LAKE SERENITY. This is how I always view Lake Sebu, in South Cotabato. Fishermen go about their daily livelihood with quiet ease knowing they will get their ample catch at a day’s end. I shot this image from a hillside with a 70-200mm lens, so the scene is quite far. I tweaked the colors in Photoshop to give it an early morning skylight atmosphere. I like my images to be as memorable as paintings.

Found this bashful Bagobo child up in the hinterlands of Kapatagan, Davao del Sur, where Bagobo villages thrive in peace. She didn’t want to laugh because she had missing teeth. As soon as she smiled at me, my heart melted.

“ZSAHARAH” -2ND PLACE IN PEOPLE CATEGORY
JANUARY 2009 BETTERPHOTO.COM

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2/24/2009 NEWS RELEASE FROM BETTERPHOTO.COM

Photographer Jojie F. Alcantara of Davao, Davao del Sur, has won Second Place for January in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site’s founder, Jim Miotke, announced Tuesday.

More than 20600 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.

Alcantara’s stunning image, “Zsaharah”, garnered top honors after being submitted in the People category.

All of the winning images can be viewed at BetterPhoto.com’s contest page: http://www.betterphoto.com/contest/winners/0901.asp

The contest is conducted each month. Categories include Nature and Landscapes, Animals, People, Elements of Design, Digital Darkroom, Travel and Place, Flowers, Details and Macro, Catch-All, and Monthly Theme. Judging is performed by a panel of professional photographers.

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My photo gallery of past winning images can be viewed here: http://www.betterphoto.com/?jojiealcantara

FULL PACKED! This is a typical Filipino scene where a motorist can do a balancing act with more than two passengers in his seat. In this photo seen in Davao, the passengers are five, presumably the whole family of the motorist, all without helmets.

A firedancer shows off his skills during weekend evening performances in Tribu K’ Mindanawon at the Crocodile Park. Taken with a Canon 5D.

Designed for the Department of Tourism Region XI (Davao) for the Philippine Travel & Tourism Expo 2009
Photos by Rhonson Ng (all film scanned)
Design & Concept : Jojie Alcantara

This is the white boulder face of Mount Apo, highest peak in the country.

Rare “Lady Slippers” Orchid in the wild bonsai forest of Mount Hamiguitan, San Isidro, Davao Oriental

Mount Apo peak

White Peak, New Bataan, Compostela Valley

“Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Julius and Bea Magallanes are a newlywed couple, and this shoot was a post-nuptial pictorial, set in Loleng’s Resort up in Eden. I accompanied Rhonson for this session, and it was fun getting them to wear their bridal outfits again. More of this vintage set in my photo gallery here.

“Life is like art. You have to work hard to keep it simple, and still have meaning.” - Charles de Lint

Photo shot in Eden Mountain Resort, Davao City

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” - Mark Victor Hansen

Location: Baywalk, Times Beach, Matina, Davao City

“If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything. You can sit around and wait for the good things to happen to you, or you can go out and make them happen.”

Location: Baywalk, Times Beach, Matina, Davao City