Author: Debra Ceballos

There’s a good chance that something yellow will catch your eye first in almost any garden in Metro Manila on a clear morning. The bird could be sitting in a mango tree, hovering near a flowering bush, or quickly moving from one branch to the other. Little, bright, and moving with an air of carelessness. People don’t always notice how many colorful little birds live in the Philippines, even though the country has a lot of different kinds of plants and animals. The Black-naped Oriole, which is called the Kilyawan in the Philippines, is likely the most well-known yellow bird…

A small dove lives in Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, and a lot of the Ilokandia region in the northern Philippines. Most people know what it is called before they know its scientific name. The Pagaw is what they call it. Along the edges of rice paddies and grassy lots, it moves in pairs or loose groups, bobbing its head with each step and picking at seeds with a slow focus. People who live there watch this kind of bird all the time without even realizing it. The Pagaw is the Ilokano name for the Zebra Dove, which is scientifically called Geopelia…

The hoopoe sounds like it could be used in a play. The body of cinnamon. The fan of black-tipped feathers that came out of its head like a crown during the performance. With a kind of focused patience, the long, curved bill dug into the ground. It’s hard not to stop walking when you see one for the first time, up close and in the open. The scene seems to be a mix of a fairy tale and a natural history museum.The scientific name for the hoopoe is Upupa epops. It lives in Europe, Asia, and Africa. For thousands of…

Most people who go to San Juan, La Union only want to go to one place: Urbiztondo Beach, which has surf schools, coffee lines, and a lot of weekend energy that has been building up slowly over the past ten years. It is a nice spot. There’s no longer any peace and quiet. Barangay Taboc, which is about five kilometers north along the coast, has something that Urbiztondo has lost over time: the feeling that you found somewhere instead of arriving at it. Taboc faces west and is on the West Philippine Sea. The sunsets here are the kind that…

The name Taboc can be found in several places in the Philippines, including Borongan, which is in Eastern Samar; Opol, which is in Misamis Oriental; and Angat, which is in Bulacan. But most people who search for Brgy Taboc Philippines end up in one place: the barangay of Taboc in San Juan, La Union. This is a coastal town that is part of what is known as the “Surfing Capital of the Northern Philippines.” San Juan, La Union has spent most of the last 20 years building a name for itself that goes beyond its small size. You can find…

Most photography books begin with the exposure triangle, which is made up of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. It’s laid out like a driver’s ed manual. They’re useful in the same way that directions are. After reading them once, you put them down and keep taking pictures that don’t seem to fit together or make sense, and you’re not sure why. The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman begins in a very different place. This page does not have any camera settings. There are no workflow guides, sensor specs, or chapters that explain how to get the right exposure when the…