Where Butterflies Hang Out

I am at home out in the grassy areas as I am in the street. Yes, wildlife and nature photography is a passion that is second only to street photography for me. I find it fun to shoot insects, birds and whatever wildlife I come across; even in the urban jungle. But my favorite spot to look for creatures is just across the street from our house. You’d find a host of insects like butterflies, beetles and dragonflies there as well as spiders and bugs. I really enjoy shooting these critters.

But this set is about a place for butterfly lovers, Davao City’s Butterfly Sanctuary. I know for the wildlife photography purists this is tantamount to cheating. But trust me, it isn’t that easy to capture great shots of butterflies when there are is a horde of people scaring them away. And just a sneak peak, my next butterfly set will come again from that patch of greenery in front of our house.

Current Events: Independence Day and School Opening

I haven’t had the time to shoot this past week since I had obligations (and a ton of pictures to screen and edit). But the shutter bug in me wanted to squeeze some shots into my busy schedule.

Last June 12th the country celebrated the 112th Independence Day. Yesterday was the holiday because there is a law that states that National Holidays are moved to the nearest Monday. And I took this shot because I thought about our independence. Are we really enjoying independence or are we still being manipulated by foreign powers? And as this man sells replicas of the Philippine Flag, is the government capable of selling our independence?

Today is the first day of classes for all public schools in the country. I saw this kid walking home at noon and it made me wonder about the quality of education they are getting now. Or perhaps this kid just got bored and went home early.

Freedom in the Streets

Rules are made to be broken…

In my last entry, I was ranting about those that took photography and made it a science. And to be honest, that piece was a bit technical too. But last Sunday I had an opportunity to break rules and let my creativity (or lack thereof) run wild. We had a photowalk which I helped organize, as practice for the Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk in July and for the Kadayawan Festival in August.

Not having rules on composition and technique is what I love about Street Photography. Out in the streets, you really do not have the luxury of time to think of a plan for your shoot; you make do with what is in front of you. I really feel free when in the streets; not having to be bound by rules makes the experience a whole lot more fun. Spontaneity has always been one of my strong points and in Street Photography it is a valuable asset.

Here are some of the shots I took at Sea Wall, Davao City. And in the spirit of Photojournalism, they say that a picture is just as good as its caption; so I’ll write a bit of a commentary on these photos.

Looking UP

We all have to search for inspiration somewhere, why not look to Him for some?

Missing Piece

I went about observing this man for some time. He seemed engrossed at watching the couples and the children play. Perhaps he misses someone or something; maybe he misses home.

Fishing 101: The Fit N Right Way

This kid fishes with improvised tools: a plastic bottle for his spool, some nylon, a hook and a piece of metal as sinker. But he didn’t catch anything today.

Using Negative Space: Motion

I must admit something, when shooting I do not really think much about composition, framing and whatnots. I rarely even worry about my camera settings; I just shoot what looks good in my eyes. Never will I be very technical about taking pictures. For me, the scientific approach to photography dulls out the fun in taking pictures. Shooting should be as fun as seeing the final output.

The picture above is an example of what I mean when I do not worry about much. All that blue sky is what photographers and artists call negative space. The space is empty and in a single color. Sure the picture would have been much cooler if there were some clouds or other objects to depict the height of the plane. But seriously, you won’t have much time to think about that until after taking the shot; which is too late.

I will present to you another way of looking at it. We know the plane is flying and the negative space especially that which is a straight line from the plane’s nose is the direction it is heading. The negative space depicts motion in this still image because the mind will eventually think of where the plane is heading.

Being technical and saying that there is too much negative space or another angle would have been better is asking too much; especially when it involves capturing subjects in motion. This is a subjective hobby; and you can’t please everyone. What matters is that we enjoy and make others smile as well.

The Golden Hour

There is such a thing in the photography world as the Golden Hours. That is when the natural light is soft enough that you can easily work with it. Here in the Philippines, it’s usually around 5:30 to 6:30 in the morning and around 5:00 to sunset. I prefer to shoot in the mornings but the thing is it’s hard to wake up early.

And recently, I have been trying to shoot in another little window during the Golden Hours. There is about five or ten minutes of every day when the sky turns orange. It is absolutely the perfect time to shoot dark silhouettes of objects such as trees and buildings.

I wish to shoot more at the Golden Hour. If only my day job permitted me to do so, I’d do it every day.