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Let us not prevent fire.
Anne Frank must have been really steamy one afternoon:
“Peter didn’t say another word about his parents; we just talked about books and about the past. The boy has such warmth in his eyes; I believe I’m pretty near to being in love with him. He talked about that this evening. I went into his room, after peeling the potatoes, and said that I felt so hot.” – Friday, 3 March, 1944
Gap. This is how she lays her hand on matters. She only dares to feel the superficial situation. I demonstrate to her how she does it by showing this photograph. She smiles and vanishes.
March 2, 2006, UP Village
My Noisy Neighbor. Budoy wakes up and scolds me about the grungy guitar noise that I was making. You see, he is the landlady’s nephew.
March 11, 2006, UP Village
Quack. You can bet that somewhere across this island there will be some fresh duck dumplings.
March 15, 2006, PHILCOA
Grooving To The Groove. We dance in the afternoon sun. We remember the times when we were forced to take a nap. We are free.
March 19, 2006, Cavite City
McDonalds And The Black Hole. Seated at the left side of the bus, I saw this large patch on the window with cracks surrounding it. Then there was McDonalds in the background. “Is this not a good image to capture?” I asked myself.
March 20, 2006, Noveleta, Cavite
Etchende’s Amigo!!! In short, “Do you understand that you must not pretend to be a student to save P1.50 of gruelling jeepney fare?” That was what I did when I found out that I only had P7.25 in my pocket. I was glad that was a Friday.
March 22, 2006, Quezon Ave.
Plumeria. Everybody thought that the Plumeria trees died after the typhoon. They shed all their leaves and flowers. But then, the damp soil was fuming with this particular scent. A scent that was popular among cemeteries.
March 25, 2006, UP Village
Old Hag Syndrome. This is the point where everyone can fly out to space, meet his guardian angel or plainly run away from a beast who likes to sit on people’s chest.
March 26, 2006, Cavite City
Reversing Roles. “So how does it make you feel? Well, I really think you should quit smoking.” – How Does It Make You Feel by Air
March 31, 2006, SM Megamall
Camera Information:
Model: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II
Categories
Do you have a significant other?
Paper-heart cutouts. Valentine cards. Red roses. Cherry-flavored condoms. It is the Love Month we all waited for. To those who were lucky enough to snag a partner, did it remind you of Junior-Senior High School Prom? Or were you single your whole life?
Anyhow, this series has nothing to do with love or even the hint of it.
Sweet Sunset. It was just another day that gone by. Outside the glass window, I noticed that the sky exhibited a vast scatter of cumulus. It almost seemed like chunks of clouds would swarm towards our building.
February 2, 2006, Shaw Blvd., Pasig City
Together, Side By Side Here inside the train was a concoction of pungent body odors and weird-smelling perfume and cologne. I woke up after spending a day at a construction site. I did not brush my teeth. I did not take a bath. I did not even change my clothes. As the sun began to swelter, my armpits began spewing uncontrollable perspiration. Did I mention that I was a walking stink? Well, I did mention that I rubbed elbows and arms and shoulders with pretty yuppie girls. They are not in the picture, though.
February 3, 2006, MRT, Quezon Ave.
Sisterly. From the pit bull breed come two of the most offbeat-looking puppies, Liit-bull and her evil sister. You have to dismiss the idea that I am fond of disparaging puppies by putting them in a bird cage. It was converted to a puppy cage a long time ago. So…
February 5, 2006, Cavite City
Spooning. Quesong-Puti just got out of bed. She was awoken by her lazy-ass stepmother to be a prop for a mini-charitable institution. She was too clean for a street kid (or baby).
February 9, 2006, MRT Station, Shaw Blvd.
Holdup! To those who agree that I am hopelessly handsome, turn your head to the right, raise your left hand and clench the safety handlebar. Five out of six – not bad.
February 11, 2006, Quezon Ave.
The French Jazz Crooner. Anjeline de Dios, a famous jazz singer, with her band played at Stir-Crazy Bar & Restaurant. Before the gig, they were given Tinolang Manok and iced tea for dinner. After the first set, a bucket of chilly San Mig Light whammed on our table. It was through the courtesy of the band which I will now call, “Anjeline and Friends”.
February 15, 2006, Stir-Crazy, Amethyst Drive
Finger-Stylin’. Jordan Hilario started out his musical career in a recording studio working as a janitor and messenger. Through the sounds of the guitar that leaked out of the booth during sessions, he was inspired. Now, he is just bumming around every Starbucks, playing instrumental guitar music seasonally. For more information, http://www.jordanhilario.com.
February 17, 2006, Starbucks, Shangri-La Plaza, EDSA
Kundiman. Some blind guy makes fun of the songs he is singing by changing certain lyrics into his own sadistic choice. He was not this blind guy. This one was too emo-serious and dead-stiff – sang songs by Coldplay and Hoobastank. More like “sank songs by Ice-coldplay and Hoobastink”. Get it? Heh. I am so funny.
February 24, 2006, Quezon Ave.
Moka. This hyperactive Dachshkal was not asking me to open the swinging door… because he can actually fly and land over our two-meter high stone wall.
February 26, 2006, Cavite City
Camera Information:
Model: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II
Categories
Hello, Have A Happy New Year.
Predictably, this was a beginning of something repetitive; boring yet productive – it was kind of bland. Unfulfilled resolutions and the like were bound to happen and I blamed it on my superficially mature consciousness where the fondness of thinking out of boredom arises.
Here are nine images I nitpicked from thirty-one folders of daily photojournalistic preoccupation:
Gambling Mommy. It was past 2PM when poor Boggsy was not able to bear the tiredness of her whole day’s restless play. As her mother cradled her, she quickly sank into a deep slumber. A regular lullaby like Tong-it fuss futilely bothered her.
January 1, 2006, Cavite City
Orange Alms. I was expecting a change in view while going down the stairs of an MRT Station. As I was hoping that the generosity of new year people would collaterally reach the poor, I came to my senses.
January 2, 2006, Shaw Blvd. MRT Station
Le Tigre. I photographed a blue sky and had it printed on a ten by ten meters of tarpaulin. In my makeshift studio, the roof was built like that of a hangar. I opened it for a natural cast of the afternoon light. The blue sky as backdrop and my stuffed toy, Le Tigre, as subject, I ignored the Rule of Thirds and clicked away.
January 8, 2006, Cavite City
Couple of Vendors. Why not wander around PHILCOA and document the night’s activities? Why not hangout with the public during my free time? Why not? These were the questions that pushed me to take my camera down PHILCOA one ordinary night.
January 9, 2006, PHILCOA
Early In The Morning. The sun was casting a blinding light as early risers strode their way to wherever. As early as 7AM, the Metro Aides are already scattered along San Miguel Ave. doing their daily cleaning tasks.
January 12, 2006, Lourdes St., Ortigas Center
Seabreeze. At any time of the day, the seabreeze never ceases to relax and stir good mood on people who visit Samonte Park. Just located at the back of Cavite City Hall, the seawall serves as a sanctuary even for distraught teenagers and penniless balot vendors.
January 15, 2006, Samonte Park, Cavite City
Commonwealth. I asked my younger brother to watch my back as I set the camera to a 30-second exposure at the PHILCOA overpass. I took several images back and forth and fortunately, nobody tried to mug me.
January 21, 2006, PHILCOA
Off To Work. Traditionally, it is the father who works for his family’s living. The mother, a housewife, stays home and plays mahjong or yaps about showbiz gossips with her neighbors. What is the children’s duty? Their duty is to make sure that all the walls are covered with crayon drawings. The more it is abstractly executed, the better.
January 22, 2006, EDSA, Pasay City
The Homo Hunt. I observed the security guard at the left and the carpenter at the right. They were hunting each other but to their own exasperation, they just kept on tripping like that cat-and-mouse chase, Mappy.
January 25, 2006, Shangri-La Hotel, EDSA
Camera Information:
Model: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II
Categories
March 2006, Cavite City
Cavite City Public Market was once located along P. Burgos, a main road. Now, it is relocated to a reclamation area just beyond its past location. The structure of stalls and stores are more organized. Everybody misses the old market, though.
I was tasked to give our puppies away for free at the market; put them in a box with bright red sign, “Unwanted Puppies: Get One Take One”. I will take a photograph of the lucky candidate for adoption and his foster master to somehow ensure that he will be taken care of.
Every kind of peddler you can think of is prowling around the market. The best one I saw were peddlers selling bato-balani – a stone that “cures” dog bites.
At the meat and pork section of the market, grounds are damp, cats are rounding for leftovers, edible animal internal organs are hooked – dangling like decorations above.
It is fascinating to see sea creatures gasp for remaining life even after hours out of water. This sign means that they are fresh. I saw a vendor hammering the head of a fish because she could not slice it without flipping frantically. I think she had herself cut by its sharp fins. The thing was, the fish did not die.
Cheerful people are everywhere.
The first time I went here to take photographs, I gave them the printouts. I was even thinking of displaying them at the gates; covered in plastic and neatly arranged on a board. The very idea was already tedious, so I just looked for them one by one. Some people volunteered to give the pictures to their peers because they recognized them. Everybody was glad to see me.
You will never miss funny and witty signs in public places (and transportation).
Caimito’s Latin name is Chrysophyllum cainito. Now, this is the star apple and not balimbing.
If you are constipating, papayas and bananas are here to regulate your bowel movement.
Camera Information:
Model: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II
Additional Information:
From the original camera files, I edited the photographs using Adobe Photoshop CS2 in these following steps:
- Noise Ninja: Auto Profile
- Duplicate Layer
- High Pass Filter: 1.0 pixels – Topmost layer
- Blending Mode: Overlay
- Merge Layers
- Background Layer converted to Layer 0
- Straighten using photographic horizontal / vertical references (this is optional)
- Canvas Resize to 460 x 306
- Image Resize (equivalent to image cropping)
- Crop – Cropped Area: Delete
- Shadow / Highlight (default settings)
- Fade 50%
- Auto Contrast
- Duplicate Layer
- High Pass Filter: 1.0 pixels – Topmost layer
- Blending Mode: Overlay
- Opacity: 50%
- Merge Layers
- Save As JPEG – Quality: 12, Format Options: Baseline ("Standard")
After these, I edited the JPEGs using Adobe Lightroom Public Beta 3 in these following steps:
- Develop Module – Linear Contrast Preset
- Develop Module – Lens Vignetting – Amount: -75, Midpoint: 25
- Export – File Format: JPEG, Quality: 100, Resolution: 72
Categories
October 2006, Cavite City
Located on the Cavite National High School grounds, the Montano Hall and Stadium was one of the most sought-after sports venues in Cavite City. But now, it is forsaken; taken for granted due to budget constraints.
Treading round the oval was a rather gruff experience. What was once an agreeable track for athletes is now a shelter for wildlife.
During weekends, kids used to fly kites in the clear field. Even from kilometers away, people knew that kites buzzing up the blue sky were rooting from Montano.
It has almost been seven years since Southern Tagalog Regional Athletic Association (STRAA) organized a meet here.
In the grandstand, we were required to watch and support our classmates participating in different sports competitions. We squeezed ourselves in only to get seats at the front portion where teachers clearly saw that we were just goofing around. Everybody wanted the privacy of the outermost seats entailed.
Rooms underneath the grandstand were already inhabited by ghosts.
There were sweet canopies of trash.
Lastly, my all-time favorite – the graffiti on the walls; the love struck moments of high school life forever inked on temporary surfaces.
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Jesa, Mahal na mahal kita kahit mahal mo’y iba pero sana maturuan mo naman ang puso mo na mahalin ako. (I really, really love you even if you love someone else but I hope you will be able to teach your heart to love me.) By |
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Charmaine, I love you more than you’ll never now. Tracy |
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Mary Hope Reyes, Kung hindi magiging tayo papatayin kita. (If we will never be together, I will kill you.) By: OS |
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Cyrly #08 Youre Love |
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First Time I Alway Love You Jaycee |
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Kua Jhon Sana malaman mo na ikaw lang ang tunay kong mahal at pinapangarap na maging asawa! (I hope for you to know that you are the only one I truly love and dreaming of to be a partner in life!) |
Camera Information:
Model: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Lens: Canon EF Lens 50mm f1.8 II
Additional Information:
From the original camera files, I edited the photographs using Adobe Photoshop CS2 in these following steps:
- Background Layer converted to Layer 0
- Straighten using photographic horizontal / vertical references (this is optional)
- Canvas Resize to 460 x 306
- Image Resize (equivalent to image cropping)
- Crop – Cropped Area: Delete
- Auto Contrast
- Shadow / Highlight (default settings)
- Fade 50%
- Unsharp Mask (default settings)
- Fade 50%
- Neat Image – Preset: Remove Only Half of Noise
- Auto Contrast
- Save As JPEG – Quality: 12, Format Options: Baseline ("Standard")
After these, I edited the JPEGs using Adobe Lightroom Public Beta 3 in these following steps:
- Develop Module – Linear Contrast Preset
- Develop Module – Lens Vignetting – Amount: -75, Midpoint: 25
- Export – File Format: JPEG, Quality: 100, Resolution: 72
Categories
September 2006, Cavite City
It has been a while since I took a walk outside to the public market of Cavite City. All I had was my 50mm lens (Canon EF Lens 50mm f1.8 II). Compared to the 18-55mm lens (Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II), this is less versatile because I am the one who has to move to or away from the subject. I even nearly got hit by a pedicab because I got too far from the pavement while composing a shot.
People just went on minding their business as if wanting to be captured candidly. There were less pesky street kids who hang around wherever I went. I think the marketplace is already used to seeing me there occasionally (except for a DVD store owner who became commotive upon seeing the camera).
I waited for certain people and vehicles to pass by a scene before taking the shot. Most of the time, I positioned myself on the other side of the street from where the subjects were.
It was Sunday so most of the establishments were closed. Situated on the right is Dr. Yu’s clinic. I remember when I was about to die due to a dog bite, my father had me checked up here before letting me say my last prayer. The diagnosis was vertigo.
Nobody wants to buy this lot. I have seen this ad for the longest time.
Nothing changes on this part of Cavite City. The business central was busy as always. This is where pedicab drivers hangout while waiting for passengers.
They like to be on the spotlight. Sometimes they will push someone to be the subject then laugh at him while being photographed. Nevertheless, nobody (almost) hated my guts for poking the camera on their faces.
What you will see on the sidewalk, on every corner, are jewelry repair booths, watch repair booths, and umbrella and shoe repairers. Commonly, there is 999 on their mini-workshop. Maybe triple 9 is good luck for business establishments. Or have they already sold their souls to the devil?
Aside from the chunk of jeepneys parading Cavite City, the baby bus or mini-bus is one of the reliable means of transportation we have to reach beyond the outskirts of the city. It seems like a hybrid of a bus and a jeep. Busney does not sound good.
Aida’s is an old school beauty parlor. Nowadays, it is just a venue for pedicure and manicure services. This is one of my personal attractions in Cavite City public market because of its preserved 80s look. It came to being old-fashioned because of their belief that renovating the place will lose its luck. Almost fifty percent of the photographs were taken here.
It was already dark outside. It was a good thing to have f1.8 of aperture in my lens. The low-light condition was more bearable. While walking past Aida’s, I noticed that Central Barbershop was converted to some tiangge. It was an old-fashioned barbershop. There is a feeling of loss every time I see old establishments shut down for good. Unique Barbershop, though not as old as Central, sports a Fully Air Conditioned No Brownout sign.
Camera Information:
Model: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Lens: Canon EF Lens 50mm f1.8 II
Additional Information:
From the original camera files, I edited the photographs using Adobe Photoshop CS2 in these following steps:
- Background Layer converted to Layer 0
- Straighten using photographic horizontal / vertical references (this is optional)
- Canvas Resize to 460 x 306
- Image Resize (equivalent to image cropping)
- Crop – Cropped Area: Delete
- Auto Contrast
- Shadow / Highlight (default settings)
- Fade 50%
- Unsharp Mask (default settings)
- Fade 50%
- Neat Image – Preset: Remove Only Half of Noise
- Auto Contrast
- Save As JPEG – Quality: 12, Format Options: Baseline ("Standard")
After these, I edited the JPEGs using Adobe Lightroom Public Beta 3 in these following steps:
- Develop Module – Linear Contrast Preset
- Develop Module – Lens Vignetting – Amount: -75, Midpoint: 25
- Export – File Format: JPEG, Quality: 100, Resolution: 72