Still majestic, but elusive. Erratic. Unpredictable. A perfect cone. These picturesque words and more best describe Mt. Mayon. Its contour outlined against the sky in any angle – from the east to the west, north to south, looks even better than the grace of a woman’s anatomy. Taking advantage of the long holiday, I rushed to the Bicol region together with Emy Bartolome, a shooting barkada. Thirteen hours trip via an ordinary bus (all air-conditioned seats taken two days in advance) took Emy and I to Tabaco, Albay where a student friend, Jun Duroy, from Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol Seminary in Tagaytay City met us at a certain bus stop.

Earlier in the morning of the next day, a TV newscaster announced, “For the last two days, Mt. Mayon has been very quiet.” True enough, at our first location in a vast open field littered with huge rocks from previous eruptions, Mayon displayed only its base, its cone covered heavily with thick clouds.

We moved to Lingnion Hills, an isolated well-manicured strategic viewpoint for Mt. Mayon. Here we met John Ching, an active member of FPPF (Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation). Still, thick clouds hid Mt. Mayon. We transferred to Cagsaua, another vantage point some kilometers away. Look, who was there? John Ching again! Like us, he was waiting for Mt. Mayon to display her grace.

Yes, still shy, demure, elusive, she hid her form behind thick billowing clouds which seemed stationary. Before sundown, we changed venue again. She showed a better form, although clouds still covered partially her slopes.

What we missed somehow was her anger. Her ash spewed days earlier from her mouth several kilometers high. Her magma transformed into huge mighty rocks as they became cool and rolled down her slopes into the adjoining vast fields. Her tremor scared people, animals, plants, and the world. Her ember glowed fiery streaks against pit darkness. I already conceived a slow shutter to capture its flow. I was not disappointed if I did not capture her in a composition I have conceptualized earlier in my mind. Staying with the hospitable Duroy family in Tabaco Albay has compensated more than enough my Bicol trip.

(Cecilia S. Angeles is a professor in Photography and other Fine Arts subjects at PWU and a regular lecturer in the FPPF photography workshop at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. Email: csa_palay@yahoo.com)