return to anibong

Anibong is a very interesting neighborhood.  There is virtually no sidewalk here so the street is always busy with people going through their daily routine.  This is my third or fourth walk along the same area, and I’m sure there will be a lot more to come.

I happened along another halo-halo stall and stopped to check it out.  The 2 young girls manning the stall were also selling grilled banana-on-a-stick and as soon as I brought my camera up to take a shot, I was mobbed by a group of 9 boys.  They were a rowdy bunch, all laughing and giggling but in a nice way so I asked if they would be ok with sharing 3 cups of halo-halo among all 9 of them.  I had P30 in my pocket and each order was P10.  It would have been nice to photograph them eating halo-halo now that I’ve described how it’s made in the previous blog entry but I thought it made more sense to give them bananas instead at P3 per stick.  We don’t want anyone complaining of not being given a fair share.  They lined up, breakfast was served, I made my little contribution to the local economy and got the shot I wanted.  They didn’t forget to say thanks, and that made my day.

You have to be sneaky with kids if you wanted candid stolen shots; this is as candid as they get.

There is wisdom in having a bicycle as the main form of transportation, especially when there are at least 2 kids to send school.  With the current minimum fare of P8 per trip, a huge chunk of the day’s earning would just end up being spent on commuting.

We definitely can’t compare apples to mangoes, and I’d go for mangoes any time.  Mango shake, mango float (which my wife will be making with the 3 kilos I bought), mango with buko pandan, mango with sago, or just mango all by itself.

I don’t recall taking photos of this lady, but she seems to know me.  She was kind enough to sit still while I took a shot after her feigned objection.

I know, I know.  Street photography purists will never approve of posed shots, but I couldn’t care less.  Connecting with people matters more to me than striving for technical perfection and textbook definitions.  I was a participant of the moment and many years from now I can look at this photo and say ‘I know this, and I remember what happened that day’.

I saw the thick-rimmed eyeglasses first.  Then the flowers, probably for his mom.  It’s Mother’s Day.  The driver looks familiar too.

Of late I’ve had the thought that Mother’s Day was just a marketing racket by Hallmark until I happened upon an article about Anna Jarvis and the idea behind Mother’s Day.  Our moms deserve the best.

A tricycle driver taking a break from the heat of the noontime sun.  If anyone has ever wondered why we have too many small sari-sari stores everywhere, even in the busy commercial district, it’s because there are more than enough people to support the business.

Chinese garter is one of the favorite games of my schoolmates when I was in elementary school.  It’s usually played by girls wherein they  jump over a length of garter or a chain of rubber bands to heights over a head high.  It didn’t keep some of my male schoolmates from playing it too while I stuck to playing marbles and sipa (hacky sack).

I used to eat pineapple with a sprinkling of salt until I learned about what too much salt can lead to.

notes:

The photos in most of the blog entries are arranged in chronological order.  It’s more for my personal documentation of the route I’ve taken while shooting the streets.

early childhood

So I missed the sunrise again.  It’s really very difficult to get up early when we all know that the sun will rise again tomorrow.  And the next day, and the day after that.  Don’t get me wrong; I love watching the sunrise, but I love staying in bed a little longer even more.

This is probably the best early morning photo walk I’ve ever had.  The residents are already up before 7:00 in the morning while downtown is still quiet on this Sunday morning.  The neighborhood kids are mostly awake, but still in a transition from sleep to wakefulness.

What’s on his mind?  Why so pensive?

They’re heading to the beach!  As a kid I’ve spent a good many Sundays at the beach too.   The water was still crystal clear and the beaches were mostly uninhabited then.  Not anymore today.  It’s very sad.

Boys at the public market.  They’re just sitting there, as with their  parents tending the stalls.  It looks like a slow day.

Breakfast will be served.  I love pandesal bread with coffee.  Just dunk the bread in instant coffee; it makes me happy.

This is the story of the 3 little kids and the little pig that went to the market.  I left out the wolf; we only have stray dogs.

Still too young to get lost in thought….

DPS and halo-halo

I was pretty much excited when Valerie Jardin sent me an email saying that my interview will be published in Digital Photography School on May 3.   Digital Photography School or DPS is one of my most visited site when I was starting out in photography, and I still visit the site frequently for new updates and tips.  Getting featured on DPS wasn’t even on the radar when I started this blog, and I am really thankful for this opportunity.  Thank you, Valerie, thank you DPS and thanks to all friends and visitors of this site.  You’re all wonderful!

I’m still feeling euphoric, but the weather is very hot and humid.  If one were ask around about how to deal with the heat, I’d say that halo-halo would probably be on top of the list.

For those who are not familiar, halo-halo is basically a mix of red beans, banana, jackfruit, tapioca, nata de coco, sugar palm (kaong), evaporated milk, purple yam (ube), sugar and shaved ice.  A special serving comes with ice cream and corn flakes.  Depending on budget and availability, some of the ingredients may be left out.

Surprisingly, I’ve never grown tired of halo-halo.  I still remember having halo-halo at my uncle’s refreshment parlor, and when they’re out of ingredients, I’d order mongo con yelo instead.  It’s a stripped down version of halo-halo with only shaved ice, red beans, milk and sugar.  I was a kid back then and anything cold and had lots and lots of sugar is always delicious.

One thing about home made halo-halo is that you can have a big cup, or a small cup, or even bring your own cup.  Did Starbucks copy the concept?

This lady making the halo-halo ran away as soon as she saw me with the camera.  Most ladies here would shy away from being photographed.  I figured she had to serve her customer so I waited for her to come back and complete the order before the ice melts.  I left a smile on her face when I walked away.

Please check out Valerie Jardin’s site at http://valeriejardin.wordpress.com.

Sunday people

I’ve been away for a couple of weekends and now that I’m back home, it feels good to be shooting in familiar territory.  What’s nice about home is that there’s no urge to rush to cover a lot of ground; there’s always enough time for an occasional chat and a leisurely walk.

Sundays are never busy days.  The streets are mostly clear of traffic and shops are closed except for some.  The busiest places on any given Sunday are places of worship and malls.  I was in a mall in Cebu last Sunday and I took some photos of cosplayers.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that it’s not fun.  Taking photographs of people in malls is like shooting fish in a barrel as far as I am concerned.  It’s not easy, mind you, as there’s not much personal space and people react differently, and then there’s always the mall security to deal with.  Never mind that.  I’ll stick to walking the streets and meeting people doing their daily stuff.  It’s a lot more interesting, and maybe in a few decades there won’t be anything left but malls everywhere.

I’d really love to have a can of Coca-Cola right now.  We’re in the middle of a scorching summer wherein sitting doing nothing will still cause a lot of sweating.

I could sit in this waiting shed for a few hours and not be bored.  I think I should do a photo documentary about this place.

Rain on a hot summer day?  You bet.  We’ve been having rains many summers now.

Vendors on the sidewalks is a very common sight.  There was a time when we could ride our bikes on the sidewalk.  Those were the days.

One of the reasons why I stick to black and white.  Those posters are very colorful but very distracting.  And they’re everywhere.

Copra.  Our main export.  These are dried coconut meat baked on sidewalks under the sweltering sun.  Economic activities in this region are greatly affected by the price of copra.  As for the living conditions, politicians have always made sure that every citizen will have a shirt on their backs.  Literally, that is.

An alley for a backyard.. or  a front yard.

This is how things were before computers, gameboys, playstations, mobile phones and gadgets.  This is where healthy friendships begin – human contact, live!

When was the first time you got your own new bike?

notes:

Finally found time to use my Canon 450D again.  It’s been sitting in the dry box for weeks.  While the EF-S 17-55 is not as wide as the Lumix LX5, it wakes up faster from sleep and is a lot faster on the  focus.  It also intimidates little kids like the one on the above photo – he was smiling with glee until he saw me with a big camera in front of his face.

silent melodies

How we see the world is a reflection of how we feel, and this is how I see it.

 

photographing kids

 

Having a small camera that can be hidden from sight is a great way to take candid photos of children playing.

 

So I was able to walk into a group of children playing on a vacant lot unnoticed, until I pulled out my camera.  I’ve been spotted.

 

Getting mobbed by kids wanting to have their photograph taken is always a given.  One of these days I will sit down with them and ask them why, just as I should sit down with my own kids and ask them why they don’t want to be photographed.

 

Older kids need to look cool, so there’s no worry about getting mobbed.

 

And then there are kids who have been ordered to sit and face the wall.

a walk in Zamboanga City

So I found myself walking the streets of Zamboanga City in Mindanao.  The city scene shares a lot of similarities with Davao City, and probably with other cities in the Philippines as well, with the difference being the structures that feel as if time stood still.  The sidewalks are littered with buyers of gold and old coins, as well as mobile phones from unknown origins.  One of them even tried selling me a digital camera after making an offer for the one I was carrying.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I discovered that I still have a lot to learn about how to do my usual photo walk with a non-shooting companion.  There were some places I would have liked to go but I couldn’t leave my friend behind, and also because the place did have a reputation for being notorious.  So, I took a second walk by myself after dropping my friend off at the hotel.

I guess I will be shooting solo for some time.  More probably for a long time.

The latest challenge I’ve given myself is to minimize the visual clutter very common in crowded places.  By limiting the “noise”, I learn to be even more deliberate with my shots, and not surprisingly I only have 66 photos from the trip, 20 of  which were shots taken from the airplane window.

This is an old man who asked to be shot, and that’s me across the street.  People are indeed friendlier to small cameras and they don’t ask questions.

That’s Melody.  People paid her a lot of visits years ago, but not anymore.

 

Looking at the last 2 photos, I’m sure I was lost and was walking in circles.  (3rd photo has the same background)  Getting lost is part of the adventure, but thankfully I haven’t found the need to scroll through my shots to help me get my bearings.  Not yet.

Camera notes: (Panasonic Lumix LX5)

Have to remember that it takes seconds before the camera is ready to shoot, and that means anticipating a scene much, much earlier.  Camera settings are also easily missed when trying to compose the shot, especially when the camera is held with outstretched arms.

turtle beach

It’s been weeks since I’ve really gone out to do some photography on human interest.  Aside from spending 3 weekends with the family, I guess I needed a break from shooting people.

It’s really nice to try other things once in a while, like releasing baby turtles back to the ocean….

….or enjoying a beautiful sunset by the beach.

camera notes:

For this trip I only brought my Panasonic Lumix LX5.  It doesn’t need a separate bag, and is quite easy to hand it to anyone to take photos of me.  Point and shoot is what it really is, and it didn’t require a lot of fumbling with the camera settings.  Knowing what to do with a camera really helped a lot, thanks to spending countless hours learning the ropes.  I shot mostly in Aperture Priority mode and made adjustments on the exposure compensation as needed and nothing more.  I guess I am past that stage of needing to carry a big DSLR all the time, not that I won’t be using my aging EOS450D, but I will be bringing it less often when traveling.  And then I laugh at myself for realizing only now that I could have saved myself a lot of back ache the big camera has been giving me.

Dambana ng Kagitingan

It’s been a while since my last post and I have been on vacation with my family the past week.  We were in Bataan and visited Mt. Samat where the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) is situated.  This place holds a lot of history, most famous of which is the Fall of Bataan and the Death March on April 9, 1942.  We were just a few days from the 70th memorial commemoration of this historical event.  My sincerest respects for the Filipino and American soldiers who gave up their lives fighting for our freedom.

under the great big sky

Last Sunday was spent photographing my daughter’s first hand ball tournament and teaching my son to drive the car.  I’ll be getting a good dose of adrenalin rush a few more weeks before my son starts to learn how to properly drive a car.  It was also the first weekend with a recent purchase, a Panasonic Lumix LX5, which will primarily be used for personal stuff, and one I will have with me wherever I go.  I have lots and lots of photos of everyday people, but only a few of everyday family photos.  I should be able to get candid shots with this at home, unlike the big camera which sends everybody running.

So I’ve decided to take this new toy for a spin.  The image quality is not something to write home about, but this was taken after sunset, and I like the dynamic range it captures compared to my aging 450D.  Knowing now what to expect from this shooter, I better remind myself to be out earlier when the light is still favorable.