the big picture

Also the big picture, don't forget about the big picture. Or as they say, the long shot.

Jordan

*Baguio Ukay-Ukay with multiple Wifeys
**Click to enlarge

In the details

A worker's cutting board


Decadence and Corrosion


Just like you, I carry around a small camera with me, in case something catches my eye wherever I may be. It's like an exercise, a meditation on ordinary life, or a way to record something that happens to fascinate or disturb me. To see something striking in the commonplace, to capture a moment, design or detail unnoticed by others -- for me, it's an assertion of being in the world, embracing curiosity and the need to find meanings, and a way to counter alienation and the dulling effect of modern life on the senses. I also take pictures out of sheer fun, just to show you what I had seen that day. It can be as simple as that.

Like this photo of a cutting board used by a worker to install small tiles in a neighbor's house, with bits of flowers and leaves that had fallen from an overhanging sampaguita tree. Or this shot of a rusty roof full of cigarettes, which I noticed outside of an ukay-ukay (secondhand store) -- an enormous ashtray created by the tenants in the upper floors.

The beauty and ugliness that we humans create never ceases to amaze me.

Jo
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the everyday

I choose to shoot the everyday, to find those special moments that tend to be forgotten or ignored in the commonplace. Just like your laundry shots.

I myself am not sure how to do this. What I do though, when it happens, is stop for a moment, take out my camera, and shoot.

Sometimes you find them. Sometimes they find you.

Jordan
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*Mannequins being covered to protect them from dust during closing time.

Laundry Day

Photographs can also tell stories about something as commonplace (and essential) as doing laundry. Here are four snapshots taken during laundry day, in my father's yard which easily floods with soapy water, under the shade of a bamboo tree.

Sometimes, though, I get the itch to tell stories that are less commonplace, less safe, and put me outside of my comfort zone. I'm not always sure how and when to do this, but I suppose there will be times for me to really put my storytelling abilities to a test.

Jo
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storytellers

Photographs are like stories, and yes, they can be science fiction or fantasy stories too.

I'll sing to that.



Jordan
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*That ventriloquist dude--whose name escapes me right now--doing something not usually part of his repertoire: singing.

The unreal

Maybe she was dreaming about her youth or about life as she knows it. Or she could have been dreaming about some otherworldly realm, like those found in science fiction novels or movies. One should not underestimate how fanciful even a lola can be.

Through tricks of light and movement, images can be created that don't mirror any reality that we know of. Images can seem like dreams, nightmares, faraway galaxies, or alternate realities -- evoking a sense of wonderment, as we try to decide what we are looking at. A photo, like this one, doesn't reveal any truths. It's part of what I also like about photography, that chance to experiment, play, and imagine. Not everything we see is what it seems.

Jo
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*A boy bathing in a fountain of water and light at the Technohub in Quezon City.

Who am I to disagree

Good thing the guy has that cute anime girl beside him.

How about this lola (Grandma/Meemaw), all alone, commuting in a jeep. Is she dreaming of someone talking to her, like lovers do, in her youth?



Jordan
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Sweet dreams

I don't begrudge people the chance to catch a few winks whenever they can, especially in between the tiring work and difficulties that they endure. For instance, this man, who looks like a worker, was taking a nap outside of a 7-eleven convenience store along Recto Ave. in Manila. Napping allows for a bit of respite, a chance to rest and dream a bit -- maybe about the fantasy girl next to him?

Or perhaps about a decent wage and a life with fewer worries. Possibly, he doesn't even dream or forgets his dreams as soon as he wakes up.

Or like so many Filipinos, maybe he dreams about traveling the world and the seven seas. Are these sweet dreams? Or bittersweet?

Jo
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*Alluding, of course, to the Eurythmics' song... you know, from your era. :)

Catch your Winks

Also, don't forget those moments of sleeping while traveling.

Jordan
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*Passenger standing AND sleeping at the MRT.

Watch your step

Wherever you go, no matter the place or mode of transportation, always watch your step. And hopefully, while traveling, there will also be a moment or two for self-reflection and contemplation about the world around us.

Jo
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*Scenes in NYC

Bayad Po

Oh, travel again.

remember, bayad muna bago baba (pay your fare before you get down)...

Jordan
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*Passenger passing her pay to the Jeepney driver

Chasing the New Year

After one New Year's celebration comes another -- the Chinese New Year -- in just two weeks from now. Like this boy in the photo, chasing a balloon on New Year's Day, we're also chasing the New Year.

So, instead of rubbing Buddha's tummy like you suggested, I'll be rubbing my own tummy in pleasure, after eating good noodle soup, our favorite hopia, cold soy milk, and other delicious treats.

Jo
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*Remnants of New Year's Eve firecrackers and a boy playing on New Year's Day

Tummy Rub

I would've suggested reading what the stars would say, but they are a bit confused right now, courtesy of the latest astronomy kerfuffle.

Rub Buddha's tummy and just wish that we'll meet the pedicab duo again. I think that'll do it. :)

Jordan
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*Buddha statue at UP Shopping Center

Star of the pedicab

Some animals are comfortable being in the limelight, while others prefer to be more low-key. This dog, for instance, seems perfectly happy to be surrounded by a crowd of amused passersby, while his owner, a pedicab driver, just looks on. I took this shot during the 2010 Chinese New Year's celebrations in Binondo, and I'm curious to see if we'll run into this unusual duo again this year.

Jo
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*I used flash by accident in this shot, but I think it ended up being appropriate for the mood.

squeal

By the way, Babe wanted to inform the Catfather that, contrary to what was word on the street, "this little pig did not squeal."

Can he come out of hiding now by any chance?

Jordan
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Shhh, Shhh

Sure, when the Catfather isn't too busy standing guard.

Jo
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iz oh so quiet

The Catfather, he tells me that you should whisper it again—whatever it was you told me—to his ear.

Ktnxbai...

Jordan
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*Mister Mosh, the Mosh, Moshi, Moshi-mosh waiting for nomnom.

A whisper of love

... to you. :)

Jo
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*At the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila.

just

You just do it? Me too :)



Jordan
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*Adarna House Boys playing bball at dusk

Challengers

Yes, let's attend more art events this year and give our support to artists who inspire us and we believe in. Just like this photo-graffiti exhibit along España Ave. in Manila, quickly installed by a group of photographers as part of the Surfacing project, which documents and brings attention to human rights issues through photography. This is art taken out of the galleries and publications, and brought to the streets and to the heart of the public.

As for photography being art, well, it can be. And it can also be other things. To tell the truth, I don't really care to ponder too much about whether mine is art. I just do it.

Jo
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*The photograph exhibited on the wall is by Macky Macaspac (www.surfacingph.blogspot.com)

go places

Let us go make art and see more of it this year, dear.

So is photography, art? :)

Jordan
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*Nano Ching's LP Art at Silverlens Gallery

Go not gently

Yes, here's to the New Year, to facing the challenges that lie ahead, and to bearing witness to the beauty and heartache that surround us. Through our photography, let's "sing a song about this terrible sight"; through our work, let's show that we stand with the voices of truth. And throughout it all, let's rakenrol. :)

Jo
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*The Jerks at 70's Bistro during their 31st Anniversary Concert

cool licks

To the new year then.

Let us continue with our passions, no matter the challenges. Like The Jerks during their 31st Anniversary Gig at 70's Bistro, even with technical difficulties, the music continues, the show must go on.

As the young say nowadays: rakenrol.



Jordan
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