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Patrick Love Photography bio picture

Simply put,

I love carrying around a camera, and trying to get people to look into the lens.

“Have you been to Boracay yet?” is a question everyone in the Philippines asks.  The keyword is yet, because eventually everyone in the Philippines goes to Boracay.  Boracay sits comfortably on the throne as the Philippines number one vacation destination.  In fact, it was rated as the world’s #1 island in 2012 by Travel + Leisure Magazine.  It’s not just that it has beaches, it’s the sand that is as soft and smooth as powdered sugar, it’s the always-just-right-temperature water, the sea breezes and warm temperatures, and enough beach-side hotels and restaurants to keep you entertained for several months.

We stayed at the Bluewaves Beachhouse.  Perfect location, and they bake amazing bread there for your morning toast and eggs.  My favorite meal was at the Lemon Cafe.  The lemon martini is a cant-miss item on the menu.  Unfortunately, we went back for a second time, and the drinks were awful, so consistency might need to be improved.

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Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi’s old quarter is a tight grid of 36 streets.  Each street was named after the type of business conducted on it: Silk Street, Wood Turner’s Street, Fan Street, etc.  The buildings were build by the French from 1900-1950 and have a wonderful, faded charm.DSC1903 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1925 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1942 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1945 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1948 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1950 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1954 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1967 Hanoi, Vietnam Yes, that is dog.  When I walked buy, a bunch of men were enjoying roast dog for lunch.  They called out to me and told me how much the loved it, just to get a reaction, I suppose.  So, so, so gross.

DSC1968 Hanoi, Vietnam DSC1992 Hanoi, Vietnam Vietnam has the best beer in SE Asia.  There are many varieties for sale, and most of them are based on European styles from colonial times.  Freshly brewed beer is also available on the sidewalk.  Unlike bottled beer, it has a more hoppy, fresh taste, and has less alcohol.

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Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

January 2013, we did a 3-day tour of Ha Long Bay with www.indochina-junk.com.  It was cold and grey for the three days we spent on the water.  Cebu Pacific Airlines had lost my checked bag, so I didn’t really have any warm clothes to wear.  I’d like to return to Ha Long Bay, during the spring, fall or summer.  Lesson learned, winter might not be the best time to visit the bay.  That said, our boat and crew were amazing.  Delicious food, and a warm cabin with a window to look out on the karst columns as they passed by, in the fog.DSC1784 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam DSC1812 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam DSC1817 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam DSC1820 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam DSC1838 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam DSC1862 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam DSC1890 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Coron, Philippines – Scuba Diving

Diving in Coron mainly focuses on about 30 WWII Japanese wrecks, and salt water/fresh water lakes.PC316312 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron (below right) A caterpillar tractor inside one of the boats.   pl4 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron (below) Nudibranch – soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusk which sheds its shell after its larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms. WikipediaPC305815 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron Going into the wrecks could be a bit unnerving.  This trip marked the first time we dove below 100ft.  To add to that, it was inside of a boat, and we had about 7 minutes before we had to begin to ascend.  We trusted our dive master, who had been through the wrecks thousands of times.  I couldn’t help but think that if he had a sudden heart attack or something, we would have to find our own way back to the surface.  That would have been very difficult, and even more scary.  2 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron below – Mandarinfish, one of the most beautiful fish in the world.PC305836 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron 3 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron     PC305913 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron below – Kayangan Lake6 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron

below – Clown fishPC305934 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron Below – Lion Fish, the second most venomous fish after the sting ray.  Non-lethal to humans, most of the time.4 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC305941 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC305948 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC305982 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC305987 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC305999 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC306028 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron 5 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron   PC316082 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC316097 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC316188 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron PC316242 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron Below – Kayangan Lake is mostly fresh water.  There is a layer of spring-fed, lighter, freshwater that is the temp of a hot bath.  There is also a layer of heavier, cold, saltwater that is replenished at high tides and during storms.  How the heavy water stays on top of the lighter water, I have not idea.  Apparently a barracuda got trapped inside the lake.  We got lucky, and saw it swim by.  PC316247 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron The profile of a face can be seen in the rock below.PC316277 Coron, Philippines   Scuba Diving SCUBA coron

Night – Philippines

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Kids without Electronics – Tao Philippines Adventure

99.9% of kids I see are always plugged into some type of electronic device.  As I was thinking about why I like these images, it donned on me that this is actually what kids do when they don’t have smart phones, laptops, tablets, hand-helds, desktops, mp3 players and all other types of gadgetry.  Quite a departure from sitting quietly, dissociating and staring at a screen.  I see joy, risk, togetherness, happiness, exercise, collaboration, creativity, all-five-senses-being-engaged-at-once activities.  This is how a lot of learning and development happens.  I don’t mean to be critical of children.  This is turning into a journal entry that I’m writing to/about myself.  I’m one of the worst offenders, when it comes to the “plugged-in” life.  This serves as a reminder at how awesome it is to just get out there and do something, talk to someone, force yourself to have to create your own significance.

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BTW – This happened while the Seahawks were busy destroying the 49ers in the C-Link, 42-13.  One of my favorite memories from 2012.  DSC06731 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC06751 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC06761 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC06801 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC06831 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC06901 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07011 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07071 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07531 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07541 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07551 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07581 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07591 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07701 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07781 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07791 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07821 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07871 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07881 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks DSC07931 Kids without Electronics   Tao Philippines Adventure Tao Philippines Seahawks

Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition

What was my favorite memory from this Christmas?  Cock fighting ranks right up there as one of the best.  Cock fighting in the Philippines uses a 4-inch blade.  This is much longer than cock fights in other countries.  Consequently, cockfights usually don’t last too long here.

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First, the two owners have to get the roosters frustrated with one another and ready to attack.  They do this by letting one bite the other in the head and neck.  DSC0977 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC0981 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC0983 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC0988 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC0991 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC0999 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1002 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1006 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1048 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1049 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1053 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1071 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1108 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1124 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition DSC1161 Cock Fighting, Christmas Edition

TaoPhilippines Expedition – Portraits

Faces seen between El Nido and Coron.  DSC0566 1024x681 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0807 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0812 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0817 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0820 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0822 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0825 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0832 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0836 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0840 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines DSC0880 TaoPhilippines Expedition   Portraits Tao Philippines

Tao Philippines – Linapacan Island Adventure

Photos from an 8-day open expedition.  Below, is a map from the company’s website.  It gives only a rough idea of where the boats go.  They actually sail without strict itineraries.

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Pre-dawn walk on a warm beach.DSC0589 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC0606 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC0616 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC0620 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC0634 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC0645 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines

On the day before Christmas it is a really scary time to be a pig.  There were a lot of pigs tied up and slaughtered on Christmas day.  We even got to watch.DSC0650 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines pl1 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC1478 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC1561 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines DSC1575 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines

We did a lot of snorkeling on the trip.  For someone who has spent some time snorkeling and diving in some pretty great places, everything that we saw was pretty meh.  However, the warm water still felt amazing!PC275687 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines pl2 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines pl3 Tao Philippines   Linapacan Island Adventure Tao Philippines

Tao Philippines Expedition – Long Exposures

A few long exposure images from the Linapacan Island group, Philippines.  Over Christmas break, we did an 8-day expedition with TaoPhilippines.comDSC0532 1024x681 Tao Philippines Expedition   Long Exposures Tao Philippines DSC0858 Tao Philippines Expedition   Long Exposures Tao Philippines DSC1260 Tao Philippines Expedition   Long Exposures Tao Philippines DSC1500 Tao Philippines Expedition   Long Exposures Tao Philippines