ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews / 19 November)—“Photowalk” is a global phenomenon among photo hobbyists. In fact, amateur photographers all over the world do this all together during one day in October, starting in 2008. I have participated in a few, 30 or 50 of us walking around town in a pre-selected route, maybe two to three kilometers long, and shoot everything that we see along the way.
That is how you are bound to take beautiful pictures—go out and shoot! Yeah, I have quite a number of pretty images taken during those shoots. But my problem with photowalking is, you are in a group.
If you have a really good shot, there are maybe 5 or 10 of you with similar spectacular shots.
When I was younger, new to photography, among the handful of serious amateurs here in Iligan, I’d often go out on a photowalk in Iligan’s streets, alone, with a big bag hanging on my shoulder for the camera and lenses. I still have those black-and-white pictures that I printed on 8×10 paper.
How to reinvigorate this hobby? My answer: photorun! I’m lucky I’ve been a runner for more than a decade now. On a slow weekend run, that’s easily 20 to 30 kilometers of running, o
n roads or on trails in the mountains. Lots of photo opportunities along those routes.
All those years, the small camera—and later, smartphone—I carried, I point to my fellow runners. Lucky them. But the younger members of our running group these days have taken over that role, both photo and video. They don’t need me anymore. So now I focus my camera on other things that attract my attention.
While many smartphones these days produce images close enough to big cameras (dSLR and mirrorless), including my budget Samsung Android phone with a hacked Google Camera app installed, they have one flaw—most of them do not have telephoto lenses. So you end up using digital zoom for subjects that are not so close, and image quality suffers. The few ones that have telephoto are using separate sensors usually much smaller than the main camera. Same result: bad image quality.
Before smartphones started having better cameras, about a decade ago, I used to carry a small point-and-shoot, a Lumix LX5. It’s small enough to fit in a belt bag, light enough to not feel the weight when you run. I sought out the next model, the LX7. Just slightly bigger, but with a faster lens, and can take more pictures in burst mode. Perfect for running. It’s oldish as it was released in 2012, but still good enough to produce poster-sized images.
And I got it for a bargain, only 4,500 pesos, when it was close to 20,000 pesos when first released. I wouldn’t be comfortable running around town with an expensive camera.
I like doing photoruns with my running buddies because I’m usually the only serious photographer in the group. Seldom would others be interested in the scenes or people that I photograph, because they’re so busy taking each other’s pictures.
But I love doing photoruns solo, too, because then I’d have more time to explore the environment for subjects that I like. There’s no pressure to catch up with my running buddies, too, more so because they are mostly younger who run much faster than I do.
Another benefit of doing a photorun solo: you are forced to run slow as you scout for subjects, and you are supposed to run slow on a weekend long run. In my usual long runs, I usually exceed my target heart rate. As the experts say, keep your heart rate at “Zone 2” on a slow long run, where it is very comfortable to run at a pace that you can keep running maybe all day.
That’s what I did this morning, running 23 kilometers with an overcast sky, my eyes always scanning for possible photo opportunity. Here are the ones I like. (Bobby Timonera / MindaNews)
Two kilometers from home is the Mandulog Bridge I. In the background, the broken bridge, was the one that collapsed during Typhoon Sendong in December 2011. Logs—some illegally cut, some uprooted by the rains—in the mountains of Iligan were carried down Mandulog River. Many of them were trapped in the bridge, and so the water level rose slowly, causing flood in neighboring areas.
But the logs kept coming, and the bridge couldn’t hold the pressure anymore, and so it collapsed. Then all hell broke loose as the impounded water rushed downstream, flooding villages near the river in a matter of seconds, killing hundreds. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
From the highway in Tambo, I detoured to one of my favorite running areas, the esplanade in Barangay Santiago, along the bank of the Mandulog River. Then I noticed this man and his daughter doing the laundry. That would be a boring shot, so I looked for ways for a better angle. Then I noticed the long line of culverts to be used in the extension of the esplanade project. Wow, nice! Unfortunately, the two of them won’t fit in the circle. I couldn’t have gotten this shot if I were using my Samsung phone, which has a wide angle for its main camera. For this, I maxed out the LX7’s zoom for a short telephoto. My favorite shot in this series. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
From the esplanade, across the river is a fishing village in Bayug. It’s a wide body of water as it is near the mouth of the river. Again, this won’t be easy for a smartphone as I fully zoomed in the LX7’s lens. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Dogs are always cute subjects for pictures, like this mother and child tandem. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Kids and dogs, too, happily playing on one end of the esplanade where construction work for its extension is ongoing. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Four kilometers later, now following the road on the side of Tubod River, I found this tartanilla without a horse parked by the roadside. This must have been used during the parade during the feast of St. Michael the Archangel last September. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Quarrying sand in Tubod River. Only recently, this river overflowed with strong rains from the mountain, flooding the southern part of downtown. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
There used to be a bridge in this part of the river, connecting Barangays Ubaldo Laya and Tubod. But it was damaged in a flood March last year, and completely washed away in the flood 10 days ago. So the boys are looking for a shallow part of the river for them to cross. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Five kilometers later, I detoured and followed the Pugaan River, where I found husband and wife (looks pregnant?) quarrying sand. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Mother and daughter take a dip at the Pugaan River. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
