Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Leap Of Faith | Got Hit By Travel Bug


Got Hit By Travel Bug
Leap Of Faith | What Makes Traveling Worth It


Take the leap, maybe not be the apt word as a statement for why I travel. But travelling, overcoming boundaries and witnessing wonders afforded to those whose willing get out of their comfort zone, it's how travelling changed me.


Almost 2 years now that I've been travelling, always wherever I get that chance to be on the road. Blogging only came as a result of it so I could keep track of my thoughts, keep snippets of unforgettable memories and chronicle it as a blog post. It had changed me to a person that at times I can barely recognize myself. Being a youngblood, I'm ambitious, very much result oriented, my corporate career was what matters to me more than anything. Then came my biggest corporate frustration, having denied the promotion that I work so hard to attain, my camera became my solace, and travelling became my venue. Only when I became so active in travelling that I realized I missed out on a lot of things, and that corporate careers only matters at work. Outside, I can have the world, marvel at it, thanking the God's that made it, for this life, for this freedom.


Being naturally curious, with determination and thirst for learning, about life, about people, about photography, about self realization and more so about being on the road. Please bear with me, I'm trying to give reason why I crave travelling more than just lounging at home on my free time, just don't tell my mother. Being the explorer had always been my defining trait, but the driving force to my travelling was more about photography. 


About Learning Photography
I bought my first DSLR around October of 2010, and without any knowledge on how to tinker with it, having no patience reading manuals and photography books of established photographers, the first thousand shots with my camera were taken in Auto mode. Much to my shame, that I'm actually a graduate of Mass Communications, but hey, I can't be harsh on my self, after all, my college professor's never taught me about aperture or shutter speeds, I was virtually clueless with everything else.


Taking pictures while travelling gave me more room to shoot interesting landscape photos and sceneries. This is how I came to know my preference in photography. Going through Bohol, Puerto Galera and Zambales are some of the first locations and practice shots, just say that most of my pictures then were not interesting even to my 2 year old niece. But I learned from it, always experimenting, always exploring.


About Being On The Road
As they say, it's the journey not the destination. Feeling the wind in my face touring Camiguin Island in Habal-habal ride, shivering from the open bus window while marveling at the road through the highest highways of  Mountain Province, being rain swept with my toes skimming the azure waters of Coron while the boat is fast taxing, or wondering how long is it to paradise because Caramoan is just too far. The road is an adventure waiting to be told, I may not be globe trotting at least not yet, it could be tiresome but having a goal to reach is something worth doing.


About People
Strangers aboard, and strangers everywhere, it's all about culture. Taking pictures of people with my short photowalks, capturing endearing moments, like say having a chat with the street children's of CDO, or the bus driver along Misamis Oriental in zombie mode (My version of The Driving Dead) while driving along pitch black highways, or seeing a few couple's sleeping in a cot along the beaches of San Felipe, Zambales probably making out last night while I was having a drunken stupor with friends, missing my very own father because my Caramoan guide treats me like a son. With people, you just don't know what to expect, but you learn to keep an open mind.


There is no defining moment for me, only a slow realization that life is what I make of it. The decision to spend more time travelling, discovering places could be as what my mother would tell, a passing fancy, an impasse to a future that is yet unknown. What can I say? I have a world to conquer, call me a nomad, a gypsy, a backpacker perhaps, or simply a traveler, it's not such a bad tag, after all, wonderful things happen to those who seek it, and not just dream about it.

This is my entry to the 17th Pinoy Travel Bloggers, Blog Carnival hosted by Reiza Dejito of Wander If You Must


Francis Balgos is a Call Center Agent, Weekend Travel Warrior, Amateur Spelunker, Sometime Surfer, Newbie Mountain Climber, Photography Enthusiast, Certified Beach Bum, A first born son, Faithful lover, True Explorer...

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20 comments:

  1. @ Christian: hahaha!! tinago tago ko talaga mga yan! eh nanghingi bigla ng jump shot daw!! marami pako.. lol!

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  2. traveling really opens a lot of doors to all of us... meeting new friends, discovering new places, conquering new heights and more! just keep on traveling and exploring! have fun and enjoy! ^_^

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  3. Ang cool ng jumpshots mo! haaay..buti ka pa may something unique ka sa travel photos mo. Naalala ko tuloy yung kay bianca gonzales. Lagi shang may cartwheel photo for every place she's been to. =)

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  4. love the part where you said "wonderful things happen to those who seek it, and not just dream about it." indeed very true!! loving your blog now!! those photos were so nice i can feel the fun in every pic! xx god bless and good luck to your journey! xx

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  5. Bakit di tayo tumalon sa Hot Air Balloon? Ha ha ha! O tumalon ka ng di namin nalalaman?? Si kuya ay may sinusubaybayan na photo blog na everyday parang nag le levitation. Ang cool ng mga photos niya as in para talaga siyang nag lalakad sa hangin!

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  6. wow! so nice pics, I hope I can do good photos as well he!he! Keep on traveling, it will always be an unmatched learning experience.

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  7. wow! love your pics, especially the first one.. :D

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  8. The soul explorer | jumo jump talaga!! hihihi! thanks for droppin by!

    Budget Byahera | dko alam yung ki Bianca Gonzales eh! but well I make it a poit na aside from landscape photos, I get my jumpshot pictures on every perfect location I find! thanks!

    Tauyanm | thanks for visiting! people think I'm priviledge, well maybe that's the reason why I blog about travel.. to tell the world that travelling doesnt need to be expensive!

    Cha Sy | Hi Ate Cha, thanks for droppin!
    Yeah na isip ko din yun na mg jump shot sa Clark, pero me jump shot kami ni Ann at Gabz! busy ka yata nun eh!

    Giay | hi Giay, there is a trick in the camera on how successfully capture jump shots.. me and my travel buddy had mastered this tricked that we have amassed a lot of jump shots already.. very rare that we get a jump that's wasted.

    Kim | Hi Kim, thanks for visiting! the first shot was in Baracuda Lake, Coron Palawan... It was one of those one shot picture.. because I'm jumping in the water.. good thing my travel buddy knows the tricks on how to take jump shots!

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  9. beautiful post-- very useful and informative... love the pics by the way..

    Eigroj Stain

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  10. Hanep sa mga jump shots ah. Nahiya tuloy ako dun sa akin haha. But I really liked what you said about the first thousand shots taken through Auto mode. I've had my Nikon now for a year and I still haven't bothered to learn how to take better pictures :((

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  11. A very well-written piece. When I've read the first paragraph, I couldn't resist to read the second one, and then the next until I got to the last. Full of wisdom. But the part I like the most is "About being on the Road". You deserve a citation for job well done. Hope to read more of this from you.

    Directions on Web

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  12. "no defining moment for me, only a slow realization that life is what I make of it" Galing! because we take our roads by our hands.. I love reading your entry!

    and...

    ..Nakakalula yung jumpshots mo Francis! Ikaw na!

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  13. Thanks Lagalag and Lai Marie - I feel so inspired today! not even this gloomy day could dampen it! thanks for reading my entry, it was sure a personal reflection.. everything just poured in for a span of 20 minutes writing it.

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  14. @aleah - I think I know where you're coming from.. When my camera was new, I was lost with it. You'll learn how to tinker with it, just keep on practicing, try to avoid auto mode button if you can.

    @gay-pinaysolobackpacker - thanks much! ma effort ako minsan sa jumpshots.. jumpshots are happy pictures!

    @eigroj - thanks very much! :)

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  15. "Wonderful things happen to those who seek it and not just dream it" - Love this line! and the jump shots! Hindi mo masyadong peg ang tumalon noh? Hehehe

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  16. I lav et! Palalagaw! kanami sang blog mo ah.. :) daw na inspire nman ko mag continue sa pag blog kag pag lagaw!!. :)

    PS: nami gid ya mag lagaw ya! :)

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  17. lab it ! toooo .... happy travel always!

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