How Luna's Stone Gatherers Can Get Your Photography Heart's Delight | AvianQuests

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How Luna's Stone Gatherers Can Get Your Photography Heart's Delight

Thursday, March 16, 2017
My unplanned journey to the coastal province of Luna, La Union yielded indelible memories... This livelihood is back breaking ... exposed to the sun for hours ... and very dangerous ... a mountain of beautiful stones ... where locals "harvest" or gather different kinds of stones ... not for everyone's daily grind...

Coastal Dawn Nalvo Luna La Union Philippines

Woke up early I was just the only one at the beach that morning. I took my first coastal dawn seascape image at Luna, La Union. 

Luna La Union Coastal Seascaoe Dawn

When shooting at dawn, the morning ambient lighting conditions will require the use of a tripod and for me personally, it's a must have/use. It was an exposure shot and a neutral density lens filter and a handheld cable trigger came handy. 

Luna La Union Local Coastal Stone Gatherer

I noticed some locals at the distance gathering beach stones. Good thing is i brought along with me a short range telephoto, a fixed 100mm  cum macro lens and I was able to take candid isolation images, a portrait - landscape. As a detached observer, I continued taking their images. I didn't bother talking to them and disturbing in their private space since I was a new visitor to the place.

Luna Stone Gatherer Moment

Luna "Stone Gatherers" a term I coined to described the act they were doing. Later, when I asked one of the locals at the place I stayed that stone gathering is a local coastal livelihood.

Luna Stone Gatherers Finds

He does his livelihood picking and sorting through stones to be sold to a buyer. Rain or shine, what matters is an honest to goodness livelihood where at the end of the day, food is on the table for his family. 

Luna La Union Local Coastal Stone Gatherer Perspectives

An averaged sized water bucket filled up with carefully selected beach stones. Fill then pour then repeat again.I did some research and that Luna's stones come from the Amburayan River and the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)  coastal waves helps making these stones beautiful as they are. 


Luna La Union Local Coastal Stone Gatherer

Stone gathers keep moving from one place along the beach to another area in search for the variety of stones they are looking for. Patience is their mastered virtue.


Luna La Union Local Coastal Stone Gatherer

That's my casted shadow whilst I was photo documenting.


Luna La Union Gathered Stones Pebbles

Here we find mounds of different kinds of coastal stones of the stone gatherers. 

Luna La Union Stone Gatherer

Not only men who compose predominantly Luna Stone gatherers but also women.

Coastal Dawn Nalvo Luna La Union Philippines

This is my personal appreciation and a humble attempt to do a photo documentation to hard working local coastal people of Luna, La Union for my personal livelihood album.





~AvianQuest~













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