Ferdz Decena

The streets were filled with energy of excitement. Of people with painted faces eager to experience the revelry going through the mid-day. A group of performers in their shimmering blue attire dances to the beat under the bearing sun. “ Viva Pit Señor!!! ” they shout as they raise their hands to the sky. Their festival queen dances gracefully, arching her back incredibly far and deep while raising the Sto Niño to the sky. How she retains her smile through this is a wonder as I try to capture this moment. My DSLR takes a back seat. From my pocket, I pull out the Asus Zenfone Zoom . I like the feel of the leather at the phone’s back cover which also helps with the traction on my hands.

I got a bit bummed when my Keen Newport H2 gave up on me after getting at least two years of beating. Yep it has gone through miles of hikes both on mountain trails, beaches and pavements that I feel had fairly utilized the sandals. I planned to buy another one as replacement but local stocks seemed to have ran out early this year and I had to settle for something similar from another brand. Then I saw the full spread ad of Keen Uneek in an issue of Outside Magazine. I thought it was a cool looking sandals. Innovative in fact, making use of the highly popular paracord accesories often as bracelets doubling as survival tools. Although this left me wondering how comfortable it is. Glad the local distributor, Primer finally brought the Keen Uneek to the Philippine shores last quarter of 2015. I’ve been using the Keen Uneek for at least a couple of months now and let me share how it fared in real-world use.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught” Late May 2015, I became a part of a group of nature and news photographers to capture images during a photo safari organized by Oceana Philippines . Each of us had our own styles and strengths ensuring we show different facets of the protected seascape, Tañon Strait . For six full days, traveling from Bantayan Islands of Northern Cebu to Dumaguete south of Negros Island, we visited beaches, island hopped, snorkeled, dived, strolled through historic towns, shopped at dry fish markets, went on a river cruise, walked on mangrove boardwalks, stayed a night at a reef station and chased dolphins in the wild. It was an exciting expedition where we were thankful for favorable weather conditions allowing us to easily capture the wonderful scenes during the trip. A set of carefully curated images were printed and became part of a travelling exhibit which includes...