Rose from bed late, ate breakfast late, and went off the road late; that’s what happens when you don’t get enough sleep.

Typhoon Chedeng arrived with blasting winds, forcing power shutdowns throughout the whole province of Aurora; the gang was up through the night, drinking coffee (we were unable to buy alcohol, every store was already closed), munching on super chili peanuts and swapping stories. Suffice it is to say, the planned sunrise shoot at Digisit Bay was held off.

An hour or so later and we were passing roads strewn with tree branches and rockslides as we winded down to Barangay Zabali. The sky was still overcast and clouds were having a marathon above our heads.

Craggy rock formations along the sea swept past our view; we’re late, but we’re finally here.

I can definitely see why photographers frequent Digisit Bay; this is a rock haven for landscapers. The place is just littered with huge earth-toned rock formations, and sandwiched between still waters and crashing waves are the small Aniao islets.

Looking forlorn against the grey stormy skies, two of them stand side by side together, looking like twins battling the mighty waves of the Philippine Sea in unity. This is one of the iconic locations in Baler and I was distraught with panic as to how I would be photographing them.
The place was so tragically poetic, craggy lonesome islands topped with bare trees, pounded by heart stopping waves; all this blanketed by a grey moody sky.

Digisit Bay’s kilometer long beach is directly assaulted by the Philippine Sea, but is a good diving and snorkeling site during calmer seasons. Our local friend says that there’s a fantastic sea wall right below that hosts a plethora of marine life you’d only see in Animal Planet.
The twin islets can be accessed by foot as it connects to the mainland through a pebbly sandbar as the tides ebb. There are a couple of huts there, but I assume these are for people guarding the area as they’re quite small and bare.

The possibilities for photographical compositions at Digisit Bay were endless. Unfortunately, my mind somewhat froze and I really don’t know what happened. I left the place with regret and feeling unfulfilled; I know that the pictures I took were not up to par. I guess it was a case of too many options; I got drowned in covering everything all at once.
I promised myself to revisit Baler again if only to be given a chance to photograph Digisit Bay again. I felt I didn’t give enough justice to its majestically tragic landscapes with my cameras and lenses; take two Digisit Bay please.

 

    Digisit Bay
    Barangay Zabali
    Baler, Aurora
    View Location on Google Maps