Now I know what paradise looks like.

And I also like to share it with you and see it through my lens.

EQUIPMENT USED

We have spent almost a week traveling to Puerto Princesa and El Nido (we’ll be back for Coron next time) and I had minimal video equipment with me — a very good challenge!

Dax Victorino filming Palawan video using a merlin steadicam

Dax Victorino Filming Locals in Palawan

Among my limited arsenal for the trip, I have used the Merlin Steadicam (seen above) with my Canon T2i (or the 550D) to get a more stabilized video footage.

For my lenses, I used the Tokina 11-16 mm and the Canon 24-70L for my close ups and wide shots.

For the timelapse, I had Magic Lantern software installed on my camera and that took care of the intervalometer setup.

When we got to our beachfront hotel, I left my T2i with my wide lens on a tripod overnight by the balcony and I have it to take pictures every minute until sunrise. The pictures turned out to be pretty good and I was really happy about it!

 

A BIT MORE ABOUT THE TRIP

We went to at least 8 islands (if I can remember correctly) and the one that I remember the most was Snake Island.  You can see the waves meet in the middle of that sand bar — it’s such a sight to see personally!

Should you visit El Nido, I highly recommend doing a combination of any of their island boat tours. There are 5 packages available and we chose Packages A and B which covers the best islands and lagoons that they have in Palawan. This is the best choice because not only you can get to see more islands in one day but also you can get a cheaper price if you go with the combined island tour package!

Here are some of the photos from our stay:

Shawn filming the fish

Taken using Shawn's iPhone 5
Taken using iPhone 5

View from the top of a hill

View from our beach front hotel
View from our hotel room’s balcony where I shot some of the time lapses
Sand bar of Snake Island, my wife's favorite island
Sand bar of Snake Island
Entrance to the Small Lagoon
Entrance to the Small Lagoon

Majestic beauty of Palawan

Words are definitely not enough to describe how magnificent Palawan is so I hope that you guys will never miss a chance to visit it when you’re in the Philippines!

I would definitely go back and stay for MORE than a week! Next time I will take my time to explore more of the place and get some more amazing footage to share with you. But until then, I hope you enjoy the video!

Salamat/Thank You/Mabuhay everyone!!

—-
A big shout out to my friend Shawn Schallman for taking those iPhone 5 underwater footage! The video quality of that phone is AMAZING!

Music by Lights and Motion “Fractured”
Copyright © 2013 Dax Victorino Films. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

I’m very enthusiastic about learning more about your site.

Awesome video! We are going in April. I’d like to know, what hotel did u stay at in PP and in El Nido? Any other tips is greatly appreciated.

Maraming salamat!
Eric Ignacio

Hi,

My name is Nikki and I’m the Regional Marketing Manager at Lightfoot Travel, a luxury tour operator based in Hong Kong and Singapore. I love your Palawan video and would like to use it on my website’s Palawan page. Is this alright? Please do let me know.

Thanks!

Nikki

Hi Nikki!

How are you? Yes, please feel free to use it and don’t forget to credit me. : )

Also, I am just letting you know that if you guys are planning on doing some kind of video like this for your website please do let me know. I am available for hire/travel and I can film any destination videos for you.

Thanks and have a great day!

Breathtaking photographs. Stunningly beautiful. Been there but my photographs weren’t as good as yours. I need to improve my equipment, lol. Will revisit your blog again.

dax you are awesome..love your work, as in, great job! :D

Thank you, Rheena! Glad to know you love my work!

nakakaamaze lahat ng work mo… :D

Thanks! Check mo yung isang inupload kong video about San Francisco. Bago lang yun! :)

Beautiful Pictures!! We went There Last Year, What a Beautiful Paradise , I Say Our God’s Garden.. Thank u..

Indeed! I hope to visit there again soon! Thank you for dropping by my blog! :)

Yay~ Uwi ka uli dito! :D :D :D

Yep! Maybe next year dear! ;)

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