ASEAN Hive Photography Challenge | Smiles - Surrounded by Flowers at Sirao Flower Farm in Cebu, Philippines

Hi, ASEAN Hive Community! Here I am joining this week's photography challenge and I am excited to share with you all the photos I took when I was in Cebu, Philippines. This was taken in October 2015.

Do you think I was surrounded by tulip fields in Amsterdam? How I wish, it is one of my bucket lists to go to the Netherlands to see the tulip fields someday. Anyway, let me enjoy the Celosia flowers on a flower farm instead.

These photos were taken in 2015 and at that time, the Sirao Flower Farm became a trend on social media. The flower farm opened its way to several visitors and a lot of tourists flocked to the area.

I invited my friends to join me so that we could have a portrait photography session in the flower fields of Celosia. We should bring some white clothes or a white dress.

I brought my Nikon D5100 and the 50 mm lens with me which is best suited for portrait sessions with the flowers. My other friends brought their cameras as well.

Same time, I had to teach them how to use the DSLR camera so we had a little photo session along the way.

All the time, it was me who adjusted the camera setting. First, I took photos of my friends, and after, one of them took photos of me. That means I needed to test them first until I loved the result. My friends enjoyed playing around with the 50 mm lens. It made us feel like professional photographers.

Before and After

Some photos had people in the background so I need to do a few photo edits to remove them, like these:

Before with people behind

and After, with photo edits

Before with people behind

and After, with photo edits

Sa Bukid walang papel. Hahaha! In English: in the mountains, there is no paper available. Filipinos know what that means. Sssshhh!

And indeed, being surrounded by flowers made me smile all throughout the day. It made me feel so pretty as well.

The Flowers

I hope you enjoyed all the photos. And here are some flower shots I took as well.

I loved all the bokeh effects.

My friends and I realized that the 50 mm lens really made us like professional photographers. Haha, yes indeed!

Good thing the owners made something in order for the tourists not to destroy the flowers right away.

How to go to Sirao Flower Farm?

• If you're in Cebu City, you just need to go to Lahug near JY Square Mall by taking a jeepney or cab.

• Sirao Flower Farm is located in a mountain barangay and you need to ride a motorbike or locals call it habal-habal. Before, I paid PHP 150. Maybe today, the price is doubled.

• You can go by taxi but it's more expensive. If you have your own vehicle to get there, better, you can DIY.

• Before the entrance fee was PHP 20, so not sure about the fee now.

Additional tips

• Make sure to go there on a sunny day. Avoid when it's raining because it is not safe to go to the mountains on slippery roads.

• Bring nice clothes or a dress for the photoshoot.

• Bring water to drink, some snacks, and extra batteries for your camera or extra portable chargers for your phone.

Thanks to Hive account@justinparke for this fun challenge. I convince everyone to join the photography challenge, check it out here.

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