MY ENTRY TO REFLECTION CONTEST #164: Reflection Hunting With A Touch Of Sienna

It's the twelfth day of April, and supposedly I am still sleeping because I am on a day off. However, my biological clock urged me to rise up, drink a cup of coffee, and then think of worthwhile things to do to have some sort of relaxation since it is a partly cloudy, sunny morning at 25°C and I am off from work for the rest of the day. Then an idea came to mind, and that was to take a stroll with my wife at the surfing area that is situated just about 0.466 mile from home. Upon our arrival, I was enticed by the cloud formation when I looked up at the morning sky, so we hurriedly rushed to the sandy portion of the beach to find an ideal vantage point as the cluster of clouds was about to build up another spectacular sight for filming on my device.

But as the sun rose, the clouds scattered apart from each other, then they diffused so easily, and instead of getting disappointed for not filming the clouds on time, I focused myself on reflection hunting. Then I immediately went closer to the river mouth, and lo and behold! I was amazed by what I saw because, though I haven't captured the clustering of clouds, I have the perfect timing to take a few clicks of the reflection of the early morning landscape of the river mouth towards downstream.

The sky became so vibrant as the sun rose to the horizon with some visible hues of sienna, a kind of color that I first learned to exist when my parents brought me a box of a more complete set of Crayola crayons that included the said color, and I also learned that this color has two variants: raw and burnt.

I told my wife to wait for me for a while as she sat down on a driftwood, and I showed her a snapshot of the landscape that I cannot afford to lose as the winds will come anytime and can adversely affect the reflection that projects on the water surface, to which she gladly agreed and told me that it is alright with her because the sunlight is not yet hot, and she advised me to continue immediately so I can be able to shoot more pictures for her to appreciate.

So I indeed took a few clicks before going home as the wind start to blow on the surface of the river mouth and the heat of the sun started to be felt on our skin.

On this side of the river mouth, the kiosks designated for surfers and visitors can be seen at the extreme left of the photograph, as well as the rear side of a private residential structure under the canopy of trees.

And lastly, I took my final click, pointing downstream to get a clear shot of the vibrant landscape along the mouth of the Rio Maragayap before we headed home.

While at home, I learned from a friend who resides near the rocky beach that there will be a possibility of low tide in the afternoon, for which I am waiting for a couple of months since the low tide occurred in the morning upon the start of the year. So after preparing my gadgets, I eat my lunch and set my alarm clock to four o'clock in the afternoon; afterwards, I have my siesta. Then I headed to the rocky beach, and I was delighted by what I saw. The glow of the sky also had a touch of sienna, which is somewhat similar to that I photographed during sunrise at the surfing area, which is 0.684 miles away from the rocky beach.

Since it was low tide on that day, the rocky beach was once again filled with activities, but not of a recreational kind but of sustenance, and that was looking for edible stuff that was stuck in the intertidal zone.

I saw a silhouette of a beachcomber making his way towards the bedrock near my direction as I surveyed the seascape with my phone, which was starting to look enticingly magnificent with the setting sun. It turned out that this beachcomber is my former co-guard, who is currently on vacation. After a little conversation, we each went back to what we were doing.

As he walked past the spot where I was standing, I took a few clicks to get a picture of his movements as well as his reflection while he looked and picked up edible things in the shallow water.

First, he scanned the water for a prospective find.

Then pick up whatever item he find.

He also makes sure that what he finds is safe to be eaten and/or big enough for consumption.

Then put the stuff that is fit to be eaten in a plastic bag. Most of the things he picked up at that time were sea cucumbers.

As I try to figure out the ideal angle and distance to take a picture of the view of the mountain where the industrial zone is situated, another beachcomber passes by where I stand, so I also try to take a few clicks of him.

These folks are extremely patient in what they do, and for that, I have the utmost respect.

In order to get some bounty from the sea, they have to stoop for a long time, which tends to be a back-breaking activity.

Then they scan the water for their prospective finds: sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and seaweeds are the most common stuff, but sometimes they can also catch octopus, shrimp, crabs, and fish. However, like reflection hunting, that depends on the movements of the winds that can affect the clarity and stability of the water surface.

Finally, the last but not least that I will feature in the Shadow Hunters Community by Ms. @melinda010100, especially in the Refection Hunters Contest care of Ms. @olgavita, is the industrial zone that almost dominates the entire landscape due to the vastness of the area it covers as well as the largeness and tallness of its structures.

At this point in time, the vibrant glow of the setting sun, which in my eyes has the hue of sienna, radiates on most surfaces of the structures along the industrial zone and in the residential area nearby, as well as along the coastline of which clearly reflects on the seawater.

Starting from the northernmost structure, the portal scraper is sheltered, where the materials for making cement, such as limestone, silica, gypsum, and pozzolan, are stored and dragged to a conveyor to be transferred to the feed bins. It then passes through another set of conveyors for grinding at the vertical raw mill, then to the pre-heating tower for calcining, or the process by which the materials are initially burned at the cyclones and stored at the raw meal silo.

Then the materials are moved for burning inside a rotary kiln to become clinker. However, the view of this component cannot be seen in the picture.

Then the clinker will be cooled, stored in a dome-shaped storage, and transferred for grinding at the finish mill via bucket elevator and pan conveyor. And finally, the materials, which are now the finished product, are once again transferred to cement silos through pneumatic pumps for storage, packing, and hauling.

This is my humble contribution to the Shadow Hunters Community-Reflection Hunters Contest, under the care of Ms. @olgavita and I thank everyone for their patience in reading my lengthy article. Have a nice Monday morning!