A well deserved rest after a two hour trek up Mt. Romelo to photograph Buruwisan and Lanzones falls was short lived as we decided to make the most out of the day by rushing down the mountain and proceed to the nearby town of Pangil to photograph the gorgeous Laguna de Bay sunset.

Much like the hike up, going down proved to be as muddy as ever. The only difference this time was that gravity was on our side making the descent a whole lot easier. It was still challenging mind you as our legs barely had the chance to recover from the climb. Halfway through, the turbo-strap on my Crocs gave way but we still made great time and were back to the town proper in just a little over an hour. At 5pm on the dot we were cruising towards our final destination for the day.

The highway conveniently led us right to Laguna de Bay's edge which was populated by mini-rice fields. We parked by a deserted house/warehouse by the roadside and quickly looked for an access to the fields for an unobstructed view of the country's largest lake. Fortunately for us, the owners of the first house we approached were more than happy to give us access to the rice paddies located behind the property. Talk about prime sunset real estate!

Time check, 5.45pm. Sunset was scheduled for 6.02pm which meant we just had enough time to look for our respective POV's and setup our tripods and cameras. I struggled a bit to find a good foreground as they were either too far or too plain for my taste.

My good friend and fellow photographer Rebo was kind enough to let me move in front of him for a clearer shot at the quickly fading sun. A few moments later, I found my frame and waited for the show to start.

6.20pm. The sun has set completely from the horizon and yet the sky remained a boring hue. Rebo kept shouting (I was a few meters away) that we should call it a day because it just was not happening . I insisted that we wait a few more minutes. Patience I told him was something we landscape photographers should not be short of.

True enough and as if on cue, the sky suddenly turned from a boring bluish grey to dark blue mixed with red, pinks, yellows and orange. The show had begun and we were right damn smack in the middle of it!

Since we were standing on this little piece of cement walkway, we basically had just one POV to shoot it and yet that did not matter at all because from where we were and with all of that magnificent color, any angle would be just as beautiful.

As I type this, every bone and muscle in my body screams 'bloody murder' with every move I make.

A few days ago we were browsing the net for possible places to explore for our weekly photography exodus. I knew that we only had one day (Sunday) to take photographs which meant our trip needed to be within just a few hours of Quezon city so we can make it back by nightfall. Browsing the net, we soon arrived at the decision to visit Mt. Romelo and photograph Buruwisan and Lanzones falls.  

The trip getting there was real easy since the route was basically the same as going to Caliraya only shorter. We took the Antipolo route passing the towns of Teresa, Baras , Tanay all the way to Siniloan where we proceeded to Barangay Macatad - the jump off point for the hike. Once there, a lady was kind enough to offer their garage for parking. Turns out they own a sari-sari store at the campsite too which was convenient because it meant we did not need to lug additional supplies up. Soon after her son offered his services as a guide which we gladly accepted as we had no idea how to get to the falls.

It was supposed to be an easy trek up the mountain. Unfortunately it rained the night before and as we took the first ascent, our guide casually warned that the trail might be little muddy. Understatement of the year buddy!

In no time at all we we slipping and sliding all over the place. Couple that with some of the steep ascents we had to climb, it was not a pretty sight. Especially for someone like me who hasn't had decent exercise in months! We literally clawed and crawled our way up the better half of the mountain. The latter half was spent sliding and stepping into thigh-high mudpools full of horse shit and pee (No kidding). Eventually it came to a point that we were so filthy that sloshing through crap or mud or pee seemed to make no difference anymore. Oh and a leech mistook my foot for a nice breakfast nook. Fantastic.

I definitely would not recommend to go here for a casual hike during the rainy season.

But with that said, when we finally arrived at the campsite and had our first look at the waterfalls, we knew the journey was worth it.  

There was still a group of people swimming when we got down to Buruwisan's catch basin so we decided to head straight to Lanzones falls which can be accessed in a via it's own water line down stream and right from Buruwisan in a secluded cove. Personally I like Lanzones better because its isolation adds a lot to the mystery.  

Took just a few photos at Lanzones before we decided to make our way back to camp for lunch. Along the way, I was mesmerized by the mini-cascades in the stream and decided to plop the tripod and photograph one of the more sizable ones.

Turns out, Buruwisan was empty when we got back so we took the opportunity to squeeze in a few more shots before heading back to camp. Unfortunately, the sun was in full blast so technically that wasn't the best time to shoot. I snapped one more for posterity anyway :)

After a hearty lunch, we enjoyed the scenery for a while and eventually left a little past 3pm in a race to catch the Laguna bay sunset (I'll post those soon). At the end of the day, though our bodies were hurting like there was no tomorrow the smiles on our faces tell the whole story.   

None of us have ever been to Samaploc lake before but with my trusty GPS, finding a direct route towards the lake was a cinch. And it being a Sunday, the drive getting there was pleasant too. The trip from Quezon city to our destination just took a little over an hour and a half.

I parked under one of the many trees lining the road and stepping out of the car, a cool breeze welcomed us. Coming from Manila's death-grip of pollution this was absolutely refreshing!

We weren't expecting the area to be 'touristy' but within 5 minutes of walking it became clear that the area surrounding the lake was a well-oiled recreational machine with numerous stalls of vendors selling barbeques, softdrinks, chips, drinks etc. And because it was such a lovely day, locals and 'tourists' alike were in full force, enjoying themselves on the makeshift boardwalk and park area around the lake.

The vibe was absolutely festive!

As the sun was still too high up to get good landscape shots, we took the time to familiarize ourselves with the area and walk around a little to look for nice angles to take photos. By looking at the sun, we knew that the sunset would be behind us so we were a little disappointed in that we wouldn't be able to get the colors of the sky that we would've wanted. On the upside though, we took a mental note that if we wanted to get dramatic skies for our next visit, a sunrise shoot is the answer. 

Personally, I've seen tons of amazing images of the lake and as I really wanted to give my takes a fresh perspective I tried to avoid replicating the tried and tested angles. I ended up shooting by the side where the fishermen's houses were and drew quite a bit of attention to myself.  I actually ended up chatting with the local folks more than shooting. All in all, me and my buddies had a remarkable time shooting and exploring this side of Laguna. 

Now, I just have to come back and do that darned sunrise shoot and my Sampaloc lake experience would be complete!

More photos after the jump! :)

Tracking shots are a favorite of mine whenever I go out to cover an automotive event. This one was shot with me hanging for dear life at the back of a pickup truck at last year's Johnnie Walker event when Mika Hakkinen stopped by the country to promote responsible drinking. What a rush!