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Here's some photos from my explorations around San Fernando on foot. These photos took place in the barangays of Catbangen & Tanqui. Not only are these barangays where the Balay da Judge artist residency & Alfredo F. Tadiar library are, they are also former barangays my parents used to live in & spend time in together. Since it's been so hot, I've been trying to plan my outings & errands later in the day, so I can go for a walk & explore after. Here's some interesting compositions & textures I saw during my walks, both early morning & late afternoon. I found that already by 9AM here, the lighting can be quite harsh. For temperature & lighting's sake, 4-6PM has been the sweet spot. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. Around the Plaza & Tanqui
 My parents once lived on Zandueta St. This street crosses the library.  Harsh lighting, but interesting shadows!
My mom said her & my dad once lived in a green house on Zandueta St, near the library. But we only saw one all-green house that looked way too massive for just a couple?! We saw some houses with green breeze block exteriors, but only one house that was actually all-green. Will confirm what exact house in the coming days, but either way, I love breeze blocks & I hate the mint green color, but I'm reminded of Tropikaye's study on #TKColorCooling. Check out the community index on their Instagram or Facebook pages. Despite my dislike for the color itself, this Philippine-specific visual phenomena still fascinates me. La Union Provincial CapitalFun fact: Did you know San Fernando is the capital city of La Union? 
I haven't been up to the capital grounds since 2018, when my older cousin first took me up here. Every time I come back home & he & his kids are not here, it's not the same. But I'll always be reminded of him fondly whenever I visit the kapitolyo or explore around San Fernando. Upon arrival, my studio assistant & I were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a lovely installation of artificial tulips for the spring season! I bet this looks stunning in the evening time. This is a location we will be visiting for my upcoming photo walk workshop, & we will be heading over around the golden hour. Hopefully it will be lit up so we can experience some magic together!
 They also still had Christmas decorations up, but it was still cute. 😅 Later Day ExplorationsNot sure the exact cause, but last week I experienced one of the worst migraines I've ever had. I was laying in my darkened room with the blinds shut. Any light & sound was making my head pound, & it hurt to look at anything. I tried taking an hour nap & woke up feeling worse! Took a cold shower that didn't help either. I took some meds & knocked out for another 5 hours, & that ended up doing the trick. It could have been caused by a combo of lack of sleep (which is not uncommon for me, sadly), heat exhaustion & maybe even dehydration. After a busy week & that migraine spell, Friday came along & I felt entitled to treating myself to a spa day, hehe. I took a tricycle to the spa, then took one back & got off at the town plaza so I could head back to the residence in Catbangen on foot. During my walk around Catbangen, I decided to take some side streets to find a local mini mart. It was closed, but I randomly happened to come across my mom's former high school. I often enjoy taking side streets because they're quieter & sometimes you just find things you wouldn't expect to see, whether they're locations or just cool compositions.
 
Saw this sick tricycle sidecar with flames painted on it. Along with the epic sunset lighting, it's giving Philippine Flavortown aesthetic. 🔥
 I love the juxtaposition of nature with rusty textures & colors. When you think of it, rust is just a chemical reaction that happens naturally when steel or iron corrode from the meeting of oxygen & water.   More blog posts on the work I've been producing during my residency will be published in the coming weeks! Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
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First, & hopefully not last, trip to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines! Despite several generalisations about Mindanao, I've never been influenced by these misconceptions, & it has always been a place I've wanted to visit. I've always been enamored by their gorgeous art aesthetics, music, culture, & admire them for their colonial resistance. So glad I finally got to visit, esp with the guidance of brilliant creatives & friends, but I hope I'm able to make it back again to further explore the island & culture! Iligan City in the northern Mindanaon province of Lanao Del Norte was the first stop on our 9-day visit. The main languages spoken here are Bisaya, Tagalog, & English is also commonly spoken throughout the islands. Lanao del Norte & the region surrounding Lake Lanao is the ancestral land of the Maranao, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in Mindanao. They are one of the largest Islamic groups in the so-called Philippines. Below are photos of Bai Ming, a Maranao matriarch, who invited me to peek into her world. Her & her family import or create all the goods sold in her shop, Ming's Collection. She consented to me photographing her, & in return I'd love to share about her business! You can find them here on Facebook (if you've got an account), or look them up on Google Maps. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF. Also first time using my Pocket Dispo lens, gifted to me by my friend & photography collague, Noah B! The lens is great & love the softer texture it creates, but it's def not for everything. It was fun to take it out on a spin for the first time on this trip tho, & hopefully I can find some good use out of it again in the future. My film photos from this trip will probably come later this year! View photos from a computer for the full experience. Click any image below to enlarge.  
 
MISC ILIGAN...Here's some more photos exploring Iligan City! Starting with the amazing view from Fat Pauly's. The photo of the lighthouse almost looks like a postcard images & the swirl of the clouds during sunset were unbelievable.
Paseo de SantiagoIf you're into Spanish historic destinations, check out Paseo de Santiago. This park is a paid tourist attraction along the ocean, & is named after Spanish "explorer", Santiago de la Cruz, who is credited for "discovering" the Iligan Bay in the 16th Century. While this is considered a historic destination, I've read that the park itself is a newer tourist attraction. Aside from the park & lush scenery, they also have food vendors, occasionally host events & offer rentals. This park has paid admission & honors senior discounts. 
  
 "LAPU LAPU — He is the first famous person written in our history that bravely and gallantly defended our land and our race against foreign invaders on April 2, 1521 known as the "Battle of Mactan" that resulted to the death of Ferdinand Magellan and the defeat of his Spanish and Portuguese forces." Tambo Public MarketMy mother came with me on this trip to Mindanao this time. I can't stress enough how I'm at the point now where I'm starting to feel like the parent, haha! Anyways, before our trip, she said she hadn't been to Mindanao since the 1970's. And she mentioned one thing she really wanted to bring back to La Union was dried fish, claiming that is a really nice cuisine they have there. My friend was kind enough to bring us to Tambo Public Market, where she was able to buy dried pusit (squid), & other fish. These are typically fried & served with garlic rice, eggs & some sort of veggie side dish for breakfast. 🦑 I'm sure some of you can tell that these interior photos in the market are dark inside. I had to use quite a high ISO. Once bringing them into Lightroom, they were very noisy. I do not recommend Lightroom's AI noise removal tool, as it makes the photos look way too fake. Instead, use the option to manually reduce the noise. They won't be perfect & noise-free, but the tool does help, in moderation.     Beadwork Workshop at Espasyo Creative HUbGot to peel off for a day to take an introductory beadwork workshop at Espasyo Creative Hub. Not only do they occasionally host creative workshops, they also have a restaurant & a storefront where they sell local handmade goods, crafts, art & even some sweet treats hehe. As you can see, the Pocket Dispo lens is not great for close-ups. So that's something to keep in mind when using this lens. It is a lot like a disposable camera in this way! For those of us who are old enough to remember using disposable cameras in our youth... haha!
Jeepneys of IliganSome of you know I'm a public transportation nerd & love riding/exploring on foot/public transit anywhere I go. It was nice to get a break from riding Grab (the Philippines' rideshare service in major cities) & driving, & actually getting to ride around in one of their jeeps! I've only visited 3 Philippine islands so far & have noticed a difference in their jeeps & public transit. The last island I visited last year was Cebu, & I noticed their jeeps were mostly the Japanese models, & tricycles were also bawal (forbidden). In addition to the jeeps in La Union (on the island of Luzon), you see tricycles everywhere & it's actually my favorite way to get around (when not driving — we also don't have Grab in La Union). And in Luzon, our jeeps are mostly Mercedes or BMW (what I like to call the n*zi models, LOL). However, in Mindanao, I noticed their jeepneys were a mix of n*zi models & also the Japanese models (I mostly saw Isuzu & Mitsubishi, & probably others). Here's a few jeeps in motion while getting to ride in one! They also didn't have tricycles, but they had Bajaj 3-wheelers which are typically ridden for shorter distances. Didn't get any photos of any, but you can look them up here, if you're curious. 
Butterflies These photos are all out of sequence, but I wanted to share this image last. After exploring Iligan with friends for the day, they brought me to a malongan, a shop that sells malongs. For a long time, I've been drawn to butterflies, & I immediately spotted a malong with a butterfly pattern. My friend & I both agreed we'd never seen a malong with butterflies on it. Of course I had to get it. After some shopping, we stepped out to end up at the Tubod River (I think this is the one).
Upon stepping out to the river, we noticed a black butterfly landed on my arm & flew away. When my dad passed away years ago, I remember a black butterfly staying on the ceiling above his casket for days during the week-long wake. Not sure exactly who was communicating with me this time, but could feel this was a messenger from the spirit world making sure we were protected on this trip. Part 2 of my Mindanao trip is forthcoming, followed by a special announcement on why I'm in the Philippines again for TWO months! If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments. Going a bit out of sequence from my recent trip to the Philippines, here are some photos from a short trip my mom & I took to Cebu together. Part exploration & holiday, part study & research for an upcoming artist residency, where I am studying the origins of the Santo Niño & its context in contemporary Philippines & the diaspora. Some photos are not related to the research at all, but included are digital compositions from additional explorations around Cebu City. Fair warning, some photos are not good at all... Haha, but are more intended just for documenting purposes. All photos are from my Nikon ZF using a 24-70mm lens. I was able to sort through the photos properly through my desktop this time & edit them through Adobe Lightroom. However, for previous photos, I used the Nikon SnapBridge app through my iPhone, which I highly recommend if you're on the go & just want to get some snaps off your Nikon really quickly. Click an image below to enlarge. View from a computer for the full experience. Comments are welcome! :) Journey to Clark International AirportThe only way to get to Cebu from San Juan, La Union was to fly, since it is another island quite far away. My mom & I decided to fly out of Clark International Airport in Pampanga instead of taking the bus 6-8 hours to Manila & flying out of there. Neither of us had ever been to Clark before. After some research & confirmation from the bus company, we learnt you take the Bataan Transit bus out of San Fernando (the neighboring town) to Dau bus terminal in Pampanga, then either catch a short shuttle bus or taxi to the airport from there. Altogether, the journey was about 4 hours (minimal traffic since we left San Juan at 2AM), & saved us a few hours compared to having to trek to Manila. Clark was a positive experience, which no one usually says about airports & flying, haha. There was no traffic outside, the airport architecture was spacious, & there were more food options compared to the airport in Manila. I look forward to flying into/out of Clark Airport on my next trip to the Philippines.
Loved the Mondrian-esque stained glass color scheme of this bus terminal & the vintage-looking buses.  I was enamored by Clark Airport's post-vaporwave liminal space waiting room. Have you ever seen an airport that looks like this? Sugbo SentroLocated near our hotel was Sugbo Sentro, an outdoor food court filled with local Cebuano cuisines. Throughout the food establishments, one can find small Santo Niño altars among the food displays, as well as dancing plastic bags — an innovative solution to keeping flies away from the food. If you are vegetarian/vegan, there are not a whole lot of options here for outside of juice, rice & salted duck eggs. Sorry! 😅 I recall the space being handicap accessible (correct me if I'm wrong), but I'm not sure about the toilets. As a general practice when traveling in the Philippines, be sure to always bring your own tissue, hankies & hand sanitiser, as many toilets are not equipped with tissue or hand soap. 🥴  A small local fruit stand situated just outside of the food court. Some of my fav fruits are lanzones (which I've only ever seen in the Philippines) & rambutan. I always make sure to have these fruits whenever I go home, because they're either not accessible in the US, or they're very expensive & bland.   Palm leaves woven into vessels used to steam rice. Woven palm leaves used to cook food can be found throughout the archipelago & other parts of Southeast Asia. 
  Small Santo Niño shrines & flying plastic bags found throughout the restaurants. Filipinos are truly the most resourceful. Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary & Art GalleryThe Jumalon Butterfly Santuary & Art Gallery is a lesser-known attraction I found in my travel guide. Many of you who know me well know that I really love butterflies. Aesthetically they're beautiful, but I also love what they represent metaphorically. Transition, transformation, change, movement, migration, travel & sometimes return (depending on the type). If you love nature, science & art, I highly recommend visiting this space. There is a small entrance fee, but if you are in a position to donate more, please do as the sanctuary is completely sustained by the family & is not supported by any government funding. You can also support by letting more people know about the sanctuary. From what the remaining family members told us, they were getting so many more visitors, school & university tours prior to the pandemic. Like many small businesses & DIY spaces, the pandemic took a toll on their foot traffic. So if you happen to be in Cebu City, please make sure to pay this unique space a visit. Here are some photos from my Nikon ZF. Fair warning, not all are nice. I documented some just for the sake of documenting, so please don't come at me in the comments with mean banter. Be nice to me. 🥹 
A few misc compositions of the garden spaces of the sanctuary. Not pictured are the fluttering butterflies that could be spotted throughout. It was a bit difficult for me to photograph them. 😅 But also, I kind of didn't want to? Sometimes it's nice to just be in the moment without holding up a camera to everything. I noticed when juxtaposing these 4 images together, they kind of have similar compositions. What do you think?  DIY display timeline on the life of Julian N. Jumalon.  Mosaic painting by Julian N. Jumalon, made with broken butterfly wings.
 Julian N. Jamalon was not only an avid butterfly enthusiast, but he was also an artist & some would even say a scientist. We were told he'd been collecting butterflies since he was a child. As an adult, he was the first artist to create mosaic paintings out of broken butterfly wings, which he'd spent time collecting over many years. Not pictured, we also got a tour of his private art studio & study, which contained many of his original sketches, small watercolor paintings & research. Something about looking into a dead man's private life was eerie, but also beautiful & special. Not formally trained as a biologist, he was also a scientist, being the first to study Native butterflies of the Philippines. He traveled throughout the Philippines, Southeast Asia & other parts of the world collecting & studying butterflies, moths & other insects. Side note: Turns out it's really difficult to photograph objects behind glass! Or, maybe I'm just not doing it properly? If any other photographers have tips, please let me know what you've got. I'm still learning a lot of new things since picking up digital photography.
A few outdoor butterfly sculpture displays.   Spiraling DIY display of cocoons held together with binder clips.
Here's some photos of the interior gallery displays. Small, intimate, & situated on the ground level of the family's home, this gallery was like stepping into a time capsule of someone's personal life. Filled with dozens of insects, this gallery also displayed plenty of misc bric-a-brac collected during Jumalon's travels over the decades. The best part of this gallery was its unpretentious & DIY nature. Everything had its own charm & personality, including the ceiling fan, old AC wall unit, cocoons inside of plastic food containers, & mismatched fabrics used to cover the displays. I hope if this collection is ever acquired by a museum, they display it exactly like this, because this is not only a collection of art & science, but it's a history of a multigenerational family's life, which is just as important & equally deserves to be preserved in the same caliber.
Last stop at the sanctuary was the art gallery (entrance pictured above), which housed all of Jumalon's award-winning original watercolor & mosaic paintings. Once inside, there is no photography allowed. I'm assuming due to fear of illegal reproductions, which is understandable. This means you'll have to visit in-person someday to see what the paintings look like! 😉 Carbon MarketNext, we visited a massive palengke (open-air public market), known as the Carbon Market. It is the oldest & biggest palengke in Cebu. It was so big, we did not get through the whole market. One, because it was so overwhelming & crowded. Two, because it was way too hot & the heat exhaustion was starting to kick in. 🥵 Dating back to the early 20th century, during the American colonial era of the Philippines, this palengke has everything from tropical fruits & veggies, street food, pasalubong (souvenirs), woven goods, flowers & more. My mom was taken aback by how much cheaper the fruit was compared to San Juan & brought back two giant bags of lanzones & rambutan. As you will see, I also came across a handful of small Santo Niño altars throughout the market. The parts along the roads can be handicap accessible. However, once you go inside, the walkways are so narrow & full of items, even a walking person can have difficulty getting through. Please practice caution & awareness when walking throughout the aisles.
 
    Misc ParadeMisc parade celebration we came across on our way to the basilica. I don't really know what it was for, haha. I am assuming it was a promotion for a local politician. 
Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de CebuThis was the main thing I wanted to go to Cebu for. I wanted to learn about the origins of the Santo Niño in the Philippines & go back to where it all started. It's quite a lot to explain & this post is already very long, but you can learn about the history on the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu official website. If you do plan to visit the basiilica, make sure to wear proper attire. It is a lot like the Vatican now: full of tourists & dress code rules. Make sure you wear a top with sleeves that does not expose your chest or back, wear close-toed shoes, & if you are wearing a dress, skirt or shorts, make sure they are well past your knees, including the backs of your knees when you bend over. They will not let you in otherwise! I thought my dress was long enough, but they saw the backs of my knees & did not let me enter. I ended up having to go to a shop nearby that sold long skirts. The funny thing was, they just started enforcing this new dress code maybe one or two days before we visited. There are loads of vendors outside the basilica selling prayer candles & other religious souvenirs. There could be a new market for the vendors to now sell long skirts & shirts. 😅 Lastly, please note that some parts of the basilica are not handicap accessible. 😔 
 
 
 
I think for me, speaking as a non-Catholic/Christian/religious person in-general, the coolest thing I got to see was the original image of the Santo Niño that first appeared in the Philippines as far back as the 16th century. Many make the pilgrimage to visit this Holy Child & sometimes queue up for several hours to quickly glance at it encased behind bulletproof glass. Me? I got lucky & only waited for 10 minutes, haha.
A bit difficult to photograph the interior of the cathedral, since visitors are not allowed to do photography past a certain point. I tried my best!
 
Magellan's Cross, found just outside of the basilica compound, symbolises the Spanish colonisation & Christianisation of the Philippines in 1521. 😮💨 The mural depicts the baptism of the former Cebu royalty to Catholicism.  Not actually at the Basilica, this was a small religious souvenir shop located just opposite. Here, I got to purchase my own mini Santo Niño made out of wood, as well as other religious goods. Mentioning again for clarity, I am not religious, & this is for research purposes only. El Fuerte de San Pedro & the National Museum of the Philippines — CebuEl Fuerte de San Pedro (Fort San Pedro) is the oldest fort in the Philippines. This makes sense, since the first Spanish settlement was in Cebu. Sources online state that you can view original artworks & Spanish artifacts at the fort. This is no longer true, as they have been acquired by the National Museum. The museum is located just next door & you can easily walk on over to learn more about Cebuano & Bisayan history, both precolonial & colonial. Fort San Pedro is not handicap accessible. If I recall, the National Museum does have lifts & accessible toilets available.      
Right: Small Santo Niño sculpture displayed at the National Museum. Unfortunately, I do not know who the artist is! If you know who it is, please let me know & I can properly credit them. Thank You!That concludes this very long post & the Return Call blog series! If you made it this far & actually read everything — thank you! But if you just skimmed through the photos, I appreciate that, too. I know I could have easily broken up this post into multiple smaller posts, but it was important to me to keep each part of the trip together as their own mini-series within a series.
Coming soon: Hopefully some film photos! I sent about 28 rolls to the lab & have soooooo many to scan. Each roll is 36 exposures, so please be patient as I sort through them all. I'm excited to share I've upgrade my 10 year old scanner & have a shiny new scanner to work with that is much higher quality & should hopefully shave off a significant amount of editing time. I'm stoked to share the results with you all! I welcome any questions or dialogue in the comments below. Would love to know your thoughts on this post. 🖤 |
NICA AQUINOIn this space I'll share digital previews of my film photography, updates on new artworks in progress, upcoming programs, inspiration & my other misc interests. Archives
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