Sense of Balance

One of my students live in a house on a hill that I have to climb and pass by a lot of wild flowers, grasses and pine trees. I was kind of early one day that I walked leisurely on my way up to the house. Hearing the sounds of the wind thru grasses and tress created a peace of mind but I couldn't help noticing these two butterflies. They're holding on to a thin branch of a plant which swayed every time the wind blew. Slowly, I took out my camera and captured this intriguing scenery. The sight gave me a feeling of shame because they created a great sense of balance despite of the trouble(wind) obviously more than I did with my husband especially when tough moments visited us. Easily said than done..... a cliche of course, but if I tried my best to be a helpful partner, I should have complemented my husband's effort to hold us together up so that communication breakdown wasn't an option. This picture inspires me to be a worthy partner who would share an equal effort for a sense of balance.

It's not What it Seems to Be

The first time a friend of mine saw this picture he thought it was taken during night time but realized it's actually a sun and not a moon. In other words, this picture looks deceiving because your initial thinking is most probably not right. Even I, myself, was actually surprised of the result. Perhaps some would think it's an edited one but it's not because I am not in favor of photo editing. Nature makes wonders that sometimes hard to explain but can easily be appreciated and worth to be grateful for. I am a nature lover and I won't get tired taking pictures of nature especially of the sunsets.

Chasing Butterflies

It was a not-so-hot and not-so-cold morning when we decided to go biking within the vicinity of the village. The good thing about biking here is that only a few cars come and go so it's safer and with fresher air. We'd already biked for five minutes when I noticed these yellow flowers with some butterflies flying around. I requested Yonghoon to go back to the house and get the digital camera for me to be able to capture this rare opportunity of nature's wonder. Call me lucky for having a husband who doesn't mind pampering me by following my little requests :) because it's a rare treat here in South Korea where most people still think that men are as high as the sky and women are as low as the ground. Anyway, back to the picture above, as soon as Yonghoon was back I started chasing butterflies to capture with their wings spread out. The one here was the closest shot I got without the butterfly noticing it. If I think of the global warming threat, I feel sad. If these flowers don't survive the heat, I am wondering how butterflies will be able to supply their needs.

A Group Picture Challenge

Children's day is being celebrated here in South Korea every 5th of May and because most of us weren't deprived of a much awaited holiday from teaching, we decided to go for a group picnic at Eunpa park grounds. We did agree on KKB and then later share with others. I don't have kids yet but then I always consider my husband my eldest son :-). We did have fun and before we parted, I asked the Filipina mothers to try to gather their kids for a group picture. I explained that it will be a treasure to have pictures taken with their fellow Korean-Filipino kids. So the mothers called their kids and when they were already in one place, digital cameras started to click. This one clearly shows how challenging it is to take pictures of kids :-)

Each mother tried to have their kids on a posing mode to no avail because all they wanted was to run ....chasing each other. One kid ran back to her mother before we were able to click our digital cameras. When some kids started to cry because they were forced to pose for a group picture, we decided to let them go because it's their "day" and no one should be crying. These kids are up to have a very busy schedule in school in a few years time and as much as possible they mustn't be deprived of their treasured playtime.

So Cute!

She is a friend's daughter who caught my attention while we were on eye-shopping bonding at Lotte mart. She was fascinated by the different colors she saw inside the store. Very cute! Here I am again wishing that someday if not soon I will be blessed with such a cutie. She enjoyed her ride with the push cart for a while but got cranky when she was hungry.

So Clear So Beautiful!

These flowers looked monotonous but very striking. They're so clear and beautiful! Their presence couldn't be ignored even though almost hundred of beautiful flowers were displayed in this year's Goyang City Flower Festival somewhere in Gyeonggi-do province of South Korea. The city is more than 3 hours by bus from where we live and our travel time was 2 times more than our viewing time. It's quite frustrating but I had to be back to Gunsan for my class the next day.

Flower Butterfly

These looked like big butterflies on the mountain of Hampyeong. They're made of flowers and looked amazing even from afar. These were made for the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival in Hampyeong-Gun, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. We arrived at the place lunch time that we were not able to enter their butterfly house due to a long line of visitors waiting for their turn and of course to my disappointment. How I wish our trip started earlier!

Leafless yet Beautiful

I took this picture while we were walking through Wolmyeong park on a Sunday afternoon. I was amazed by how tall and straight they stood. They don't have leaves and stood just like skeletons and yet they caught my eye. They looked so disciplined despite of the very cold weather. So simple yet interesting for passers to notice their beauty. It means we don't have to be a slave of vanity in order to be noticed. We all have the beauty in each of us to be thankful for. Let me say my "Thank you, Lord." for all the blessings we received and for all the ones that are yet to be received.

The Wonder That Winter Creates

This is a picture of our little garden one winter morning after a day of snows falling. The brownish environment suddenly turned white and bright. I had fun playing in the snow with my pet, Yona. And also together with some friends went to a bridge within the city to witness how it looked when full of snow. We had fun taking pictures there but was unlucky to be out of battery that I don't have a clear copy of our pictures there. This was the first real snow for this year and don't know if it will ever snow again as heavy as this one.

The Mystery Through His Eyes

This one is still from our trip to Boracay last year. While some of the kids were busy playing with other kids (as shown by a pic previously posted), this one little kid was sitting alone with a mysterious look that caught my eyes and eventually took a pic. He looked like as young as 5 years old but could swim just like a pro. Well, he must probably had started swimming as young as when he was only 2. He's so small yet by how he looked, it seems that something was bothering his mind. It seemed like he became matured ahead from those with the same age as his. It pictures innocence but with wondering and inquisitive effect. We don't know what will become of him 20 years later.

A Symbol of God's Greatness!

Through nature's beauty, God's greatness is laid upon for us human beings to enjoy and exalt His goodness. This was taken in Mt. Naejang last autumn. It's shaped like a Christmas tree with yellowish, reddish and greenish leaves. We were lucky to have gone there just in time to appreciate the beauty of the mountain in autumn. I was there the first time in 2005 but wasn't able to have pictures because our camera had ran out of battery. So with our latest trip, I prepared enough batteries to last longer but unfortunately, the memory had ran out of space. :-)

The Last Tree Standing?

I find this picture so unique with a lone tree standing and as if it reaches the sky. This place is actually a work-in-progress for a new park here in Gunsan City located beside Geumgang river. I discovered this when we were visiting a nearby Bird Migratory Festival and decided to have a walk. I never thought I would be enjoying the scene in this under construction park more than the festival we visited. Well, this one is new while I'd visited the festival for the third time already and there were few changes for me to see.

A Coconut Store Over the Sea

Without any further ado, I hurriedly focused my camera upon seeing this floating coconut store while we were boating in Boracay. It really never occurred to me that I'd see this. In this part of the sea, boats stopped for the riders to snorkel and experience feeding small and colorful fishes. And because coconuts can't be found in Korea, Yonghoon asked for a sip of the coconut juice (Buko juice). I even took picture while he was sipping. It really pacified the thirst because of the hot weather. The guy had only his energy (for paddling the boat into the spot where the boats usually stopped ) needed for a profit. No other expenses incurred aside from having dark skin due to over exposure to the powerful sun.

What a long tongue she has!

She is Yo-na, my puppy. She has this long tongue that she likes to brag. She's a very active dog and won't hesitate to bark to anyone who comes near us despite of how small she is. Lately, her hair fell and were replaced by new ones. She looks thinner now because the new hairs aren't that long yet. I am sorry for her because for the past few months, I wasn't able to walk with her within the village due to my hectic schedule and cold weather.

A Sunset at it's Best

I will always be a fan of sunsets just like this one above. I was on my way home from the city walking when I fortunately had my camera with me and immediately took this picture before the fading sun would disappear. Luckily, I was on the spot where two trees were standing and included in the picture. I have lots of pictures with sunset as my subject and will never get tired of doing it if good opportunity comes.

A Picture of Contentment

If the rented boat of our Boracay escapade last summer hadn't ran out of gasoline, most probably I wasn't able to witness and take a picture of these obviously contented kids. How I wish I have the contentment that they have! Their darks skins must be the result of swimming almost if not daily in the beautiful waters of Boracay. I'm pretty sure they're great swimmers despite of their young ages. When asked to pose for a picture, they readily obliged and struck a pose. If you wonder why there are only boys in the picture, well, the girls were actually selling accessories like bracelets and necklaces made of shells and stones. They really sell their goods with great convincing power despite of how young they are.

Model in the Making

He actually didn't like me buying the shoes because they costs only $10. I asked him to hold it and pose like a model and luckily he obliged. The shoes were actually Made in Korea with the brand of Marco Polo. It's --th times cheaper than some known brands.

The Fallen Leaves

I was fascinated by these three fallen leaves on the street. They're like a small family trying to enjoy the serenity of the place. The picture was taken during our trip to Mt. Naejang last November 6. Thousands of autumn leaves fell but these three separated from the rest instantly caught my eye. So simple yet a story can be told using this picture. Ordinary eyes will see this as a no-story picture though for sure.