NEIGHBOR WALK

COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF

I would still like to live and see the day when local coffee shops would rule and be more rampant than their American counterparts here in Philippines, or at least in Manila. For me, these local shops not only make a location unique, they also bring out character and culture of a city.

But if you were to ask me which I prefer the most out of these imported coffehouse chains, CBTL takes my money. I order the same thing every rare visit -- a Lemon Zest Fru-tea/Matcha Green Tea Latte and a piece of chocolate chip. It feels home-y to me rather than, say Starbucks.

KIDS OF CAMBODIA

Even though my Cambodia trip was limited to visiting only one of its cities, Siem Reap, I'd like to think that Cambodians in general are nice, warm and friendly people. From hailing a tuk tuk, to haggling prices with pashminas, I never had a single bad experience with them. Not that I expected to, but I was impressed at how simple and humble Cambodians are. What captured me the most in my three days of walking around landmarks and tourist spots is their kids.

I was a little amazed at how camera-ready most of them were haha! As you can see, either they look straight to the camera and pose, or they simply don't mind when someone's taking their photo. Then I realized, it's probably because they were so used to the impact of their ever-growing tourism that these kids have grown up being photographed numerous times a day, making them so comfortable being the subject to the eyes of many.

Hope they make you smile too :)

BY TWOS

I love those times when a scene or frame particularly catches my eye and know that I could freeze that moment by making it into a photograph. As I hold the camera to my face and try my best to guess set  the appropriate setting, I frame my composition. I'm a little taller for the girl's average height, so I have learned to bend down my knees a little to direct the shot on an eye-level. Then here comes my favorite part: focusing. I slowly rotate the focus ring, and like a dream turned reality,  the viewfinder smoothly shifts from total blur to a clear and sharp subject on focus. I inhale, and then exhale with my finger on the shutter button. Freeze.

Shooting with film definitely slowed me down, and I say this as a great thing. Being enclosed inside the viewfinder, attachment to the subject is inevitable.

What's more lovely, is to see the result and learn that it looks exactly like how you imagined it to be when you took the shot a couple of weeks back. It doesn't always happen though as film tends to give you a couple of surprises here and there, but when it does, you genuinely cherish the moment. Like these bicycles resting under the trees in Siem Reap.

WALKING AROUND ANGKOR WAT

As if there is no end, here are still some captures around Angkor Wat, this time taken by my super handy Superheadz UWS :)