tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15391385477009022842012-01-19T17:38:07.614+08:00Bong Manayon on Faith and PhotographyBong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.comBlogger801100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-86626262102170883542012-01-15T18:39:00.003+08:002012-01-15T18:39:55.219+08:00

I WAS DEPRESSED TODAY... ...so I took my camera and went for a walk.   SEA EAGLE PENTAX K-5 + SMCP DA 55-300/4-5.8 ED "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:30-31

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-61236844329361567832011-12-24T20:44:00.000+08:002012-01-15T18:59:19.509+08:00

CHRISTMAS 2011 Earth and Sky PENTAX K-5 + SMCP DA 55-300/4-5.8 ED "For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!); 'I am the LORD, and there is no other.'" (Isaiah 45:18 ESV)

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-81053395671203353692011-12-20T21:57:00.000+08:002011-12-23T09:57:20.287+08:00

  HOPE #2 MS Paint Line Art by Erika Hallel Manayon "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-45560078695831574272011-12-15T08:36:00.004+08:002011-12-15T08:36:49.930+08:00

HOPE #1 MS Paint Line Art by Erika Hallel Manayon "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." (Isaiah 9:2)

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-76277513343991330402011-12-10T09:16:00.001+08:002011-12-11T16:39:58.963+08:00

HOW I LOST FOUR HOURS OF TIME AND IT WAS NOT AN ALIEN ABDUCTION I have taken Cebu Pacific and Philippine Air Line (PAL) routinely so when the Legazpi trip came around, they were my first choice when it comes to flying around.  Given the time frame, however, I knew that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel for available seats.  Cebu Pacific was full, I managed to grab a seat in PAL going to

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-86361264672732207262011-12-09T22:07:00.001+08:002011-12-20T15:35:31.155+08:00

WEIRD WEATHER   WEIRD WEATHER PENTAX K-5 + SMCP 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR While I was on assignment in the Bicol Region, I asked a taxi driver "how's the weather?" and he replied "kakaiba" (literally: "different" but with an ominous undertone—more like "weird").  He went on to describe strong winds and lots of rain of the previous day.  This came from a man who lives in the region of the

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-34112140577484855082011-11-09T09:36:00.001+08:002011-12-09T22:17:07.243+08:00

PRECIOUS MEMORIESPentax K-5 + SMCP DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR "In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise."--

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-26349389567806511912011-10-06T09:18:00.000+08:002011-12-10T09:31:08.585+08:00

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-50145597171602499892011-09-13T23:28:00.000+08:002011-12-10T09:31:29.704+08:00

with Khalil Manayon Mother: "Anak, dapat tanggapin mo si Hesus sa puso mo." ("Son, you must accept Jesus into your heart.") Son: "Bakit?" ("Why?") Mother: "Kung wala si Hesus, pupunta ka sa impierno." ("Without Jesus, you would go to hell.") Son: "Eh, ano ngayon?" ("So?") Mother: "Mainit doon." ("It's hot there.") Son: "Okay lang, masasanay rin ako." ("It's okay, I'll get used

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-69724075163583456612011-08-17T20:14:00.001+08:002011-08-17T20:15:37.817+08:00

PENTAX K-5 + SMCP DA 55-300/4-5.8 ED No.  I still don't get it. "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I gave up my childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-16237357045994869622011-07-20T23:34:00.003+08:002011-08-03T12:35:15.932+08:00

 (ALL PHOTOS: PENTAX K-7 + SMCP DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR) Agua Santa is an old resort/spa in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines before contemporary and trendy resort/spas became chic.  Los Baños is located south of Metro Manila, the economic and political center of the Philippines.   It was discovered by a Spanish Franciscan Missionary Pedro Bautista in 1590 early and he found out that the place had

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-2332134003892639752011-07-12T17:03:00.000+08:002011-07-12T17:03:05.484+08:00

NOW IN AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE  Edited by Tim Price of Ekklesia Press, it is now available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-22623491148047377002011-05-25T06:04:00.003+08:002011-11-13T07:12:47.067+08:00

DAWN THUNDER PENTAX K-5 + SMCP DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR There is something about sunrises that seems to vanish in a hurry.  A point of stillness that is a moving target a wholly different specie of sorts than that of a sunset.  In a sunset, the moment is followed by the darkness of the night where the blazing sun etches a mental footnote as one ends the day.  A sunrise gently nudges its way

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-21673637403045150282011-04-27T07:54:00.003+08:002011-04-27T09:57:51.545+08:00

You know the story, a man named Job suffered traumatic losses where fortune, family and health were wiped out almost simultaneously as a result of some divine event—but I’m not about to discuss as who is responsible for the "what's" that happened and the “why’s” behind the morality of this story. Job virtually was left alone save for four friends who initially consoled with him and later

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-46274417316821991212011-02-27T15:32:00.005+08:002011-08-01T19:08:31.928+08:00

THEY DID NOT ALLOW ME TO TAKE THIS PHOTO The security personnel said that I needed a permit to shoot inside new terminal of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA 3).  Despite my best attempt to look like a naive tourist, it did not escape their attention that I had a "pro" looking gear (never mind if it is the entry level Pentax K-x).   To be fair, I did document NAIA Terminal 1 on assignment

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-78384517365879874002011-02-18T08:41:00.005+08:002011-02-18T19:50:44.761+08:00

HOW NOT TO SHOOT THE MOON While relaxing in a patio of a coffee shop, I noticed a group of young photographers at the far end shooting something with their cameras mounted on tripods.  It seems that they were not getting it as they would moan, curse or sigh whenever they chimp to see the results.   I looked to see what they were shooting and it turns out to be the moon.  As I listened as they

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-41102301037400977822011-02-06T18:46:00.001+08:002011-08-01T19:09:37.929+08:00

Canon AE-1 + Canon FD 50/1.8 S.C. + Kodak Tri-X 400 Philippine Christian University Foundation Day October 1978.  That is the cheering squad of the College of Liberal Arts; this photo was used in a news release that appeared in Manila Bulletin sometime in the weeks that followed (I lost my copy of that issue).  While I have had my photos published in school publications since high school and

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-71422485459587144452011-01-12T22:56:00.003+08:002011-08-01T19:10:49.718+08:00

THE SUN FLOWER (1981) CANON AE-1 + SUPER TAKUMAR 28/3.5 + KODACHROME 64 Kodachrome is gone. Although I used it only between 1976 and 1987, I really like to shoot with it. At least during my initial infatuation with it, I shot it for mundane things like cats and Christmas parties. I later became more prudent and picky with what to shoot with Kodachrome. The downside was it had to be shipped

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-44275918811484684212010-12-25T11:57:00.002+08:002011-08-01T19:11:39.460+08:00

DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS PENTAX K10D + SMCP DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR Holiday greetings to all my friends of whatever persuasion--including those who, for whatever reason, does not and cannot celebrate Christmas. To my friends who belong to another religious persuasion or paradigm, hope the holidays provide you with a break from the busyness of life and labor and that you find time with your

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-58960335154436868212010-12-19T09:12:00.016+08:002011-08-01T19:14:09.816+08:00

 PENTAX K10D + SMCP FA 24-90/3.5-4.5 AL (IF)CHILD Haus is a small hospice that provides free temporary housing for indigent patients from the outlying provinces who have no place to stay in Metro Manila while undergoing treatment for various diseases which include cancer.  The current location (December 2010) is hosted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in the Quezon Institute

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-50129934470378917292010-12-08T17:21:00.001+08:002011-11-13T07:28:50.031+08:00

Back in the mid-1970s, just when I was beginning to discover "real" photography with a Spotmatic, I saw a National Geographic ad for the Pentax ES II and I thought it was the most sexiest black camera there ever was.  I vaguely remembered that there was a black variant of the Nikon F much earlier, but then with a shape like an M1 Abrams tank, it did not appeal to me.  The Spotmatic fits my

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-76902201210188489822010-12-02T22:32:00.002+08:002011-11-13T07:30:19.811+08:00

  PENTAX K10D + SMCP A 50/2  "And the LORD answered me:    'Write the vision;        make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it.     For still the vision awaits its time;        it hasten to the end-it will not lie.     If it seem slow, wait for it; if will surely come, it will not delay." Habbakuk 2:2-3 RSV I just had to type/say these verses.  It feels like the only thing

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-66226941476624261552010-11-24T10:25:00.005+08:002011-08-01T19:18:02.517+08:00

When I “started” again (“born again”?) my photography in the mid-1990’s, I came out into a bewildering world of automation.  I was stuck in the early 1980’s just about the time just when Canon released the T Series and the Minolta Dynax/Maxxum was just a rumor away.  My camera then—and when I woke up from my hibernation—was my Pentax MX.  It was in need of CLA and was definitely in need of a

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-24723786999544665002010-11-23T09:16:00.000+08:002010-11-23T09:16:25.449+08:00

Teaching was a passion that began in college—I was confident in front of a class that I regularly volunteered for reports and as a substitute teacher.  Subsequent community work revealed the joy of teaching kids.  I volunteered to teach Sunday school after college which in turn would lead to twist and turns in my life where I would find myself in seminary. And I stayed in seminary to teach as

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-61756657394103336572010-11-17T20:21:00.005+08:002011-11-13T07:38:12.280+08:00

Today we (my son and I) sold the Pentax *ist DS.  It was our first DSLR and somehow, we thought that it would keep it forever, but like all other automated electronic cameras, it had to go sometime.  While we have a collection of mechanical film cameras, anything electronic seems so disposable: think of personal computers and cellular phones.  Somehow we thought the DS would stay around as a sort

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-23919973442487445672010-10-30T20:48:00.007+08:002011-08-01T19:32:06.711+08:00

TO BE TEN AGAIN Reminiscing about my tenth birthday took a twist when a friend found an old Olympus PEN EE-2 and gave it to my care. Most of my camera stories revolved around SLRs and a rangefinder (Canon Datematic) giving the impression that I never touched anything simpler.  But my very first camera--as in mine: not my dad's or anyone else; mine! (followed by maniacal laughing...)--happens to

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-33918296121032111002010-10-19T23:14:00.022+08:002011-11-13T07:40:30.969+08:00

Yohei Sasakawa  PENTAX K10D + SMCP A135/2.8 Back in September 26, 2010, a bomb blast tore through a crowd of law students who just finished the BAR Exam.  One student, Raissa Laurel, lost her legs as a result of that incident.  It would take an outsider, Japanese philanthropist, Yohei Sasakawa of Nippon Foundation, to come forward and donate prosthetic legs to allow Raissa a semblance of

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-27709135113100680722010-09-24T14:11:00.010+08:002011-08-01T19:35:29.781+08:00

MONK'S DOORPENTAX K2 + SMCP A 50/2 + ILFORD XP2 SUPER   When I posed that question to my students in Penuel School of Theology in a Pastoral Theology class, I got reactions of varied incredulity.  Mildly, from raised eyebrows, dropped jaws to stunned statements like “what kind of question is that”?  Surely being saved by grace, sealed by the Spirit and called by the Lord is enough for one to

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-41614263452489979142010-09-18T23:15:00.006+08:002011-08-01T19:37:06.989+08:00

WHY I DO NOT WANT TO PREACH ANYMORE… When I was still preaching, I somehow managed to impress people enough to draw their applause and their “amen’s” but somehow they never seem to hear the message.  Now that I am a photographer with an inherent motive of impressing people with my photographs, they are now asking what the message is…  IMPOSITIONPentax K-x + SMCP DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR In the

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-78160802948578171262010-09-06T18:56:00.048+08:002011-08-01T19:38:22.917+08:00

It's my birthday...wheee! The nice neat number of half a century bodes of half-full/half-empty comments like "life begins at 50" (...as in begins to what?!!!...) and so on.  For an anniversary amnesiac like myself, those neat numbers are helpful in remembering events like getting marred (sic) in 1990 and having my daughter's and wife's birthday on the same day (my son did not make it

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-58635241562487700902010-07-12T21:35:00.010+08:002011-08-01T19:40:25.124+08:00

 Pentax MZ3 + SMCP FA 80-320/4.5-5.6 + Ilford XP2 Super Ever since I moved into Quezon City in 1994, the immediate neighborhood I lived in was notoriously known for power outages (FWIW: that area is from the where National Bookstore along Quezon Ave., crossing Times St. towards where I live in Bulletin St., West Triangle).  Even without any apparent reason--weather disturbances or known power

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-78154647283448684622010-06-30T12:02:00.005+08:002011-08-01T19:46:10.386+08:00

Pentax K10D + SMCP FA 80-320/4.5-5.6 New day, new president.  As I am writing this, the inauguration ceremony of Noynoy Aquino is taking place; I mused about running over to the park where it is taking place to take photos but decided to sit this one out.  I have had enough of President Noynoy already considering we live in the same neighborhood routinely bumping into each other in a local

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-73096540127386772822010-05-07T17:19:00.002+08:002011-08-01T19:45:35.149+08:00

A MOMENT IN TIMEThe PDML (Pentax-Discuss Mail List) ExhibitMay 7 - June 12 PDML launches a new Photo Annual and does it big in the Scharpenberg Gallery in DANK HAUS, the German American Cultural Center in Chicago. Forty-four photographers from all over the world contributed to this and I have to privilege of being the only Filipino in the bunch.

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-30932157980077720022010-04-06T01:37:00.004+08:002011-08-01T19:46:46.583+08:00

Anita Niguidula Manayon October 18, 1923 - March 30, 2010 I came from a photo shoot when my wife sent a message that my younger brother was about to take my mom to the hospital.  On my way to meet them in the hospital, I received word that she passed away without having left home.  The people who were around me asked if I was ever able to say "goodbye" ...well, sort of.  I think I said that years

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-11673902915705446402010-03-14T11:22:00.003+08:002011-08-01T19:47:23.068+08:00

Erika went on a binge of sharpening a box of colored pencils to their stubs making sure the shaving stayed as intact and long as possible.  Its one of those 'autistic' things she does for gratification and stimulation.  Watching the shavings accumulate, I thought why have them go to waste... PENTAX K10D + SMCP A 35-70/4

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-51889001627212172822010-02-28T13:43:00.003+08:002011-08-01T19:48:04.497+08:00

  Gota de Leche was something that got buried in something I read in history books in my juvenile academic past until I got to meet Ms. Anna Leah Sarabia, (Executive Director & VP of Gota de Leche).  I met her when she attended one of my photo workshops and in the subsequent conversations which included shooting something in the heart of Manila, Gota de Leche came into the picture.

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-57745910443795458702010-02-27T18:30:00.042+08:002011-08-17T19:03:16.940+08:00

Eva Estrada-Kalaw PENTAX K10D + SMCP K 135/2.5 A photowalk in the old section of Manila City brought us into the house of Senator Eva Estrada-Kalaw (1965-1972).  She was part of the Liberal Party and was in the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971 prior to the declaration of martial law by the former Dictator Ferdinand Marcos whom they were opposing.  Born 1920, Senator Kalaw at ninety is still the

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-35250139767425776552010-01-04T10:56:00.011+08:002011-08-01T19:49:09.381+08:00

DRIVING THEM UP THE WALL Pentax K10D + SMCP DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL 2009 began with an itch to get back into teaching so the first part of that year was spent shopping around in my old haunts--Penuel School of Theology, Asian Theological Seminary and then some. Transitions in Penuel (new president) somehow pulled me in that maybe I would reintegrate myself back into that community. But my mind

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-64286280272188369852009-08-20T10:04:00.006+08:002011-08-01T19:50:21.736+08:00

My first collection of photographs in a coffee table book, now available in Blurb.com (click on photo). Contains an autobiographical note and some essays.

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-39389102012475644562009-06-13T16:50:00.014+08:002011-08-01T19:56:20.669+08:00

PARALLELS (1985) PENTAX MX + SMCP A 50/1.4 + KODAK TRI-X A friend recently asked me about purgatory and helped me organize my thoughts regarding it. Purgatory has always been those topics I skirted around because of sensitivities that revolve around a dogma which I do not want to run over with my karma. :-D A time comes, however, when one has to give a definitive answer. Purgatory is an

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-18858610088958490922009-06-04T01:33:00.011+08:002011-08-01T19:57:41.921+08:00

Punctuating all those photo shoots this year was a chance to facilitate in a summer camp for Compassion Philippines leading a topic on Retreat and Reflection. Since most of the events I end up shooting takes me away from church, it was timely and appropriate. Nevertheless, even as I was informed of the venue for the camp, my mind fritters off to the photo opportunities that can be found in the

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-6919568845938740382009-04-03T20:42:00.020+08:002010-09-24T15:55:11.851+08:00

A eulogy given in behalf of Josue N. Niguidula on April 2, 2009 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-75709999030242849932009-02-15T20:59:00.007+08:002011-08-01T19:58:29.944+08:00

CLICKING ON PHOTO WILL TAKE YOU TO MARK ROBERT'S WEBSITE The Pentax-Discuss Mailing List (PDML) is an e-group before e-groups were invented and I have the privilege of being part of it on-and-off/more-or-less/mostly off/mostly less since 1999. Late 2008, a proposal for a photo annual was mentioned and that brings us now hear. Besides having two of my photographs in it, one becomes the basis

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-90453893724839622792009-02-10T11:48:00.016+08:002010-09-24T15:54:14.114+08:00

Christmastime is when we switch the baby for a fat saint in red and Valentine’s Day is when we switch an old saint for a baby in red diapers (and armed with a deadly weapon at that). The Baby of Christmas represents incarnation—God with us—a step towards the humiliation of deity (Philippians 2:5-11). The Christmas story is all about progressive marginalization (“no room in the inn”) to being

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-77337854757686796142008-12-01T09:40:00.018+08:002011-09-08T09:56:04.089+08:00

In my search for Mary, I tried to follow the dots which took me on side trips that explored the post-biblical data that later Roman Catholicism held. Locking her up as the “Mother of God” actually does grave disservice to her and reduces her only to the primary intercessor (mediator) of the Triumphant Church (Roman Catholicism distinguishes the Triumphant Church as those who are now in the

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-90754096476334179022008-11-16T09:13:00.009+08:002011-08-01T19:59:11.117+08:00

PENTAX K10D + SMCP A 35-70/4   "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30) Depression is a friend. Many regard depression as a disease, if not an outright attack from the evil enemy, and statements like my opening preamble can be seen as coming from a clinical

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-66605504699184612422008-10-30T07:56:00.005+08:002010-09-24T15:34:59.069+08:00

Where do I begin? Well, I guess it starts all the way back when I was preoccupied with airplanes as a child (6-7-8 years old, somewhere there). That preoccupation would lead to hobbies and spin-off decisions like wishful notions of entering the aeronautical field in those early years. As a boy, I was not immune from “boy’s toys” and running around with toy guns, toy cars and—yes—toy airplanes;

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-45143443660813117312008-10-06T09:40:00.010+08:002010-09-24T15:34:01.616+08:00

A much younger guy who is also a techie asked my opinion regarding the Mac (Apple Macintosh). He just got hired in this outfit that uses Macs and wanted to know my two cents regarding the good and bad about them. I generally have good comments about Macs having occasionally used them. So we looked at the pros and the cons and compared them with PCs and so on. Then the penultimate question: “

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-20553426985039598572008-09-11T23:10:00.005+08:002011-09-08T10:01:27.367+08:00

My daughter Erika forced upon me a question that would set me on a journey in search of Mary. Studying theology has opened a window that allowed me to catch glimpses of who God is and how I can relate to him in those snapshots. Like looking at old family photos, God with various people (Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, Peter, Paul and John) show a unique relational dynamic that reflects a broad

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-20882643857245983132008-09-01T00:24:00.004+08:002010-09-24T16:12:47.926+08:00

I picked up a book, The Economics of Attention by Richard Langham because its title and review grabbed my attention—so to speak. The book itself is a study of the historical development of style in communication and how that is used in media and advertising; the style and substance deal. Trends in art and the philosophical undercurrents behind it are surveyed and reviewed (more in the link

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-87541703852027764722008-08-03T01:45:00.003+08:002010-09-24T15:31:16.279+08:00

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) How long does it take to form a habit—bad or otherwise? Most behavioral experts, according to Dr. Sangay Gupta (CNN Medical Correspondent) says that a minimum of three weeks is about to get you hooked into a new

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-33791524836069324492008-07-23T09:56:00.006+08:002011-08-01T20:01:24.380+08:00

(My counterpoint to Philip Yancey’s “Growing Up Fundamentalist”) One of my favorite hymns in my childhood is “One God” (Streisand; hymnified somewhere along the way); a pleasantly scored music that stirred up the emotions as well as informed the mind. There was this ambiguity to it though that opened my mind to asking questions. Key lyrics included “many a paths winding their way to one God”

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-16866709774509942502008-07-01T17:07:00.006+08:002011-08-01T20:06:00.592+08:00

PENTAX MX + SMC PENTAX A 35-70/4 + KODAK GOLD 100 MADE THE PENTAX PHOTO GALLERY   So I finally started a blog. Some of the stuff here are old stuff that has been sitting since the beginning of my forays into the wild wild world of the net back in 1998. Back then the only thing my website contained were the Centennial fireworks photos. Because of the nuance of where I have been and what I am

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-12267268294968169152008-04-01T00:51:00.002+08:002011-08-01T20:06:35.339+08:00

A counterpoint to René Descartes' "I think therefore I am" (a 30th year retrospective) Before Photoshop and other digital photo manipulation, stuff had to be either done in the camera itself or in the darkroom. Here's to having fun with virtual reality circa 1978. Using the old double exposure technique of holding back the rewind crank, pressing the rewind button while winding the film at the

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-62923506630755227472008-01-15T21:23:00.004+08:002011-08-01T20:07:46.838+08:00

I learned photography with this: Minolta SRT-101 with an MC Rokkor PF 58/1.4 I learned photography with this camera when my dad allowed me to peek into its viewfinder when I was around six or seven years old. Eventually he would allow me to shoot with it with a workflow that included: match the needle-focus-shoot. For a skinny seven or so year old kid, that thing weighed a ton but I learned

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-76092393556943146822008-01-15T00:18:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:08:54.472+08:00

My introduction to Canon began with the Datematic (ca. 1973) which my dad bought because he thought the SRT-101 was too heavy to lug around. What happened instead was I co-opted it for myself, taking it with me to school (I was in high school by now). My own Olympus PEN-EE sort of died because of the use or misuse a tween kid threw at it (or it felt like a kid threw it…something I would regret

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-53191001525803274142008-01-14T08:09:00.004+08:002011-08-01T20:10:10.637+08:00

A FRIEND'S SPOTMATIC WITH A TAKUMAR 55/1.8 I first got my hands on the Pentax Spotmatic (SP) about the time I was in fifth grade (ca. 1971 or so) when my dad allowed me to walk around with it in a Boy Scout camp. My first impression about it was that it was sleeker and slimmer than the Minolta SRT-101. I do not recall when my dad actually got it but it was lurking in his closet for some time.

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-22250231945441573712008-01-13T09:40:00.007+08:002011-08-01T20:11:47.883+08:00

CANON AE-1 + CANON FD 50/1.8 (breech) + MONTREAL OLYMPICS COMMEMORATIVE LENS CAP (ca. 1977) I loved it, I hated it. Something happened on my way to buying my own camera. First of all, Canon made a very big splash when it introduced the Canon AE-1 in 1977. Secondly, I had a father who had this thing for the brand new or the latest model. So during the summer of ’77, I found myself being

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-39994250769957697372008-01-11T16:24:00.004+08:002011-08-01T20:15:51.278+08:00

The whole exercise of fixing and eventually selling off the Canon AE-1 got me oriented with the buy and sell market of used cameras. Two sources stood out, a tailor and a barber in old Manila who bought used cameras from returning OCWs (Overseas Contract Workers—the term in the 1980s now referred to as OFWs—Overseas Filipino Workers). The gadgets to bring home then were SLRs (now it’s entirely

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-11329681387907109632008-01-11T00:39:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:16:48.898+08:00

DOLDRUMSPENTAX MX + SMC PENTAX A 35-70/4 + KODAK GOLD 100 The years immediately after getting married and having Erika join our family (1990-91), was the time when my photographic activity was reduced to family related events, my equipment shrinking down to the bare minimum: a Pentax MX with its winder, the SMCP A 50/1.4, the SMCP A 35-70/4, the SMCP K 135/2.5 and a Velbon tripod; no flash. By

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-71403540379978351502008-01-10T13:35:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:17:40.136+08:00

Pentax came back into the Philippines care of a local distributor (Sanly) with a line-up that caught my attention: the MZ series. Two features especially stood out for me; they were small and the top and bottom models (the MZ-5 and the MZ-M) both had dials. As soon as I was able to sell off the P30t, I bought myself the MZ-M and soon exploded in creativity.* PENTAX MZ-M Largely ignored in

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-11587899293235285152007-12-26T15:38:00.002+08:002010-09-24T15:11:12.358+08:00

a Christmas Reflection A sunset (or a sunrise) shoot is a high risk gamble that requires throwing time and money into the pot. It almost requires that you block off time hours before and after just to shoot something that goes by a scant 10 minutes. Oh, there is this thing called the “Alpen Glow” which appears a full 30 or so minutes before sunrise or after the sunset. It is when the darkness

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-66999646926799461502007-09-04T21:59:00.007+08:002011-08-01T20:19:29.876+08:00

SEQUEL TO A SEQUEL (Prayer for a Flower & Theology of Friendship) So can we simply just be friends with Jesus? Can we waste time in his presence watching him blow clouds into different shapes and sizes and imagine a tableau in the sky? As I thank him for flowers and sunsets, can he also delight in me every time I make the high score in my computer game? Or is my point of contact with Jesus

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-7757043292675283162007-08-30T01:06:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:19:35.013+08:00

PENTAX *ist DS + SMCP FA 28-105/4-5.6 IF The August 28, 2007 lunar eclipse was clouded over by the weather so I was left haunted by visions of the moon over the horizon. So I consoled myself by taking a photo of a ceiling lamp and an overhang instead.

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-89700496073355124832007-06-12T01:05:00.007+08:002011-08-01T20:20:53.388+08:00

Sequel to the Theology of Friendship MARYRIDGE (2003) NIKON FE2 + TOKINA 35-135/3.5-5.6 + KODAK SUPRA 400 One of those little things I have observed with people is a paradox in communication and human relationships which can be captured in a little axiom wherein the depth of the relationship is inversely proportional to the shallowness of the subject of their conversation. You know who people

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-62163730124033984772007-05-04T14:07:00.005+08:002011-08-01T20:22:13.684+08:00

*nothing superlative, that's the name of the hotel. Fire's Out Pentax *ist DS + SMCP FA 28-105/4-5.6 IF Early in the evening, after dinner, Liza & I stepped out with the kids to buy cat food when James noticed smoke coming from the Great Eastern Hotel (for Filipino old-timers, its the Aberdeen Court in Quezon Avenue). My wife and I wrote it off as a/c condensation as we went on with our little

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-5338882575346363172007-04-07T14:55:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:22:21.628+08:00

It's not what you think it is.   Canon AE-1 Program + Canon FD 50/1.4 (Bayonet) + Fuji Superia 100 Ever since I have gotten involved in the Christian ministry, I have never missed a beat in participating in a Holy Week service, usually on Good Friday in church or as a speaker in a camp somewhere. 2007 was the first time I broke that streak and to drive off to the bay to catch a sunset. It was

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-72852537983957067972006-09-25T23:16:00.003+08:002010-09-24T15:00:40.582+08:00

A LETTER TO KHALIL WARNING THIS CONTAINS EXPLETIVES, FOUL LANGUAGE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH... YOU WERE WARNED... “I sure as hell can't tell you we learned about hell unless I say ‘hell’, can't I?”—Bart Simpson As soon as you did get hurt running around with the kids in the compound where we lived in, did it become inevitable that you started throwing things at each other besides, Karate kicks,

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-40394118034072486582006-09-09T13:27:00.003+08:002010-09-24T14:56:34.482+08:00

A LETTER TO KHALIL The questions that would recur in our lives is “why did we end up with Erika?” or “why is Erika autistic?” Both are difficult questions and neither may have answers at all. One maybe approached differently though, and it has something to do with kittens. Do you recall those days when you first asked for a pet? After the faux pas of fishing out a Tilapia (which you thought

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-56875679239077225042006-07-12T08:35:00.004+08:002011-08-01T20:24:02.726+08:00

Yawn Pentax *ist DS + SMCP K 135/2.5 It was a slow summer camp; I happened to be one of the facilitators for a group of street kids which Onesimo worked with. So that afternoon, this bench was inviting me to nap. Except there were ants on it. So I just took its photo (made the Pentax Photo Gallery--my consolation for losing sleep).

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-33649265931782896942004-12-31T01:39:00.005+08:002011-08-01T20:24:32.613+08:00

More fireworks display have come and gone since the Centennial celebration in 1998 and by now were beginning to look alike. Once in a while a different venue affords one a different perspective. At a friend's despedida de soltera (lit: goodbye as a single person) before I officiated her wedding a couple of days later, a nearby mall had a fireworks display which I managed to catch. My family (

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-5937307501657076862004-04-10T09:56:00.002+08:002010-09-24T14:49:52.422+08:00

A Good Friday Reflection When Pastor Alex asked me to do one of the seven last words, I asked “which one;” he replied—“the hardest” (I was not sure if that is a privilege or a punishment). What he probably does not remember was he asked me to do the same thing four years ago in Trafalgar Towers—“my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” Which made it doubly difficult because I do not like

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-71912047064398540922003-03-05T22:02:00.005+08:002011-08-01T20:25:52.494+08:00

The Sun Flower (1981) Canon AE-1 + Super Takumar 28/3.5 + Kodachrome 64  CHECK OUT THE 'EXOTIC' COMBINATION OF FILM & GEAR! All these questions about directions in life having shot myself in the foot with the bullet of the mid-life crisis had me looking back to my past. Updating my own website brought me to this photo and my own blurb about it written years ago in an album and copied verbatim

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-29813025445979300352002-12-23T16:21:00.002+08:002010-09-24T14:48:28.072+08:00

Union Church of Manila, for a while, had this yearly practice of giving gifts to urban poor pastors during Christmas season; they could be books or bags of groceries. Being involved both in UCM and Penuel (which trained pastors from the urban poor), I was usually asked to provide 10 names of would-be beneficiaries. I never made any criteria to determine who got to be on my list, everyone in

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-43672694246793886472002-12-05T22:27:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:26:12.674+08:00

This is the longer version of the blurb that makes for the caption of this photo: Behind Ellinwood (1976) Pentax Spotmatic + Super Takumar 135/3.5 + Kodak Tri-X  I had a well documented childhood (except for the time I messed up my dad's camera) and was raised by a mother who reminisced a lot. Looking at the photo albums was a routine for me and mom that it gave me to the sense of being there

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-2883494412114826742000-05-25T00:10:00.003+08:002011-08-01T20:27:00.088+08:00

Poolside PENTAX MZ-M | SMCP A 35-70/4 | KODAK GOLD 100   You see there was this retreat going on in this resort. Even before the speaker ended his talk, I was already off and running to pray…with a camera on hand. The resort was not my choice of venue for a retreat, I felt things were too contrived with an eye for impressing tourist or vacationers—things were not too subtle in crying for

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-65360624171409897992000-05-14T15:04:00.004+08:002010-10-17T23:29:10.109+08:00

"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15.15) J. I. Packer in his book Knowing God (1973) said, that "adoption is...the highest privilege the gospel offers: higher even than justification." He cautiously adds, that "this may cause raising

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-63795700808092055252000-05-10T23:54:00.003+08:002010-09-24T14:42:57.713+08:00

There should be one, and if there isn’t—then we should have one. For the Bible is full of these eating episodes that there should be sense in all of them. Notice, for instance, that every time Yahweh (or the Angel of the Lord) shows up, there has to be some meal? On the way to nuking Sodom and Gomorrah, Yahweh meets up with Abraham, and what do they do? They have a merienda (Genesis 18:5).

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-20672064713267705891999-04-24T06:11:00.005+08:002011-07-15T19:17:08.388+08:00

(Originally a speech for the 5th National Conference on Autism held by the Autism Society of the Philippines on April 23, 1999. Speakers were given the title, “The Daddy Difference” and were suppose to talk on how we made a difference after their kid(s) were diagnosed. I did something out of the box.) On graduation day, a young girl was giving the valedictory address. In her speech, she

Bong Manayonhttps://profiles.google.com/118415432868398259960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1539138547700902284.post-28555205039162794961998-06-13T14:55:00.005+08:002011-08-01T20:28:19.558+08:00

Fireworks displays are a fairly recent phenomena in the Philippines and it all began in June 12, 1998 (the "mother of all fireworks display") during the Centennial Celebration of the Declaration of Philippine Independence. Before that, Filipinos were into firecrackers. when this came up. Except my Pentax MX was in shell shock after being pulled out into service after a long spell and was in

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