Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Today, Laguna de Bay covers almost one half of the total surface area of all existing lakes in the Philippines and ranks as one of the largest inland bodies of water in Southeast Asia. Based on the study conducted by the National Institute for Geological Sciences, the present surface area of the lake is 949 km2 and the average depth is now at 2 meters.      

Laguna de Bay is trilobate with three corporate bays: The West Bay, Central Bay and East Bay that converge towards the South carving out what resembles a large bird or dinosaur. The West and Central Bays are separated by Talim Island, the largest and most populated of the nine islands within the lake.

(Source: Living Lakes)

Comments

[BrossanovA]

I've seen all your photos here. Some are stunning! Impressive work.

[don]

Another amazing picture of people's lives. I notice one youngster standing in the water. I would hav supposed it to be deeper. These look great in black and white...the starkness helps with the message.

a simple life they have, but i guess they are also making good money in fishing. do they?

[robin]

I've been here a few times now and I think you are a living encyclopidia of the Philippines! That's the best way to describe you.
robin

[Ashish Sidapara]

Nice lesson on geography and just love the 2nd shot, keep them coming!

[rach]

Hi Sidney. Thanks for visiting my blog and taking some time to drop some lines.

Nice pictures. Laguna de Bay seems to be overwhelmed by fish ponds. I hope that overcrowded fish ponds do not have any negative effect to the balance of the lake.

I wonder how caretakers manage to live in such a small hut. It must be a tough job to be on guard esp. if it's a very large fish pond. Must be tougher during bouts of thunderstorms. But it's a noble job to be proud of.

Rach

[Jean]

Belles mais un peu tristes images !
La vie doit etre difficile !

[Christian]

Hi Sidney, i think that you'll be a very good teacher of geography.
I'm longing to know what is the life around this laguna.
when i look at the yesterday's map, i think the laguna looks like a very large bird wich landed there for ages.

[Giovanni B.]

Dear Mr. Snoeck,
I've searched an e-mail address on your site but... I have to use the "comment" area, and I apologize for it!
I'm working on a new idea, summarized in the URL reported above. If you are interested, could you please contact me?
(Please note that I’m still working on the site).
Thanks.
Giovanni B.

[Wim van der Meij]

I love the grey atmosphere of these B&W photos. Also very graphic! Especially the poles in the water. What a find, Sid!
And, again thanx for the background info.

[don]

A very interesting series with fascinating comment. I liked the map which helped make you comment even more meaningful.
Looks great in this monochromatic processing.

[john]

bamboo, a thousand and one uses, but if it takes hold in your backyard, it is impossible to dig out

[Suby]

Ahh the chicken series is over :) I am loving the bottom shot, the way the house is framed through the babboo I really loke, I may have stopped at just making this monochrome and not added the sepia tone. Good shot any way.

Suby

[Kevin Anonymous]

There's some sort of emphasis on the house in the distance. Great picture.

[jlc]

landscape of dream .

[anton]

Nice shots! Great home for ducks! :)

[david]

a house for someone who values their privacy! excellent pair of images!

[SSH]

I love your site, the colors and layout... Yo must be from India, :)

Sari Sari stories bohoth ahchahey :)

I guess i know a little bit of hindi words after looking at some hindi movies...

Nice to meet you and Will try to visit you more often... Cheers

[Sidney]

To Ces:
Ces, it's a lake. So there isn't any tide. Excess water flows through the Pasig river towards Manila Bay.
There are not many people on the lake. Only fishermen and the caretakers of the fishponds. Every fishpond has one cottage/house with guards/caretakers who protect (day & night)the fishponds against poachers.
Laguna the bay is full of small and big fishponds.
Yes, those are fishponds. You can't see the nets but only the bamboo poles.
First picture is a typical house/cottage of the caretakers/guards.

[ndiginiz]

Tena koe ehoa
Informative piece Sidney. From the look of the images neighbours are few and far between. I have a likeness for the bottom image.

[Dave Mac]

Great B&W shots Sidney!

[outdoorexposure]

love the vertical line of the bamboo posts...nice bw shots:-))

[Hildegarde]

Great info and photos, "know what you see" :-) A laguna : mighty interesting : lots of fish, probably lots of birds too ? , and then the combination with people, how do they deal with it,...

[pieterbie]

Superb quality shots. Good choice B&W!

[JM]

Hi Sydney, Love the picture on top (the Jim Jarmush tribute :) ...très belle composition !!