Dauis, Bohol, Philippines, 2022
Located in the town of Dauis in the island of Panglao, the church is also known as The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. It was built in August 1923 and is one of the most sophisticated and complex structures of its kind in Bohol. Dauis church is said to have been built according to a plan for basilicas which explains the church’s high central nave flanked by lower aisles.
📷: Fujifilm X-A3, Fujinon 27mm 2.8 V2 pancake lens
🎞: Lightroom Premium
Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines, 2022
Built in 1596, this majestic structure is the second oldest church in the Philippines. The church is built out of coral stones mixed with thousands of egg whites as cement.
One of its most interesting and intriguing feature was the famous column wall at the back of the church where locals said that an image of Padre Pio mysteriously appeared. Sadly, when Typhoon Odette hit numerous islands in the Philippines in 2021, Bohol was one of the islands where the typhoon made its landfall and Baclayon Church was badly damaged, destroying the said column wall at the same time. Today, the church has been successfully and fully restored, but the image of Padre Pio is nowhere in sight.
📷: Fujifilm X-A3, Fujinon 27mm 2.8 V2 pancake lens
🎞: Lightroom Premium
Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines, 2022
Churches, temples, or any structure that is built for worship has piqued my interest over the short time that I was able to travel. These structures have not only been a place of worship, but a place where people get their courage and strength to push through with life. It’s amazing how our beliefs, no matter how different, lead us to the light.
Throughout my visits to various churches, temples, and mosques, I have realized that no matter how different we think our beliefs are, they are almost always the same because it all boils down to one thing: We believe in a greater and higher being; we believe in God.
San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, 2022
The sea has always served as a reminder to us that there are so much more that we have yet to discover in this planet. It has always made me wonder of what lies beyond those murky depths…
Scientifically, the vast expanse of salt water that surrounds the Earth is proof of other living things aside from us humans. So who are we to say that we are the only ones in the universe?
Boracay Island, Philippines, 2022
San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, 2022
Here I capture both the different faces of the sea and hues of the sky. It is a glorious feeling, being able to witness such beauty and calmness — a testimony from the universe that even when everything around us may appear to be in shambles, there is always hope.
San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, 2022
In this series of photographs, I’ve captured a couple of sea creatures; some are familiarly dangerous and some are mysteriously unknown to my naked eye.
What is the meaning of discussion? It originates from the Latin verb discutere, meaning to dash into pieces. Discussion is a word we’ve been hearing since we started going to school, yet do we really know the true process of discussion?
A lot of people are suffering from different forms of stress and anxiety. I’ve read and watched a lot of books and films that focuses on these mental issues; one of the things that I’ve noticed in every book and every film is that the person suffering from these issues find it hard to discuss their issues with other people — sometimes even with their therapists.
Being someone who overthinks a lot and easily gets stressed out, I know how hard it is to speak out one’s thoughts and tell people what’s really going on inside one’s head. Personally, one of the reasons why I find it hard to speak my mind is that I don’t want to be labeled as crazy or toxic. So I resorted to just keeping myself preoccupied with other things so I wouldn’t have to be alone with my own thoughts and deal with my anxiety.
So why are we so afraid of discussions, they say? Because the problem with a lot of people is that when someone opens a topic or tries to discuss something, most often than not, the discussion ends up in a full-blown argument. It’s mentally and physically draining, sometimes it even causes more stress, that’s why some of us just choose to keep our mouths shut.
For me, another is reason is that I’m the type of person who overthinks everything, sometimes I go back to a specific conversation or argument and end up spending all afternoon thinking that I should have said this or this instead of that. So to avoid having to spend countless hours dwelling on what I should have said or done, I just let all my feelings and thoughts bottle up inside me.
During the past couple of months spent in the safety of my home, I’ve had a lot of time to rethink things and to try and give things a different perspective, I realized that to discuss has a deeper meaning into it. It’s something that is very crucial in our daily lives — it’s something we need to learn the process of doing, because without discussion, everything is in chaos.
A decade ago, who would have thought that social media would take over our lives the way it does today?
It’s funny how we eat Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. To be honest, for me, scrolling through my social media feeds used to be some kind of break from studying or working. “Used to” because recently, social media has been causing me stress and anxiety (and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this).
Which brings me to my next observation: I’ve seen discussions and arguments going around, saying how social media is such an evil invention. This got me thinking, “Is it really that bad?”
Personally, even though it has been causing me quite a lot of stress and anxiety, I still don’t think of social media as an “evil invention.” When social media was first introduced to us, its main purpose was to give us the opportunity to connect with relatives and friends who live quite a distance away.
What really makes social media platforms “evil” are its users — Us. As the years go by and as each social media platform improves, its users have also changed with it. In my observation, discussions turned into arguments, being friendly was confused as flirting, and sharing or posting achievements was misunderstood as boasting. So unfortunately, these changes are bad rather than good.
My point being is that no matter how many times Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter improves or changes their policies, if the users continue being as toxic as they are today, I do not see social media being a better place anytime soon.
In the past four weeks, the digital screens have taken over the world.
It was five weeks ago when the government enforced the community quarantine in my area, but to most of us, it already feels like a lifetime ago. Most of our usual activities like meetings, lunch dates, happy hours, and even play dates have been reduced through the digital screens.
Lenn of Spades ♠ 