo above: EOS 50D, 35mm, f/16, 0.4 sec, ISO 100, RAW.
Gear you will need for a proper sunset landscape photograph:
- DSLR
- Any wide angle lens. Yes, even kit lens (Canon EF-S 18-55mm)
- Sturdy tripod-any brand will do. I suggest getting one with a price point of no less than US$100 or PHP4,500. Don’t go el cheapo on this one. Remember it’s support of your DSLR and you’d want one to keep it off the beach.
- Remote for steady shooting
- Rubber air blower-available in camera accessory shops
- A dark cloth to cover up viewfinder for long exposures
- A bubble leveler to go on the hot shoe
- Bottled water/snack
- Flashlight to use so you can stay til dark
- A good bag to hold everything in
And most of all, have fun.
PS- if lens have IS (Image Stabilizer) turn it off. Don’t need it with a tripod.
