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After the 7 PM mass at San Sebastian Church, the fading twilight cast the interior into a subtle, haunting stillness. With the last worshipers lingering, I seized the moment to capture a 360 panorama from the sanctuary. The windows, devoid of any external glow, presented a monochromatic canvas of grayed-out surroundings.
As the camera clicked, the silent ambiance spoke of a different narrative. San Sebastian Church, wrapped in shadows, revealed its architectural intricacies in a muted palette. The absence of a vibrant glow through the windows hinted at the aging façade, a stark reminder of the ongoing battle against time.
In this quietude, the steel structure, allegedly inspired by Gustave Eiffel, emerged as a stoic silhouette, standing resilient but yearning for restoration. The absence of external illumination accentuated the shadows, emphasizing the ongoing process of reconstruction. Scaffolding, like skeletal fingers reaching toward the heavens, told a tale of resilience against the inevitable corrosion of rust.
The 360 panorama, despite the absence of a warm radiance, encapsulated a moment frozen in the church's journey. The grayed-out windows symbolized not just the fading twilight but also the need for renewal. In the hushed clicks of the camera, the narrative of San Sebastian unfolded, a visual poetry that echoed not only with the history of faith and architecture but also with the silent promise of a rejuvenated future.
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The Philippines are an archipelago of more than seven thousand islands off the southeast coast of Asia. Only half of these islands have been named and roughly one thousand are inhabited. Look at how beautiful they are! People first arrived here from the mainland around 25,000 B.C. by crossing a land bridge which existed at the time.The name comes from Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal, who explored the Philippines in 1521. He claimed them in service of Spain, naming them after Prince Philip. Spain controlled the Philippines for the next 350 years until the Philippine Revolution of 1896.Here's a picture of Fort Santiago, where the national hero Jose Rizal was imprisoned prior to his execution. He was a poet and novelist who supported peaceful reform, rather than violent revolution, against the Spanish government.This is one of poems in which he describes the creation of the world, as a gift to his mother:"Say they that tell of the world, the first dawn of the sun, the first kiss that his bosom inflamed, when thousands of beings surged out of nothing, and peopled the depths, and to the heights mounted, to wherever his fecund kiss was implanted"Violent revolution broke out anyway and the Philippines changed hands from Spanish, to American, to Japanese control over the next fifty years. Following World War Two they finally became an independent republic.Back to the beautiful ocean! You can dream about the Cafe Del Mar resort next time you find your screen saver kicking in when you're still sitting at the desk staring blankly. There's a series of DJ mixes with this title but I don't know if it refers to the same place. I would not be surprised.Annnnd to really get you buying your plane tickets...the sunset over Borocay White Beach!Text by Steve Smith.
