A Pirate Christmas

The month of December brings cold weather, Christmas joy and pirates. Pirates, Santa and his elves to be exact. My daughter's Drama Club at her school performed their musical rendition of "A Pirate Christmas" to kick off the holiday season.



My daughter loves Christmas. The decorations, the carols and mostly receiving wrapped gifts are only on her short list. Costumed in her custom elf outfit designed by my crafty wife, my daughter personified the Christmas season in a 36 minute performance.



Santa and his elves encounter a bastion of greedy pirates who lost the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of giving rather than receiving. With several song and dance routines later, the pirates learn the true meaning of Christmas with the help from Santa and his elves. Sounds like a Hallmark made for T.V. moment.



Watch out Selena Gomez! My daughter may hit the big screen soon but of course the movie requires a serious Christmas holiday plot.



You can view more in my A Pirate Christmas Gallery shot with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV paired with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II and EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lenses.



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PhilFest 2011

Filipino culture invaded the festive grounds of the Philippine Cultural Enrichment Complex for three exciting days for the 16th annual PhilFest 2011. Everything native to the Philippines converged with food, entertainment and exhibits to the delight of the Tampa Bay community.



The long traditional gowns of the Philippines adorned the stage with graceful Filipinas. The Grand Flores de PhilFest Parade soon followed with beautiful Munting Reyna's circling the Philippine Village with a crowd of envious onlookers. Call it a celebration of a long standing ethnic traditions.



Filipino culture also includes the plethora of culinary delicacies. My personal favorite and the exclusive "food of the gods" is the delicious Carioca. Consider it fried doughnut balls on a stick with an ever so sweet glaze that will make you beg for more. It is also an effective bribe for out of control children.



The ever so dusty and dirt filled Philippine Village is replaced by thousands of square feet of smooth and clean concrete. Kudos to the Philippine Cultural Foundation for this very welcome addition to the annual Fiesta. Crowds of anxious people looking for the next Filipino delicacy will no longer have the ominous dust trail behind them.



The PhilFest 2011 video is shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D. Paired with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens and the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro optical viewfinder, the 1080p Full HD footage was edited with Apple Final Cut Pro.



The still photographs of PhilFest 2011 was captured with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II zoom lens.

You can view more images in my PhilFest 2011 Gallery.



Yes, my newborn daughter Serena only slept and cried through this glorious event. Ripe and sweet yellow mangoes did not even appease her.



Crispy Lechon, lumpia shanghai, pancit and halo-halo will have to wait until next year's PhilFest 2012. I will be there with mouth wide open and maybe the next latest Canon HD DSLR such as the soon to be Canon T4i/700D.

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***UPDATE*** Here is the link to PhilFest 2012 with updated pictures and videos.