Planet BFW

A kalesa or calesa (sometimes called a karitela) is a horse drawn calash (carriage) used in the Philippines. The word, also spelled calesa, predates the Spanish conquest and descends ultimately from an Old Church Slavonic word meaning “wheels.” This was one of the modes of transportation introduced in the Philippines in the 18th century by the Spaniards that only nobles and high ranked officials could afford. They are rarely used in the streets nowadays except in tourist spots and some rural areas. The Kalesa driver is commonly called as “Cochero” or “Kutsero”. When “Cochero” direct the horse to turn right he says “mano” and he says “silla” to direct the horse to turn left. – Wikipedia

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A Roman Catholic Church made during the Spanish Occupation.

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The group photo at the starting point – Magellan’s Cross across the City Hall.

Random snapshots before the start of the photowalk.

Here are some of the photos I took during the photowalk.

The rest of the photos can be viewed in this Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbgg1979/sets/72157627298190917/

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Papa visited us here in Cebu. I was busy with my usual chores in a Monday but I didn’t want him to go back to Leyte without spending some time together. Pops was also here for business but luckily he finished early and we had a few hours together here in the apartment before his trip back to Leyte. Tisha and I decided to just have dinner at home and just have food delivered. We decided to have pizza & calzone from Ryan’s Pizzarelli

We had the Harsimran’s Special and Romantico Calzone. I’m not a professional food critic, but let me just tell you the pizza they make are some of the best pizza’s in Cebu City. Check them out at Ryan’s Pizzarelli

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The landscape somewhere in the mountains of Cebu City.

Photos taken earlier before the sunrise.

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After numerous sunrise & sunset photo trips, I finally decided to buy a headlight. I realized a head mounted light can be very useful because both of your hands are free to do something else. For sunrise, we usually arrive at the place around 4am so its really dark. For sunsets, it can get dark really quick right as soon as the sun is out of sight.

Since I’m on a budget, I settled with the Energizer 7LED Headlight. I bought this at Handyman Robinsons Fuente Osmeña for only P699.00 and it already comes with 3 x AAA Energizer Batteries.

This headlight has 4 light modes. The batteries can last up to 30 hours depending on which light mode is used.
- Night Vision (2 LED red) – 30 hours
- Flood (3 LED white) – 20 hours
- Spot (2 LED white) – 30 hours
- Spot & Flood ( 5 LED white) – 16 hours

Here’s a closer look at the LEDs. I have placed notes on the photo, please click on the photo and you will be redirected to my Flickr photostream where the photo has notes.

The headlight can tilt down to suit your preferred angle.

The strap is comfortable and easy to adjust. My only comment about it is that it should have another strap running from the headlight to the top of your head and down to the back connecting to the main strap for added support. If you use this for jogging or fast paced trekking, you’ll be adjusting this a lot.

The battery compartment is located right behind the LEDs. Even with this design, the headlight just weights right and doesn’t fall down due to the weight. Other headlight designs have a separate battery compartment which is placed at the back end of the headstrap or at the back of your head for distribution of the weight. It has a soft material on the back that serves as a cushion as the headlight rests on your forehead. The cover of the battery compartment is secured by 2 locks one on each side. The headlight and the battery compartment has IPX4 rating. Meaning it can take water splashing from any direction without any damage.

The battery compartment takes 3 x AAA batteries. The package already comes with 3 x AAA batteries.

The Light Modes

1. Night Vision mode. Only the 2 Red LEDs light up. I think this is useful if you are using a night vision device. The red LEDs are supposed to help illuminate the area.
Front View

Side View

Red LEDs used. Distance to wall around 1.5 meters. Light spread around 1 meter including the faded area.

2. Flood Mode. 3 big White LEDs light up.


Distance to the wall is 1.5 meters. The light spread measures around 1 meter in diameter. This is very usefull for walking around in the dark and at the same time saving on battery power.

3. Spot Mode. 2 smaller White LEDs light up.


The diameter of the light spread including the light fall off is around 1 meter. The spot however measures around 1 foot. This is probably useful for me when I’m working on something. Like fixing a PC or doing more DIY projects.

4. Spot & Flood Mode. All 5 white LEDs light up.


This mode basically combines the effect of the spot and the flood mode. You get around 1meter light spread with a bright spot light at the center. This mode drains the batteries quicker as I mentioned earlier in this post cutting battery life to almost half.

This is probably best used in emergencies when you are in a hurry and moving around in the dark.

I have only tested this light indoor and so far the Energizer 7LED Headlight has met my expectations.

I only have 2 complaints about the product so far.

1. The button. I have to click on it to get to the other modes which is kind of annoying specially that the button is a little bit hard to press on. I recommend you hold the headlight with one hand and press on the button with the other.
2. The Strap. It would have been better if they added another strap that runs from the headlight to the top of your head and to the back end of the main strap. This will give the headlight better support since all the weight is in the front.

Hopefully if the weather permits, I will be able to test this on the field tomorrow for the scheduled sunrise photo trip at the mountains of Busay, Cebu.

I will update this post as I spend more time using the headlight. (durability and IP rating)

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Omni Shade by Columbia

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IPC: Photo Expedition – Visca from Dan Brian G. Gerona on Vimeo.

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Celestial Garden, Banawa, Cebu City
Infrared Photo using Haida IR85 filter
Canon EF 17-40 f4 L
Canon EOS 450D

Cebu Weddings and Events Photographer

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As soon as I received the Haida IR72, I scheduled a visit to Fuente Osmeña the following day. The Haida IR72 filter is so much better than the Haida IR85. It allowed me to take photos at 10 to 30 seconds exposure compared to the 5 -6 minutes with the IR85. With the shorter exposure time and lower ISO (100 to 200), I was able to get cleaner and sharper images. Another benefit with the IR72 is the available “false colors” you get during post process.

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