Eight megapixels, an ultra wide angle lens and the latest in Carl Zeiss Tessar optics; you can’t help but ask: is the Nokia N86 8MP primarily a phone or a camera? While most camera phones take grainy and underlit pictures that ruin the moment instead of preserving it, the Nokia N86 8MP promises nothing less than bright and sharp pictures every time. Right then, I thought about my poor point-and-shoot camera for here was the prospect of its replacement.
Megapixels and more
We took the Nokia N86 8MP to Taal, Batangas to test its features on a day trip around ancestral homes and churches. While I am not a professional photographer—you’d most likely lose me with all the technical lingo—I have an eye for scenery and detail, and I know that a good photograph will show these intricacies minus the annoying grain. The story of the town of Taal is one that is rife with such intricate details.
While every place has a story, not all stories survive the passage of time. As we traveled around the poblacions and old bayan roads in search of stories that need to be retold, we felt like we were adventurers with history as our map, and the Nokia N86 8MP was our tool to capture time. The word “Taal” is an old Filipino word for that which is “real” or “original.” The real tale of Taal began in 1754, when a violent eruption of the Taal Volcano forced its people to move to the neighboring barrio of Caysasay. It was a giant exodus where hundreds of families relocated and rebuilt their homes to make Taal into the town we know today.
With Ino Manalo as our tour guide, we went into a little exodus of our own as we first made a stop at the Basilica of San Martin de Torres. It is one of the largest churches in the country today, and it was also the site of the Ogie Alcasid-Michelle Van Eimeren nuptials in 1998. Built in 1854, a century after the destructive eruption, the Basilica of San Martin stood in centuries-old neo-classical glory, and the N86 wasted no time in capturing images of the renowned church. It was a bit dim inside the church but the N86’s powerful xenon flash made it possible to capture the rich details in the ancient retablos or devotional paintings and in the elaborately-decorated pulpit. The church was built guided by what is called the “aesthetics of distance,” where one is needed to stand back to see all the parts in their entirety. This was not a problem with the N86’s wide angle lens.
We then made our way to the Escuela Pia, a 17th century structure that served as an academic institution for the poor. Today, it is a multi-functional reception area where guests are treated to local treats such as the panutya, a sweet and sticky peanut snack, paired with a glass of ice-cold sago at gulaman. Batangas is known for its balisongs and we watched some of the locals perform tricks with the sharp, multi-skilled knife, and the N86 was able to save moments of fast action because of its automatic motion blur reduction.
The Villavicencio ancestral homes, which were built in the 1850s, were next on the itinerary and I got to test the N86’s macro function as I took pictures of the subtle details in the furniture and the patterns on the house’s wooden panels and posts. While the Basilica of San Martin was built according to the aesthetics of distance, the ancestral homes followed the “aesthetics of intimacy,” where a closer look at fine details is crucial in appreciating beauty. So whether you need to take pictures up close or from a distance, the N86 is able to deliver quality pictures, which ancient Filipino architecture deserve.
We then made our way to the Church of Caysasay where we watched the locals perform the famous subli dance. The subli is not only a cultural dance form, it is also a dance of prayer and reverence, and is said to bring good fortune to the place where it is performed. Since not all movement can be captured in still frames, I used the N86’s video feature to save the dance in more tangible memory. Moreover, I played with the color features and recorded the dance in sepia, which added a solemn, vintage feel to the performance.
We also made a stop at the Arch of Sta. Lucia, where the Lady of Caysasay is said to have made one of her apparitions by a well, whose water is now said to be miraculous. Finally, after a day of historical adventure and tireless picture-taking, we were treated to a sumptuous merienda of palabok, empanada, toron and tsokolate at the Villa Tortuga, a remodeled ancestral house filled with an impressive collection of antiques owned by designer Lito Perez.
To fight forgetting
During our day around Taal, we saw things that tell of a time and tradition that have passed. So much of our history is lost in modernity; so many battles have been suppressed in time’s memory. But the real battle isn’t over, because for history to survive, we must fight forgetting.
This is why there is a need for us to take pictures, capture evidence of a time lost in hopes of bringing it back again, even if only in frames and fragments.
And travelers, tourists, historians alike need a good camera. Imagine the possibilities if that camera also came with a Wi-Fi-enabled phone for instant Internet connectivity and Web-sharing, an expandable 8GB internal memory, a crisp music player and more. The Nokia N86 8MP is definitely about being more so you can capture more.
(All the pictures that come with this story were taken by the Nokia N86 8MP.)
