Sun rises over Lake Seloton
Lake Sebu may wow us with it’s vastness and sullen beauty, but it is in the Lake Seloton, the second largest lake and the deepest of the three mountain lakes, is where you can see a lake bathed in golden light as the sun rises behind the surrounding landscape covered mist. So early morning, on our last day in South Cotabato, we literally had to pull ourselves out of bed just to make our way about 2km to Lake Seloton’s Sunrise Garden Lake Resort.
Lake huts and the morning blue
Despite waking up a bit earlier than the usual, our habal-habal driver, Jemar came a bit late. Maybe he was cuddled under the bed sheets and thought, why the hell would these people would want to wake up so early to a cool morning such as this. At first we thought he wouldn’t show up so we could push through our plan B – go back to sleep. But eventually, he did show up. It was already a bit bright by that time, but still, we were hopeful we could still get some nice captures.
Golden lake on a misty morning
Even with the already bright blue sky, the sun hasn’t casted its warm glow over the lake since it’s still hiding behind the mountains. It was a misty blue morning and the placid, Lake Seloton was like a giant mirror, reflecting images of its surrounding landscapes only to be disturbed by the quiet ripples of a passing fishing boat.
A Fisherman heads to the pens early morning (Pic converted to sepia)
But as soon as the sun peeks through the mountains and stretches its light upon the landscape, the melancholy blue lake transforms to a lake of gold, surrounded by a misty landscape which is a sight to behold. Shadows cast by the nearby fences and silhouettes of passing fishing boats reflecting on the golden lake is true photographers delight. And I must admit, this is one of my favorite shoot in the area.
Transitions and reflections of a bamboo fence
We took advantage of the timing and the picture-perfect setting clicking away to how much the capacity of our storage drives could handle. We almost forgot the coffee and choco we ordered as each moment, a change of scene may take place.
Nature in reflection
As soon as the mist clears and the sun was high enough, the whole lake and surroundings revealed its vibrant colors. As with any day after a rain, colors of nature are much richer. And to add to that, Sunrise Garden resort have well landscaped gardens, scenic huts and even their boats and floating cottages were quite an element. I think any shutterbug wouldn’t have any trouble finding a good angle to compose their shots here.
Lotus and lily pads on the reflecting lake
We were thankful that during our last day here, we were blessed with moments of good weather such as this. It was raining real hard last night that we didn’t think we’ll able to get any pictures here. The place is quite a side trip and should be in anyone’s itinerary when visiting Lake Sebu.
Hut on a lake
It seems T’boli’s are very rich in culture, according to their legend, Lake Seloton was once the deepest of the three lakes in Lake Sebu. Somido the giant once waded on the three lakes. He waded on Lake Lahit, the other lake, but the water reached up only to his knees, whereas here on Lake Seloton, the water reached up to his chest.
ang dami naman magagandang pic, the last three are really nice… pero alam mo naman na yung the third from the last ang fave ko…
wow.. ang ganda ng first picture… it made my day… lovely lovelyt.
beautiful place, skies and people. perfect for photography.
ang galing. ang sarap talagang tingnan ng reflection ng araw sa tubig, at yung reflection ng bamboo fence? wow.
tssk tskkk di ko talaga maabutan ang sunrise ah… next time makakakuha din ako hehe…
ayos na naman dre… lalo na ung bamboo shot..
i’m in love with those photographs, man!
again, another great series of lake sebu. i also love the way you describe each photo–”you can see a lake bathed in golden light as the sun rises behind the surrounding landscape covered mist.”
“It was a misty blue morning and the placid, Lake Seloton was like a giant mirror, reflecting images of its surrounding landscapes only to be disturbed by the quiet ripples of a passing fishing boat. ”
wala paring kakupaskupas.. hehehehe GUdluck sa PWA!!!
Crisp and clear – Post card quality shots indeed
Oh my God! I grew up in that place! I miss lake seloton. sino nagtang picture. wala nyo man ginsakop balay namon. Hehe ambot kung ara pa.
grbi tlga…….nkkatouch ang nature…..ive ones go there,,pro dko nlibot.syang!s susunod!
ganda talaga ng lake sebu…..
sana maka uwi na ako jan sa lake sebu ganda tlaga nature………
I really missed this place…..during my college I used to go in this place (once a week) ‘coz my bestfriend (Isidro) who lives and owns fish cages in Lake Seloton always invite me to spend weekend on their place. I helped him to feed the tilapias on dawntime. Sana makauwi ako ulit para mapuntahan ko ulit ang magagandang scenery ng Lake Sebu…specially ang 7 falls…
ang ganda talaga sana maka punta ulit ako dun sa sunrise…..
hi, i’m kwini from the college of travel and hospitality management in ust…may project po kasi ako sa german and kelangan ng picture para gawing poster or tarpaulin ng isang place dito sa philippines na ipopromote sa germany..pinili ko po yung lake sebu kasi galing akong south cotabato and i want to promote my own place=) pwede ko po bang gamitin yung mga shots nyo? and pwede po bang mahingi yung opinion nyo kung anong picture yung pwede kong gamitin?=)
pwede ko po ba malaman yung reply nyo asap?i need before the 2nd week of september…
i promise to give you credits on this.,.,
thank you!