flying lesson

flying lesson

you know you can fly
you know you can
you know
you can
you fly

ghost pictures?

going through my archive, i noticed this strange white blur in one of these photos i'd taken a while back...



here's a zoomed in version...



i could't say exactly what it was. and then, 3 snapshots later, there it was again, that strange white blur...



taking an even closer look...



after another set of snapshots, i remembered that i'd taken photos of the lower floor of the house. then it occured to me that this wasn't just an ordinary house, it was a **funeral parlor**.



photos taken in samboan, cebu, january 2010

don't name the chickens

Don't Name the Chickens

Let them peck in the yard
As they please
Or walk over to stand
By the edge of the road.

The rooster strutting about
Will keep an eye on them,
Till it's time for them
To step under a tree

And wait for the heat
To pass and the children
To return to their toys
Left lying in the dust.

For, come Sunday,
One of the chickens may lose its head
And hang by its feet
From a peg in the barn.

*****

i came across this poem by charles simic last week, and it reminded me of this previous post i made a while back, where i thought the same thing...



taken on my trip to basay, negros oriental, january 2010

in the hidden corners of the world

you'd be surprised to learn that there are people sitting in hidden corners of the world, people that you never knew were there as you passed blissfully by, people that, as far as you're concerned, don't really exist. but they are there. you don't see them. but they see you.



banilad, cebu city, september 2010

don't drink the water

another photo from my archive, taken on my trip to the old CDCP mine, basay, negros oriental, january 2010



for more photos from that trip...

part 1 - the mill site ruins
part 2 - the open pit mines
part 3 - don't drink the water
part 4 - welcome to mars

the city of cats

The city of cats and the city of men exist one inside the other, but they are not the same city. Few cats recall the time when there was no distinction: the streets and squares of men were also streets and squares of cats, and the lawns, courtyards, balconies, and fountains: you lived in a broad and various space. But for several generations now domestic felines have been prisoners of an uninhabitable city... the cat of a recent litter seeks in vain the itinerary of its fathers...
- Italo Calvino, Marcovaldo or The Seasons in the City



picture taken in what was formerly paseo, cebu city, november 2008

overheard recently

one dude to his ofcmate: "bai... mura ikaw ra gyud karong lunes. mo sick leave gyud ko. di man unta ko paalsahon ug bug-at sa ako doctor, nya naka-alsa man nuon ko'g bug-at ganina... pagpangihi nako..."

****

an old man to another old man: "mayra gyud pinoy ang napakaslan sa ako anak. unsaon na lang inig-gakos nako sa akong apo nga anak ug amerkano, mosamot ug kabati ako nawng!"

****

kid 1: "1 million + 1 million, kahibaw ka pila? ha?! ha?!"
kid 2: "kahibaw kuno ka? di man gani ka kahibaw moihap kutob 100"

a sign of civilization

boracay, november 2009

a man said to the universe...

A man said to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."

- Stephen Crane, War is Kind



better viewed large :) click to view the large image

an old photo from my archive, taken from atop the marcelo fernan bridge overlooking the mactan strait, september 2008

put out the light, then put out the light: experiments with light, shadow, and perspective

first idea: a light bulb, and a hand coming out from the darkness to take it out...



then it occured to me... why not a candle? candles seem more fragile... they seem more "romantic" that way...



my first few attempts: a bit blurry, and the can at the base of the candle is visible. so i steady my grip and lower the camera's point of view... and this time, to make it eerier, with the perspective of someone about to put out the candle, as if we (as the viewer of the picture) were about to put out the candle, and whatever it is we had in mind (kill someone?) once the candle is dead... hehehe...



another perspective, with a 3rd person point of view...



photos taken july 2010

sanctuary

near cebu city hall, may 2010

in the shadow of heroes

at the luneta, manila, march 2010

the crossing

at the intersection of osmena boulevard and colon st., cebu city, march 2010

old pictures: the life of jose

another set of pictures i dug up from my archive :)

********

the second part of my "turning the camera somewhere else" series, this time on the office janitor jose. for the first part of the series, on the office security guards, click here.

lighting setup: just 1 remotely triggered flash with bond paper taped around the flash head to serve as d.i.y. snoot, for the spotlight effect.

taken at bigfoot center, cebu city, sept. 2009

old pictures: the watchmen

something i dug up from my archive :)

********

i wanted to do something different. but to do so, i first had to see some of the things photographers ordinarily do. after a quick scan of multiply posts from photography enthusiasts, i noticed a lot of the usual fashion magazine type shots of the same prettified models in various poses, with the apparent aim of selling you merchandise. so i decided to turn the camera somewhere else.

but on what? or on whom? i thought about this, and as i was preparing to go home from work, i noticed one of the security guards in the office doing his routine security check around the building. 'why not?', i thought. security guards can be one of the most invisible people in the world. maybe it's time to give them their turn on the spotlight. so here it is.

lighting setup: just 1 remotely triggered flash with bond paper taped around the flash head to serve as d.i.y. snoot, for the spotlight effect.

taken at bigfoot center, cebu city, sept. & oct. 2009

2 ways of looking at a perfume billboard

a perfume billboard... just the sheer size of its presence screams its demands at you: LOOK AT ME! LOOK! AT! ME!

even on rainy nights, watching the puddles form mirrors on the sidewalk, you mysteriously find eyes staring back at you, as if from underground... calling you out... seducing you...



yet, as you look back up, you remember that it's only there to be looked at, from a distance, with the barbed wire ready to shred your fingers if you even dare touch it...



photos taken at the foot of the flyover near TESDA, archbishop reyes ave., cebu city, august and september 2010

the spectators

downtown cebu city, march 2010

because we are all passing shadows

near cebu city hall, may 2010

appetizer

ginamos, carbon market, cebu city, april 2010

in memory of lost youth

skateboarders and a spectator, under the marcelo fernan bridge, mandaue city, june 2010