The Trigger Happy SQ

Flickr’s Interestingness still, and will always baffle flickritis around the world when it comes to choosing pictures for Explore.

There are lots of things that make a photo ‘interesting’ (or not) in the Flickr. Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more fantastic photos and stories are added to Flickr.

A long time in the making, interestingness is a ranking algorithm based on user behavior around the photos taking into account some obvious things like how many users add the photo to their favorites and some subtle things like the relationship between the person who uploaded the photo and the people who are commenting (plus a whole bunch of secret sauce).

Here are some photos of mine from flickr that got ‘explored’:

This picture is my ‘highest’ ranking picture in flickr. It reached #24 last November 9. This was taken in Santiago Cove, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is a perfect disc-shaped shore. I first went here when I was still in college.

One of my favorite pictures. This is a couple walking in Burnham Park Lake, Baguio City, Philippines.

The picture below was taken in Mines View Park. Early morning fog is not uncommon here in Baguio City. Mines View Park, as its name suggests, provided a view of the mines, particularly those owned by the Benguet Corp.

Still taken in Mines View Park. This time, a shot of the observation deck.

These pictures were taken at Asin Road, Baguio City, Philippines. People are one of my favorite subjects and I was lucky to take pictures of these enthusiastic kids from an elementary school there.

Birds of Paradise flowers. Taken in Botanical Garden, Baguio City, Philippines.

A flower given to me by my husband…

This was taken with my Nokia N70 Camera Phone…

Underneath a sayote leaf…

A Chinese temple near SLU Hospital…

Fog in Baguio

Web with water droplets…

Macro of flowers. Macro photography is very interesting and I love it. I used a Canon S3is on this one, in Super Macro mode. I love this feature of my S3is and I highly recommend the camera for beginners. Saving up for a Nikkor micro lens… :)

A Victory bus along Marcos Highway.

As promised, the 3rd entry.

The former Diplomat Hotel in Dominican Hill, Baguio City, Philippines is believed to be haunted. In the early 1900’s it was bought by Dominican friars from the American owners. It has now been abandoned.

The stairs leading to the second floor of the abandoned Diplomat hotel. We didn’t climb up to the second floor. We’re scaredy cats :)

One of the fountains in one the hotel’s courtyards. The fountain has headless angel statues. Still, it is quiet in this part of the hotel. Of course, I believe that this part was once beautiful. It still is, just in another way.

The walls of the abandoned hotel… A bold statement of the hotel’s old age and history. The walls of the abandoned Diplomat Hotel, Dominican Hill, Baguio City, Philippines. This was taken beside the fountain in one of the courtyards of the hotel.

Bare corridors and rooms allows you to walk and imagine what could have happened inside. It used to be a rest house for Dominican friars, then a school, then a refugee camp. It was then acquired by a company and made into a first class hotel, catering to foreign and local tourists.

According to some visitors, weird noises and screams can be heard from the hotel. Some say, a headless apparition with its head on a platter had been seen here too.

During our visit there, we were not able to prove this. Not that I wanted to.

Outside the hotel is a small garden. The statue of St. Martin de Porres, (Father of the Poor, Patron of the Needy, Help of the Sick) can be found here. One has a wonderful view of Mount Cabuyao and the city from up here.

And the last photo from the hotel…

The hotel will be turned into a museum in 2009. It will showcase Baguio City’s development through the years. The city will be celebrating it’s centennial year in 2009. I sincerely hope the local government will preserve this historic site. And I hope you guys can visit the place. It is a beautiful place.

Technorati Tags:
Diplomat Hotel, Baguio City, Dominican Hill, haunted, paranormal, historic sites, religious sites, Baguio history, Haunted places, St. Martin de Porres, black and white, photoblog, photography, black and white photography, Baguio Photographers, Sayote Queen, eerie

I really didn’t intend a sequel to the previous post but then again, I want to arouse your curiosity on the former Diplomat Hotel. I guess (and I’m expecting) a lot of people will be here come November 1. Some may want to go ghost hunting or just go some place else aside from the usual tourist spots here in Baguio.

Me thinks it is not really creepy inside when you go in numbers. It was a different story for us as I only went with my husband. When someone has a vivid imagination, ghost stories of the place don’t really help. When you’re there, imagination goes into overdrive and it’s hard not to shut down that part of the brain.

Anyway, on with the pictures…

This is what the abandoned hotel looks like outside. Broken windows, walls with vandalism. But still, it is beautiful in a way. It must have been a grand hotel before.

The entrance to the former Diplomat Hotel. I said a prayer before entering.

The only sound we can here inside the abandoned hotel are the water dripping from the ceiling and our footsteps.

The lobby floor is made of marble. At the end of the lobby is a fireplace. A 7-legged wooden table, stands in front of this fireplace. The white table is clearly an antique with huge drawers.

It appears lonely as it is the only furniture in the lobby. Perhaps it served as a bedroom table before. The table seemed to welcome us.

More pictures in the next post :)