The Flooded Streets

Climate change has certainly been in the spotlight for the past weeks with those monster storms in Australia. Floods, at least, flooding of city streets during heavy rains is very common in Davao City. As far back as in my childhood days, flooding has been a problem in this city. And in recent years, it has gotten a whole lot worse.

A couple of Saturdays ago, I was stuck in Victoria Plaza, a local mall, with Anna. We met up there to go to another mall to watch a movie. But it was called off on the account of rain. The flooding was so severe that we decided just to eat and hang out at a coffee shop on the mall grounds. Before proceeding to the coffee shop, I got curious and took a closer look at how bad the flooding was. With camera in hand, and inspired by the Bad Weather Photos by Danny Santos, I took a few clicks. Then realized I had the perfect vantage point for panning shots.

On the first set of clicks, I got my first keeper.

Then, I waited patiently and got another one.

The pair of photos I got were the ones that I liked the most. It was hard to get panning shots but I had fun. I know composition is key to a good photo, but when your subject is moving, it’s a different thing all together. What matters is that I had fun taking these shots. And I do hope to take some more bad / extreme weather shots and perhaps make a portraiture set out of it in the near future. For now, panning shots keep the boredom away.

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.

The Ugly Truth

Street photography is my favorite field in photography; it shows the realities we face every day. I find it also appealing because I get to shoot from the hip and in burst mode. Out on the streets, I don’t worry much about composition or settings; I just shoot what is available because everything happens so fast.

On the day when our beloved city celebrated its 73rd founding anniversary, I was out on the streets shooting the festivities. I never expected that the shots I liked best were the ones that showed not the colors of the parade but the ugly truth about life on the streets. As we celebrated, there were people walking about, sticking their heads, even half of their bodies, inside the garbage bins looking for something to sell to the local junk shops or food. It is sad to think that we were celebrating while they starved. After seeing the half starved kid being carried by her mother, I lost interest in the parade; my interest shifted to the people that were there but not for the parade but fighting for their survival.
I know that it isn’t really pretty to look at, but I’d rather shoot pictures showing the real plight of the people than the glitz and glamour of parades and festivals. This is the ugly truth: there are people out there that are starving and need our help.

I hope we can make a difference.

Under the Blazing Summer Sun : The 73rd Araw ng Dabaw

Well, two weeks has passed since the 73rd Araw ng Dabaw, but its only now that I have time to post some of the pictures I took during the events.

I went out on the streets to shoot the dance competition and the grand parade. I endured the blistering heat of the midday sun just to shoot. It was my first time watching the Araw ng Dabaw in a very long time. I remember the days when I watched the event with my mom and siblings; that was ages ago. Shooting at the event brings back memories of my childhood.

Anyhow, I managed to get a few good shots of the parade and dance competition. Sadly, the event wasn’t as colorful as I was expecting. It’s all for experience sake.

This is my favorite photo from the whole set:

A Walk in the Park

On a bright Saturday afternoon, after visiting my dentist, I decided to take a walk in the nearby People's Park. All I had with me was my camera with its battery nearly empty; but that didn't stop me from taking pictures. I never expected that I'd find a whole lot of people inside because of the heat from the mid-day sun. That day made me wish I had a very long telephoto lens with me so I could sneak up on those who were sitting in the shade. Here's a pair of photos from my expedition inside People's Park.

H-H-W-W! :)


Waiting Patiently...

Creature of the Night

In recent days, I have found a liking to shooting at night. Light streaks in photos really make my day. I don’t know what it is that draws me to the light but it really does fascinate me. And besides, it’s much more convenient for me to shoot at night after work. I just wish that there are more places for me to shoot at night. If you have ideas on places where I can shoot then please do leave comments. Also, I wish that our city has underground power lines rather than those hanging on poles; it sort of ruins the shot when you see dangling wires everywhere. Here are a few of my recent shots in the nightscape genre.

The Playground

I remembered that as a kid growing up in a community of well-off families and going to a pseudo-prestigious school, my mom always reminded me to count my blessings. She always said that we were lucky to have the things we had. I didn't really understand what she meant until I was a bit older because back then, everyone else in our community had more than what we had. I didn't grow up envying the other kids but there were also times that I wished I had more. Of course, I was a kid, and every kid wished for the best toys and stuff.


Just last week, I remembered what my mom always told me. I was attracted to a bunch of school kids playing on a felled tree. Sure, I played around dead trees and other dirty environments before but back then it was more of a choice. The kids I saw didn't have much of a choice; they didn't have a playground at their public school. The experience made me look back at what I had when I was a kid and realized how lucky I was even though back then my family didn't have much of the luxuries other families enjoyed. I felt that taking photographs of these school kids was my duty and it wasn't for artistic purposes. I matured a bit more while taking these shots. I cannot begin to describe the thoughts running through my head during the time it took to capture the images. But the kids had fun even in such conditions; I couldn't say that it was fun for me. Perhaps enlightening would be a better term.

These kids still find reason to smile. Kids will be kids. Ignorance to reality is bliss. But then again, how can I tell that then do not know what their reality is? Perhaps, they just chose to ignore it and just have fun.