gerryruiz photoblog

Fruit Bats!

gerryruiz — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:13:17 +0000

Fruit bats just love our chico tree.

Here are recent photos taken of one savoring a chico fruit at our yard.

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Saigon After 6

gerryruiz — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:29:46 +0000

Here are a couple of night scenes taken around Ho Chi Minh City…

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Mekong Delta, Vietnam

gerryruiz — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:02:45 +0000

Here are a few photos taken during a brief trip to My Tho City, Tien Gang Province and island hopping around Mekong River, Mekong Delta.

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Good Morning, Saigon!

gerryruiz — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 05:54:16 +0000

It was our first trip to Vietnam and, sure, the excitement was there.

Having done some prior browsing research on it, I was relatively ready for the sights and sounds and for the exotic food Vietnam has to offer.

And, yes, setting aside all war info about the place, I knew beforehand Saigon was also famous for its chaotic motorbike traffic.

But not until I actually saw it with my own eyes… It’s a city of motorbikes – every which way they go!!!

So here’s an intro on Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon’s new name) – the morning scene one fine day in the city.

Good morning, Saigon!

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The 2012 Leyte Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival

gerryruiz — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:21:28 +0000

This time there was no street parade; only the usual final competition performances at the Leyte Sports Development Center.

There were 10 contingents in the Pintados category and 11 in the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals.

The scene at the Leyte Sports Development Center last June 27, 2012…

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Tagaytay!

gerryruiz — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:48:22 +0000

We had a quick trip to Tagaytay City last week – a much needed respite from the hot summer beat working for continuous days in front of the computer.

We needed a visual break!

Merely 55km south of Manila, it takes over an hour’s drive to reach the the country’s “2nd Summer Capital” (after Baguio City) owing to its cooler climate provided by its high altitude.

One of the country’s popular tourist destinations due to its outstanding scenery and climate cooler than Metro-Manila’s, Tagaytay – a component city of the province of Cavite – provides an iconic view of the famous Taal Lake and Taal Volcano of Batangas.

With weathermen announcing the approach of a very strong tropical storm from the Pacific, we were fortunate to reach Tagaytay City and find Taal Lake not covered with fog, which is what usually happens during rainy seasons.

It was perfect weather – a bright and sunny day!

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Project: Hippie Tinay

gerryruiz — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:35:01 +0000

Brushed up on onsite/locational shooting skills with a shoot featuring our niece Kristine Marie Joy at the Japanese Memorial Garden along Magsaysay Blvd. in Tacloban City.

We made her look like a hippie.

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It’s fiesta time once again!

gerryruiz — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 15:14:26 +0000

Yes, it’s that time of the year and fiesta time for Tacloban City is now here again!

While the big fiesta celebration is on June 29 & 30 yet, fiesta activities start about a month or so before then.

So food stalls, tiangges and nightly entertainment shows have come to life once again at the city’s main fiesta celebration venues – at the Balyuan Compound, Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival Park and at the Astrodome.

We were at the official opening of this year’s Pintados Kasadyaan Festival Park (formerly RTR Plaza) last Friday, June 08.

Here was the scene…

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Novus Orsa II

gerryruiz — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:06:04 +0000

Here are new photos I did for our favorite model, Jinggay Lantajo de la Cruz – model, stylist, HMUA all rolled into one

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The Buyogan Festival at Aliwan 2012

gerryruiz — Wed, 02 May 2012 02:21:47 +0000

In what was generally perceived as a tight match between the Buyogan Festival of Leyte and the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo, with everybody enthralled by the huge props used in their respective performances, the Buyogan Festival - grand champion of Aliwan 2009 and Sinulog 2009 (Free Interpretation category) – fell short of reclaiming the grand championship title of the Aliwan Fiesta Festival 2012 and had to settle for 2nd place with the Dinagyang winning the title 3 times in a row.

Lingganay Festival of Alang-alang, Leyte – winner of Leyte’s Pintados Kasadyaan 2011 and Sinulog 2012 – got the third place.

Unlike during the Aliwan 2009 where we got drenched in the rain with the parade lasting till 2 o’clock in the morning the next day, we got sunny weather this time and the parade started much earlier at 1:30 in the afternoon at Quirino Grandstand, and ended at 7PM at Aliwan Theater at CCP Complex.

Now on its 10th year, the Aliwan Fiesta Festival is an annual celebration parade held in Metro-Manila featuring the top winners of the various festivals from all over the country vying for the top prizes – a cool PhP1M for the 1st place, PhP.5M for the 2nd place and PhP250,000 for the 3rd place.

The festival parade started at the Quirino Grandstand then proceeded along Roxas Blvd ending at the Aliw Theater at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Complex.

The Buyogan Festival of Abuyog, Leyte at the Quirino Grandstand:

Abuyog Mayor Octavio Traya, Jr. leads the contingent along Roxas Blvd.

At the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex:

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