Ferdz Decena

Lunch at Seroni Nyonya Cuisine Restaurant Melaka We spent most of the day today at Historcal Malacca (Melaka) . I’ve heard much about this place which was recently awarded as a UNESCO World Heritage Site last year. People either love it or hate it. As for me, I love the food. This great lunch was at Seroni Nyonya Cuisine Restaurant. Malacca is an interesting place with interesting stories, especially about St Francis Xavier . Too bad we missed the Rice Balls at Jonker’s Walk .

Merdeka, Royal Button Seals and Flag It’s the day before the Merdeka Celebration in Malaysia . Honestly I don’t know a lot about the celebration and it’s significance but today’s programe at the Mines Wellness Hotel educated me on the celebration. I could actually feel the festive spirit of the Malaysians as they look forward to Independence Celebration . I feel the beat of anticipation as we shout Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Creative Restroom Signs at Sunway Pyramid Center and MOS Malaysia Talk about having a low-charged battery. Getting in a bit late last night offered us little rest and wasn’t that all up and charged when we were roaming around Malaysia today. Don’t get me wrong, the tour at the Sky Bridge , Aquaria , King’s Palace and the National Monument was worth while but with only a few sleep left us drained.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport arrival hall Yes I’m back here again. I’ve only been visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia most of the time in transit. But now with an invitation from Tourism Malaysia , I along with Nina and Ivan will get more familiar with Malaysia so I’ll be sending in quick dispatches from here.

A semi-glamor shoot in Batanes I must admit, I rarely shoot glamor. I’m not that intimidated really to shoot glamor as its a strategic combination of light and location. But when you add a concept like “Fishing” into “Fashion” that’s when everything goes a bit haywire. Admittedly that’s a challenging concept for me, especially when the location is rugged Batanes .  C’mon it’s a bit easy to do location shoots and just let the model pose in but add in fishing? The Concept Good thing Seair Inflight Art Director Jocas had some pegs to help out. Otherwise I had these crazy ideas of just doing a creative shoot of lady emerging from the water or a dyesebel (mermaid) on the rocks or a rogue Ivatan toughly carrying an 8pound amberjack on one hand while wearing a pretty dress and smiling on a camera. But no we didn’t do something as drastic as that. We just need a nice fishing setting, a model and the beautiful back drop of Batanes.

October 80s Tsuper and Roam There’s a slew of local travel magazines now at the store shelves vying for your attention. It’s no secret that this is the best time to travel. With cheap airfares and transport discounts, more than 8 publications are there to get a sice of your market to offer suggestions and features on travel destinations. Honestly, I’ve seen travel magazines come and go or replaced by new. I view travel magazines mainly for their value on a travel. Will it help me discover new destinations, get me there and give useful advice? I was able to get a hand on a couple of new travel magazines from this young publication on the block October Eighty Publication . Let’s take a look at their title’s Tsuper and Roam .

Inflight Aug-Sep 09 Cover Seair Inflight’s August-September 2009 Issue is now onboard. It’s cover feature are the beaches in Romblon. Also check out my contributions for this issue. The exquisite accommodation in Batanes, Fundacion Pacita feature “Room at the Top” written by Chip Childers and a feature on 145° Fahrenheit entitled “Steak Side” written by Ces Rodriguez. Once again, thank you to Seair Inflight team for the opportunity. Read on for the Editorial Note. Issue Contents: There’s a new ‘it’ word: staycation . It means, well, staying at home for a vacation or going on day trips near your home. It was coined last year, but seems to have expanded its scope these days to include holidaying in your own country. It’s ‘on-trend’ in these recession-ridden times. “So, are you going on staycation?” I ask myself.

Primer Cover Klima at Kagubatan: Ang Pagbabago ng Panahon One of the projects I consider really worthwhile doing recently was to shoot images for an environmental Non-Government Organization (NGO). Nature and environment means so much to me that if there is any advocacy I would really support firsthand, it’s Nature, Wildlife and Environmental conservation. That’s why I was excited to take up this project from groups like Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) , and Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) . My task for this project was to document how carbon trading measurements are done at the forest of Imugan, Nueva Vizcaya and how the town use their natural resources to produce organic products and goods to sell for their livelihood. The forest of Imugan in Nueva Vizcaya which is under the Kalahan Ancestral Domain is the first one in the country to implement the methods of REDD (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) and are involved in Car...

Manila Design Week 2009 There are a couple of events in Manila right now that is worth checking out for both the artsy and photographic types out there. Manila Design Week 2009 kick started yesterday at the Fort’s Bonifacio High with a live Public Art Demonstration from popular collective art groups. This is the first Philippine Art Festival that will run a week long with different themes everyday on different venues.

Sorting and organizing photos Whenever I go home from a personal trip or a photo assignment,I would usually have a few of memory cards filled in. Imagine around 10-16 gigabytes of photos which is roughly more than a thousand photo files. Just thinking about sorting out and organizing all of those photos can be daunting. But if you have a system or work flow for organizing photos, life can be a little easier. I’m sharing here my current method on sorting and organizing my photo files straight from the camera. It’s not perfect and may be refined more in the future, but currently it works for me.

Cory Aquino's Cortege passing by Buendia Makati It must have been serendipity that I was in the vicinity of Makati when I heard about Cory Aquino’s Cortege passing by Ayala and Buendia en route to Manila Cathedral from La Salle Greenhills . Corazon Aquino , the beloved former president of the Philippines died of colon cancer in August 1 2009 . She has been a symbol of peace and freedom for the Filipino people and well remembered for the peaceful revolution on EDSA 1986. Her death sparked deep emotions and overflowing gratitude for the gift of freedom she gave to the Filipinos.

Cory Aquino memorabilias I was still on my early childhood when I got to know former President Cory Aquino . It was before, during and after the 1986 EDSA Revolution when she became a majore personality for me running against the Marcoses. It was an unusual sight to see a person mostly garbed in yellow and raising an “L” sign with her thumb and point finger to symbolize “ Laban ” or “Fight”. Today August 1, 2009 at 3:18am Philippine Time, Corazon Aquino passed away battling colon cancer.