EDDIE'S PHOTO BLOG

the youth of bhutan

2010-09-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

photos i took of bhutanese kids during our trip a few months ago.

seven years in tibet, but just 16 days in bhutan

2010-05-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

dasho penden wangchuk, secretary of ministry of home and culture, invited us to dinner at his place. and upon reaching his sala, i saw these frames on the wall. his son was the dalai lama of seven years in tibet! joy met him on subsequent visits but failed to take his photo. dasho penden is a well-respected government official whose home and culture ministry curiously administers the police as well as cultural affairs. he was formerly governor of eastern bhutan at the time of insurgency in the 80s. madam wangmo, his wife, runs a nursery school within the compound. she bakes their own bread, makes great peanut butter and strawberry jam!

the outstanding ate cita esmao

2010-02-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

she texted me recently to let me know that she was nominated outstanding alumna of their school. she was a graduate of adamson university. a few days ago, i received word that she made it. she is recognized as one of adamson's outstanding alumni!!! i featured her in one of my blogs some time ago as one of two peasant leaders who helped me keep my faith in the filipino. she was one of the health workers i trained in a small barrio in tayabas, quezon, many years ago. she was the only college graduate in the group of health workers i trained. she is now a social development worker organizing farmers and actively advocating a genuine agrarian reform.

mabuhay, ate cita!!!

highlights of UERM '84 silver jubilee celebration, part 1

2009-02-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

the week's activities of UERM '84 prior to gala night. (jiji's party photos were taken by dr. junet lago; nora and granddaughter photo was taken by her daughter, a new rf user, aliana.)

the dead sarimanok in UP

2008-12-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

the last sighting

the ranchero's hat

2008-09-09T04:15:00.000-07:00

the hat got home and my son tried it on. i went around bukidnon wearing it. but it looks better on joy.

take up film spool for kiev 41

2008-07-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

pagsi's boys at home

2008-05-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

with a glimpse of the controversial hanging crib on upper left

"finally, i get enough space," my eldest son breathed out as he passed by, making sure the mother and i heard.
his batchmates from dulaang sibol spent last night at our place for the first time. dan had been wanting to have this get-together but he said we did not have enough space. and that was one of the main reasons for the renovation.
they were a relatively subdued bunch of kids but i woke up once in a while to the burst of laughter and occasional jeering. earlier, joy reminded dan to keep everything down past midnight. "nakakahiya sa neighbors". they were up until around 4 AM. i finally woke up this morning to take some photos of how they used up the space we had provided for them.

we did not really add space. cliff, our architect, just tore some walls down.

a website for rangefinderfilipinas

2008-05-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

http://rangefinderfilipinas.com

it is our new website. topics regarding rangefinder cameras and film photography will be covered in this forum. membership is free and the people who started this are just great.

peasant leaders

2008-05-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

"araw ng magsasaka" is still in october but i recently unearthed some black and white photos i took years ago. the one above was taken sometime in the 70s and the one below was in the 80s.
kuya oca (adult male) was the first peasant leader i ever met. i and some other upscans spent two weeks in the barrio where he resided. actually, he mistook us for members of some political organization when we arrived at his home. "hindi pa handa ang mga lider ko," he said. it took him a few seconds to realize that we were just a bunch of students for summer "immersion".
back then i saw how able a leader he was. he made it to UP kuya oca had to drop out on his second year because his parents could not afford the upkeep. his father had better use for his extra pair of hands as a sacada. during cory's ascent to power, he became a towering figure in the left-of-center movement of southern tagalog peasants. to him i owe the early beginnings of my social consciousness.

right after passing the medical boards, i opted to work for the farmers. this was 1985 and i worked with a team of organizers in the foothill communities of mt. banahaw, quezon. we aimed to form a federation of coconut farmers. i was the only doctor. and i handled the health program for the different communities. the military called us communists. and the NPA labelled us as CIA spies. but in truth, we were part of the Center for Community Services of Ateneo de Manila. and to those in the know, that should explain the dilemma on labels.
one of the community health workers i trained in the mid 80s, cita (the woman with stethoscope) is now a peasant leader of a national organization of coconut farmers. back then she was a mother with three lovely kids. she wanted to learn so much about how to care for her family and her neighbors. she was a natural leader as people approached her for advice that are not just medical in nature. now she struggles with national concerns.

show and tell time at the clinic

2008-05-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

it takes an hour to treat an rff member. 20 mins for the acupuncture treatment and 40 mins to discuss rangefinder camera. uro's visit did not need too much discussion. i hastily took out my camera and started shooting.

he came over with a camera hot on the egroup discussion.

he recalls that he reluctantly settled for some lf cameras for a nikon slr which he wasn't pleased with. there was no money-back policy with the legendary strong camera shop. instead the shopkeeper shoved him three bulky cameras for the slr he was returning.
mr. strong assured him, "just keep it. just keep it."

usb turntable on audition

2008-05-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

romy, a patient and fellow vinyl lover, announced that his balikbayan box of analogue goodies has arrived. and in it are two brand new usb turntables.

but he will be too busy for the whole month and asked if i was interested in trying one out. he needn't ask, actually. i had to warn him that he was lending at his own risk because i might have a tough time returning. well, that afternoon i got the box still sealed and smelling new.

and as soon my last patient walked out the door, i started installing. it was up and running in just a few minutes. and, a whole album of benny goodman was converted to mp3 in less than an hour. it takes me twice the time and three stages to do that with the set-up that i have.
and the music sounded great on my ipod. and romy is not selling. but i can have it for a month, he texted.

james curtin (aka james morena)

2008-04-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

he was again there sitting on the gutter raising his hands to greet us. this is another morning for a miracle, he shouts. i asked why. he says it is always so whenever we visit him.
he is quite glib.
he reached for what he called his "most precious possessions" from his plastic grocery bag and showed me this picture with a list of songs he used to sing. he used to be a club singer until mt. pinatubo and, i suspect, old age displaced him. but his manners are still stellar.
i told him that i have been blogging him on internet. he responded, "sorry, i don't have internet to see it."

welcome breaks from the routine

2008-04-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

melvin, my suki audiophile dealer, had it delivered last monday. i installed it yesterday and i was pleased with the full-bodied sound of this entry level product. i can again play LP music in my clinic! music from a needle for patients stuck with needles!

and this sustains me, too -- needles with burning common mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). Joy thought it is high time i get my acupuncture with moxibustion in our "refugee center."

and this morning, i met james again at the end of my morning brisk walk. he was quite jovial when we saw him. the homeless senior ciitizen will be seen on PTV4 on friday, may 2, at 1 PM. there will be a concert at the circle and he will be singing a song. he had two songs to choose from for friday. and he sang them both while joy and i patiently stood and listened. his diction was not only good, he can actually sing well! he asked which one he should sing. the first was an english love song "boulevard" and the second was a tagalog "bawal na gamot". i thought the love song was better but he said he preferred the socially relevant tagalog song. and, the man reminded us to watch him on tv as we headed back to our temporary (yet more fit to be) home.

today, he said that his father comes from phoenix, arizona and that his family perished in the mt. pinatubo eruption. there is a pack of philip morris cigarettes in his pocket and his left leg remains swollen. he called quezon circle his "home".

in the midst of the food crisis

2008-04-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

a genuine agrarian reform program is key to industrialization. that is my cherished conviction. taiwan did it. south korea did it, too, at the point of park chung hee's guns. and so i asked a patient of mine, a finance expert and former government official if we can still do it. he answers, "that would be an inefficient route."
true to his technocratic form, he was thinking industrialized agriculture. he further adds, "and we need to control population."
by this time, i regret asking the question.
these are photos i took some 20 years ago. my friends went to lucban last saturday to take photos of the rice harvest quite aptly with the ongoing rice crisis. i look forward to seeing those photos and see how much has changed.

two more weeks

2008-03-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

my two college kids want more space for their friends. the wife wants to move out of the fast pace of the city and live in the province. and i just want more light! well, i consulted someone to do all three to the house.

the original house was cozy but cramped. and in spite of the big doors and windows, ventilation and lighting was still poor.

and voila! light and space! friends and relatives wonder how we can live under such exposed circumstances. the idea seemed too radical.

they are putting a big hole on the roof to create a cooler internal environment and, definitely, more light and guaranteed storm-proof (hopefully). they pruned the mango tree to give way to a "treehouse" -- just a platform where joy and i can get infested by mosquitoes at night as we lay and gaze at the stars. and here is joy with our designer cliff espinosa.

call it a leap of faith but i made no mistake in getting cliff to create the space the kids demand, the feel of a vacation house right in metro manila to please the wife and lots of natural light for my photography! cliff simply calls it HOME the way it should be in the philippines -- with lots of light, space and good ventilation.

living as a refugee

2008-03-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

shifting gears from workplace to home has been tough lately. a flight of stairs and a gate help as reminders. and a sign that says "private" tells me i am entering "home". perhaps, others would love this situation where one does not have to hurdle traffic and pollution. but i miss my "cave" where i can spend some time listening to music from my gyrodec. somehow, the woes and sorrows of patients that repeatedly play in my ears are replaced by the big sounds of my favorite jazz and classical albums. and my family charitably grants me this personal space alone in that cave, just before dinner. and when i get phone calls, they know what to say, "sorry, my 'tatay' is busy resting". i miss home. and it will take one more month for renovation to finish.
the mind, however, will always find ways to cope. i am glad i have my other passion -- the camera -- and whatever visual delights i can take on. the wife understands, as usual. otherwise, she will have no rest either.

zen and the moskva 5

2008-03-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

after three weeks, the medium format camera from ukraine finally came. i am thankful the post office did not charge anything over the usual Php35 fee for the rickety camera. i did give the old ladies hopia in appreciation. however, i was a bit disappointed to see that the rf focus mechanism off. calmly, i wrote alex_photo about it. he apologized and maintained that he tested it before shipping. i told him that i have sent it to jay for repairs. and, during the holy week, jay healed it with the usual gratis et amore. (thanks again, jay!) he said that some mechanism got loose with shipment, most probably.
so here are some of the photos in 6x9 format:

moskva 5 has a lot of caveats. and i had mishaps along the way. in spite of the double exposure safeguard, i goofed up twice. (i swear i advanced the film, or didn't i?) it is not for those who are trigger-happy either for there are a million things one has to do before the "decisive moment".
loading the 120 film and making sure the back is secure takes some care. in this case, i used the kodak tmx 100 which costs me Php275 for 8 shots! (i am saving the ilfords a patient gifted for later when i am better at it.) then focusing, aperture, speed adjustment and cocking the camera can be so confusing as they are all there just behind the lens. (oh, and, one has to adjust speed first before cocking lest you want to shorten the life of your moskva).
handling this camera entails three major things -- Presence Of Mind. you have to have all three! and, this is how i like my camera for it is making me a buddhist monk of sorts. the moskva 5 may just be the tipitaka of my photography.

edel's legacy

2008-03-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

Today, last year, my dear friend Edel died.

I woke up early. And as I sat on the toilet, I wondered why they had to call the toilet a TOILet since it is not a job. Perhaps, the person who coined the word has a severe constriction. And comfort room can’t even describe the immense satisfaction one gets with the exquisite experience. And, as I neared nirvana, I experienced a gestalt moment -- a realization of the great legacy Edel left behind.

He survived seven years of ALS when three is the norm. He clung even when others who dearly loved him wished he would pass on for his own sake.

Because he loved life. And his great passion for the earthiest and the most sublime is what I am dwelling on today on his first death anniversary. Those who had the fortune of knowing Edel as a friend/lover/and even enemy know what I am talking about.

Masarap mabuhay!!! Salamat, Edel, for that legacy.

Now I am ready. Off I go for the early morning mass, the columbary and the great breakfast to mark the death of a great lover of life!

carina in prayer
carina and dear friends
family and close friends pay respects at the columbary
breakfast at sulo
joy, marj and ted
daisy

the elderly fil-am beggar

2008-03-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

"i hope you won't tire helping me, brother." his veneer of good english is rudely broken by the mire of his dire poverty. james cutter is a beggar at the quezon memorial circle. he is an american mestizo who he sits behind the restaurants, along the walk with a plastic cup in one hand. he is my usual last stop for the morning exercises. for days though he was out. joy and i thought something serious had happened to him. he reappeared yesterday with a new sign. he also showed his swollen knees and complained of asthma. he does not know that i am a doctor. i have not even introduced myself. but i wonder what his real story is. below is a photo i took with my zorki 1. (yup, i lug a film camera even with my exercises).

i wanted to tell him to delete "me" before asthma. maybe, tomorrow i will, when i see him.
these are previously posted photos of the gentleman:
above photo was taken with a rolleicord tlr.

he has a collage of photos he took of celebrities. i have not seen his camera. i hope it is also a rangefinder.

a 1957 camera delivers

2008-03-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

the leica m2 and summicron 35 with ilford hp5 plus film processed on jay javier's home-brewed parodinal.

vincent de guzman's "skin deep" at the PETA theater.
the wife in our temporary home.

the developing solution spilled when my youngest son did the customary shaking of the tank. the fluid level is visible on the photos. i also forgot to set the scanner to black and white. it gave the sepia effect on the second photo. the first photo was shifted to black and white mode on photoshop. but my 11-year-old son and i had fun even with the mishaps. he always looks forward to our film-processing sessions.

my sleepy partner

2008-03-10T21:47:00.001-07:00

she sleeps again. but she is ready to spring back to life anytime. and shoot photos. her devotion is as steady as the stars. and her sleep is but a twinkle.

(photo taken with leica m6, summicron 35, kodak 100 film).

(photo taken with epson rd1s, voigtlander 15).

holen, turumpo at luksong-tinik

2008-03-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

mga batang naglalaro ng holen -- uso pa rin naman pero may "battle be-daman" na. nais ko sanang turuan sila kung paano ang mas mahusay na paraan ng pagpapatalsik ng holen. nagpigil na lang ako dahil taimtim ang kanilang paglalaro. at sa pagsundo ng aking anak, napansin ko ang "kakaibang" mga laro ng ibang mga bata -- mga tradisyunal na laro tulad ng luksong-tinik at turumpo -- sa isang pribadong paaralan dito sa lunsod, sa manila waldorf school. (photo taken with epson rd1s, summicron35).

my third yashica gsn

2008-03-02T16:08:00.001-08:00

perhaps, the law of attraction is operating here. the yashica electro 35 gsn was my first camera. i lost it some years ago. i longed for it. the lens of that camera is incisive! last week, i received, as a gift, the third yashica electro 35 gsn. it is fully operational. lens has some small spotty molds that will probably have no effect. the case and lens cap are in pristine condition. i have cleaned the viewfinder. light seals replaced. the yellow rf patch is intact. the light meter is working.

i better work on my wishlist while the law is still operating. i am dreaming of a leica mp. just one. ;)

gerry sabado knocked them all out!!!

2008-02-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

besting 114 entries, gerry wins first and third place in the camera club of the philippines photo shoot. and, he gets to be the photographer of the month. congrats, gerry!!!

Yashica 35s

2008-02-02T22:13:00.001-08:00

i received another yashica 35 GSN. this time it is the hong kong version. and now that i have two, i thought that it was ok to open one up.
the hong kong gsn's shutter release button is stuck, anyway. with the help of matt's website i did my major overhaul.

it was corroded all over.
but the baseplate was in mint condition.the plunger got cleared when i turned the screw ccw thereby loosening it a bit and getting the lever out of the way. and the shutter button started to work. it was so easy!!! but in the process i cut the flash sync wire. and since we have been internal refugees. i had to get back home to get my soldering gun and iron to fix the problem.
i also did some cleaning. the viewfinder including the patch came out clearer. and with renewed confidence, i opened the other yashica. but i still wonder where the yellow patch is. i can only guess where it is. and so, here are two yashica 35 GSNs ready for light proofing and shooting. the viewfinders are clear. the patch in the japanese GSN is murky. now where are my light seals? we just moved house temporarily because the old house is undergoing repairs and everything is in boxes still.
and i must say this was a big help: http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/electro_inside/index.html

rfilipinas sideline

2008-01-27T14:56:00.001-08:00

on the way home from the photo shoot in pangasinan, we dropped by a market for some local cigars one of the members. a kind old woman had these beautifully aged hands that photojournalist luis and a few others were able to capture. see also http://luisliwanag.multiply.com/photos/album/41/RFilipinas_in_Pangasinan#45

photos taken with leica m6, summicron 35, lucky 100, parodinal 1:50.

rolleiflex photos again

2008-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

thanks, uro! these are the photos i took from the tlr you gave me. they are of my favorite balikbayan-cousins with my mom. (rolleiflex tlr, ilford hp5 plus 120, parodinal 1:100).

a gift

2008-01-16T05:24:00.001-08:00

the one i repaired is back to its owner. this one is a gift from a friend. and all it needed was a mcgyver fix. it is now ready to use.

it is old and shabby but everything is working. the lenses are a little fuzzy.
the latch needed repair. it would not shut tight. a stud on the body to keep it in place is missing.
so with the help of cyanoacrylate glue and a small screw, i made my own stud on the latch.
it can now securely close shut and protect the film inside. it can use some cosmetic though but that can wait. a roll of 120 film awaits in my drawer.

second roll on rolleiflex

2008-01-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

james cutter of quezon circle.
joy on her mac.
my workplace.

salgado family.
mario.

prewar rolleiflex tlr, kodak tmx 100 processed with parodinal 1:100 for 15 mins at 20C, with side 2 of gershwin's porgy and bess RCA three LP recording.

ROLLEIFLEX PHOTOS

2008-01-04T04:32:00.000-08:00

joy teaching qi gong.
luisa from school 1.
luisa from school 2.
mara and james.

photos from a pre-war rolleiflex with kodak tmx 120, processed with parodinal at 1:100 at 15 mins, 20C, with pat metheny's flower power album playing. the shots were taken after my "CLA" and i had to go all the way to makati to buy the films.

are you mine?

2008-01-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

i can't wait in line. jay is busy with backlog of repairs and that is not even his job! (it's all gratis et amore). so i did it with the help of internet. it is actually just a minor CLA (clean, lubricate and adjust) of a rolleiflex tlr camera. it is for sale. a patient lent it to me.
well, i had time just before a new year lunch celebration with the inlaws. and i finished with enough time for taragon tea.
the timer was not working.
the shutter was not firing at slow speeds.
the gaskets were all gone and one washer was missing -- signs that this had been opened before.

my impatience paid off this time. but i don't think i should be doing this again. but my patient said she had complete trust in me. and i think i had enough guts and a little skill to do it. ;) my father left me that legacy -- both guts and skill. had i been listening and watching more, i would have gotten more skills from him. (he was a mechanical engineer).

the zeiss jena lens is heavily fogged. but i think it will still work well under certain conditions.
postmortem:
the shutter is now working at all speeds but a tad off in the slow speeds. timer is now also working.
it is now ready for a 120 film ... so off i go to buy film today before i visit a balikbayan cousin and my mother. they will be my first subjects.

photos taken with the canon g7.

AGFA folding camera sample photos

2008-01-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

the last roll of expired efke 127 film was finally consumed today.
above are the photos. (sorry for the artifacts, i did not have time to photoshop).
the photos of the camera on this link. it will be returned shortly.
http://eddie-concepcion.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-is-this-critter.html

icy exercise continues

2007-12-28T06:38:00.000-08:00

gilda cordero-fernando suggests i should shoot and collect all these ice-related photos for a year and present/post them at year's end. well, i don't have that much patience nor diligence to archive for a year. but it is a great idea. i can try.
the ice delivery truck that has been dropping off the ice blocks in our neighborhood.
we meet old friends pinky and bernie cupino.
joy with prof. ruben trinidad and pom.

(photos taken with a bessa r, nokton 50/1.5, neopan 400 processed with D76, 9 mins at 20C).

an icy approach to exercise

2007-12-21T06:01:00.001-08:00

the wife and i rediscovered brisk walking. preparing for a brisk walk can take only a few seconds. and with the cool mornings, i can linger a little longer and enjoy those last few cuddly moments in bed. perhaps, when summer comes, i can go back to biking and enjoy the speed i sorely miss.
lately, rising is easier because i noticed ice. and i thought of photographing them and how we so casually handle them.

there was ice on the corner melting away.

she can sure use some ice.
she takes exercise seriously. and i have an excuse to slow down and not sweat so much -- i have some clicking to do.
this beggar speaks fluent english.
there was ice on the tree.
an early store.
the beggar yesterday and he wears the same clothes as the day before.
ice on the tree on another day.
joy waits patiently as i shoot the ice from different angles.
and ice in the park sidewalk.
and, she still has some energy for a wacky pose.
we can be so neat with things like these.
ice on the pavement.ice on the tree on still another day.
and finally at the clinic consuming the last few shots of my film.

(all taken with zorki 1 with the fed 50/3.5 and neopan 400, processed with D76 1:1, 20C for 9 minutes, scanned with the canoscan 8800f at 1200 dpi initially).

78 RPM lacquer disks

2007-12-16T20:44:00.001-08:00

i have 2,000 of them! actually, i only wanted a handful but the vendor was giving all of them at half price. he wanted to clear his garage. i found out later that in the collection were gems that each can fetch five times the total amount it cost me. one is an elvis presley philippine bootleg edition and a couple of 1911 copies of pinoy artists. and all still shiny and clear on playback.
above, i played some filipiniana 78s (also quite rare) while treating my balikbayan aunts with acupuncture in our sala and they sang along with needles in place. the music must have conjured a lot of memories in aunt caring as she stared in the distance.
(sorry, i did not make time to clean up the watermarks.)

leica trese and canon rf

2007-12-13T23:39:00.001-08:00

"leica trese," the vendor states. garrie thought it was the cost of the leica camera. actually, the seller was identifying the leica model in highly inflected english. but he still got it for a bargain, i think.
so here are his two new purchases: a leica iiic and a canon leica copy.
the lens on the iiic is a summicron 50/2 collapsible and on the canon is the voigtlander 15 mm.
the leica looks newly CLA'd. focusing is buttery on the summicron and the lens is clean and free of scratches. the canon has a slight problem with the shutter curtain.

leica iiic
leica iiic back

canon (leica copy).

halong bay sunset

2007-12-07T21:07:00.001-08:00

i almost missed it. it was a long steep climb through several flights of stairs and we were still on the boat at half past 5 PM. but i made it panting and with threatening leg cramps.
titop island
according to vuong our tour guide, titop was the second russian man in outer space. he even said that ho chi minh, during titop's visit to halong bay, dedicated this island to him. actually, the real name is vladimir titov; it was vietnamized to titop. other tourist materials say that this island hosted ho chi minh and titop together. but my little research got me baffled. ho chi minh died in 1969 while titov was a year short of becoming a pilot. and his first space flight was in 1976 -- a year after the Americans were booted out of Vietnam and ho chi minh was already ashes and bones.

KUSINA NI APOLONIA

2007-12-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Situated at the end of the Rainbow, Kusina ni Apolonia offers a golden pot of great food. Yes, the restaurant is at the end of Rainbow St., Green Heights Subd, Marikina.
It is a restaurant that sculptured furniture built!

prices are reasonable.
the family had green salad with mango vinegrette, steamed eggplant and chicken with anise. they use mostly organic food.

cliff espinosa, a designer and architect, told us about the place. he designed the place and furniture.

A glimpse of Ho Chi Minh's lifestyle

2007-12-06T16:24:00.002-08:00

"One need not fear of having little but of not having equal distribution of goods." -- Confucius. (This is lifted from William Duiker's "Ho Chi Minh: A Life".)

Ho Chi Minh is portrayed as a man of simple needs and lifestyle.
the presidential palace in hanoi
the frugal study room with his "idols".
he preferred to stay in his stilt house and shunned the palace. it has a bomb shelter at the back.
one of two cars he owned.

unrest in hanoi

2007-11-27T21:41:00.001-08:00

A small group of peasants were marching along the sidewalk bearing banners and posters of protest. two young vietnamese (the one in stripes crossing the street and the girl behind him) were driven out of their ranks by uniformed soldiers . they looked like students. there was a woman in her 50s ranting against the soldiers who did this. but the two kids just crossed the street away from the march. we were headed for halong bay on a coaster and i asked our tour guide what it was about. i could not tell if he didn't want to or could not explain. he just shrugged his shoulders. people on motorbikes stopped and looked and created slowdown in traffic. but the soldiers allowed the protesters to proceed with their march.

hardly seen, policemen and soldiers do appear within seconds of an incident. one occasion was a vehicular accident my son and i witnessed. a woman in her 70s was hit by a speeding motorbike in front of the ding xuan market. her head hit the pavement and a pool of blood appeared around the head. i did not intervene and decided to stay on the sidewalk with my son to observe. within minutes, a police car came. the woman was able to stand up eventually. the biker who hit her seemed to know what to do. he used his cellphone to call up authorities. after a while, visibly shaken, the victim walked to a waiting police car and was brought out of the scene.
there was a persistent light gray haze in the air, even in the suburbs. i suspect this comes from the coal plants, the ubiquitous motorbikes or a heating economy. above is a cemetery with a horse-driven carriage passing and the haze in the background.

film shots of vietnam scanned with canon 8800f

2007-11-27T08:45:00.001-08:00

more film street photos of hanoi

2007-11-25T04:52:00.001-08:00

my v700 is dead at 2 years and 2 months. the technicians at epson could not isolate the problem. they could only point at the motherboard.
the scanner used here is the epson v350. at half the cost of v700, it also produces half its quality in color and clarity. i had to ps to lessen the bluish tinge and improve clarity.
photos shot with leica m6 with summicron 35/2, fuji superia asa 400.

film shots of vietnam

2007-11-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

chopped dog heads in a market
anton eating street food
men on a board game
dried flowers for sale
vendor with dried flowers
audiophile store
beggar and child on a boat at halong bay

erotic photography in vietnam

2007-11-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2007/11/754396/
- a vietnamese bagged top awards in a prestigious photo contest in hong kong. he is duong quoc dinh. i read his name in a vietnam newspaper.
http://chngyaohong.com/blog/ this blog entry was inspired by this link buck gave me through YM. buck is a freelance photojournalist, a regular contributor of newsbreak and a fellow member of rfilipinas. on this same link, a special blog entry about him can be seen if you scroll down. look under philippines, buck pago.

anton's photos in vietnam

2007-11-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

he dared play with lights and shadows.
he focused on the passenger on the other side and not joy. i like the effect.
i said, this is a great shot! you showed scale of the mountain with good framing. he just shrugged his shoulders.
even this! ... and he just smiled.
he used flash for the first time. i had to remind him that tito wam does not like using too much flash.
the first vietnamese tank that broke through the gates of the presidential palace putting a symbolic end to a horrible war.

he used the canonet g3 ql17 at full manual mode*, hardly assisted, with kodak gold films that are slightly expired. and i now regret not giving him better films. i should have been the one using the expired films.

(*i thought the built-in light meter has finally conked out but, when i checked under better light back here at home, it was just corrosive contact points.)

the guillotine

2007-11-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician, recommended its use for executions in 1789. The guillotine above is on display at the Hoa Lo Prison, more popularly known as the "Hanoi Hilton". But the sign at the gate says "Maison Centrale".
The board below the hole where the neck is placed still has stains. This was used during the French occupation. The photos behind show the heads of the Vietnamese cut off by this contraption.
The museum shows that the Americans did not receive the kind of treatment the Vietnamese got from the French. The Vietnamese treated the Americans more humanely, so the museum appears to convey.

street photos and unforgettable faces of vietnam

2007-11-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

with impressions...right after the anticipated mass at the st. joseph's cathedral in hanoi, we saw a massive crowd surrounding the image of the virgin praying the holy rosary. their display of faith is quite inspiring.

the non la is usually donned by women who are peasants, fisherfolk, peddlers and street builders. tourists and fashionistas are donning them, too. (note how neatly dressed these peddlers are).

the tube houses are a mix of modern and old euro-asian architecture. they are still narrow but bigger houses are starting to sprout -- two to three tube houses joined.
roadside dining is via plastic stool chairs. and the pho ga is great and cheap. my son and i tried it.
i asked her how old she was. she said, "25."
and i said, " i swear you look 24." that ended the conversation.
she is a waitress at the elegant moon river restaurant, hanoi. and she is gorgeous even without make-up. but she may not be considered beautiful by vietnamese standards.

i heard that vietnamese women are beautiful. and the vietnamese women are beautiful indeed and scandalously slim. above are dancers in ao dai.
and the wife had a bout of gastroenteritis on board our boat at halong bay. she vomited until late in the evening during what was supposed to be a romantic overnight cruise. we suspect it was the yoghurt she had that afternoon. she kept it in her bag from hanoi.
i used up all 6 rolls of color film i had with me. developing in hanoi costs Php20 a roll of 36 shots! i just had to wash them again to remove the smell of the fixer. above are some of the rolls being dried in our hotel room.
crossing the streets is not for the faint-hearted. vehicular accidents are vietnam's no. 1 killer. the rule on the use of helmets got implemented the month after we left.
(photos taken with the epson rd1s using the cosina voigtlander 15/4.5, summicron 35/2, and summilux 50/1.4).

basil apostol celebrates at world trade center mezzanine

2007-10-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

basil with lyn manglapus and ching peña, college classmates in la salle.
i got my first leica m6 from basil. he now uses a D70 nikon and sorely misses his m6 which garrie david is now having fun with.
basil, sylvia go and lyn sunico.
lyn sunico, sonia narvasa, my wife joy and basil.
(front) sylvia go, rachy cuna, basil, (back, l-r) lukas (another monk), me, rafaelito (monk-bikemate), ricky cuna, geoffrey go.
lyn manglapus after the accident in one piece.

Another benedictine monk, a classmate from high school, celebrates his birthday. basil apostol was a schoolmate from elementary through high school. lyn sunico, basil's close friend, of makati skyline, gifts him a sumptuous lunch with fantastic creamy adobo catfish (it melts in your mouth without any fishy taste), juicy lechon that looked lean and not too fat (but i did not touch it) and the usual great fare that makati skyline built their reputation on.
One of the guests tripped, dove hitting the edge of the table with her face and fell face down on the tiled floor. with a plate of food on one hand when she fell, she just broke the plate and would be going home with a slightly tender cheek. it was a miracle, rachy claimed after breathing his usual spanish curse of anxiety. she made the celebration more memorable though because she handled the accident so well. it was a great feast with new acquaintances and old friends embellished by a fortuitous incident.

voigtlander vitessa L

2007-10-26T04:15:00.001-07:00

made in 1954, it is the voigtlander vitessa a patient brought in for me to see. the shutter curtain opens upon release of the tall shutter "button" (a plunger) which also acts as "advance lever". so you press the shutter button to advance film and the shutter curtain opens when you release the towering button.

"moy's quiapo," it says.the lens has scratches from cleaning.

a birthday party at the our lady of monserrat abbey

2007-10-25T21:58:00.001-07:00

the father prior and a bikemate, rafaelito, celebrated his birthday at the san beda abbey. batchmates from high school celebrated with him.
that particular batch churned out three priests. in the photos are basil (also benedictine) and kit (a salesian). they compensate for the sins of the batch. my wife joy joined in the celebration and was allowed into the hallowed all-male (some question this) grounds. the abbot, tarci, also came just in time for the main course of amici pizza! fr. abbot was our principal at the time of our graduation. easy to miss because he did not age as fast as we did.
by the way, the jacuzzi is part of the new infirmary of the priests. joy stands in the dark of the unfinished jacuzzi room.
fr. bernardo perez with fr. rafaelito, the celebrant, on right.
jacuzzi in the infirmary with joy.
the benedictine monks at mealtime.
schoolmates from elementary to high school.
fr. tarci in the center seated with bearded fr. kit behind and fr. pael on kit's right.
abbey garden

adjusting the rf patch of the epson rd1s

2007-10-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

it wasn't hard. the rf horizontal patch was off. it needed a fix. and i found the right link: http://www.richcutler.co.uk/r-d1/r-d1_16.htm
pulling out the spring-steel clip from the hot shoe plate was the tricky part. but with a stick, i jimmied it out gently.
to reinstall, all it needed was a gentle push and the plate was back in place. but it had to be inserted on the opposite side (the side of the viewfinder) which the link failed to mention.

and, the rf patch is now perfectly aligned.

127 film for the agfa folding camera

2007-10-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

these films are rolled up and packed by blind people in total darkness in the only company that still produces 127 films.
three rolls, all expired. i am sure images will still show. they might even turn out artsy with the usual caveats of folding cameras and the 127 film.
only grateful. no complaints. these are gifts. they cost about EURO55 for 10 pcs at 8 exposures each (unexpired, of course)!

the first philippine rangefinder camera club

2007-10-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

in the 1930s, when the dominant cameras were the medium and large format cameras, a group of filipinos took on a different type of camera that initially made them pariahs in photography. They called themselves the 35 MM CAMERA CLUB. it was probably the first rangefinder camera club in the philippines. it was a trailblazing group of avid camera users championing the use of the 135 film and the rangefinder cameras.
a few days ago, uro dela cruz found, as if by fate, a trove of photos of that group in a bodega-curio shop in kamuning. and the owner did not realize how valuable those photos were until that time. the photos provide a sense of "roots" for rangefinderfilipinas, a recently organized group of rangefinder camera users in the philippines. just see how the members are responding to the blog.
uro's find is timely as rfilipinas is at its birthing period. for more of the story and the treasure photos:

http://rosauro.multiply.com/photos/album/8/RFilipinas_circa_1930

what is this critter?

2007-10-10T23:18:00.001-07:00

another camera on loan. the owner does not remember the brand name of this particular agfa folding camera. i tried googling it but failed to find the model. according to a friend it uses a 127 film, a "paper film" that can still be bought on ebay. it looks like the agfa billy series.
i don't know how the focus works. i am afraid to turn the screw on the focus ring which is fixed at 10 ft. everything else seems to work though. and it is in remarkable condition. the owner promised to bring film on her next treatment session.

(the photos were taken with the canon g7).

dare to help

2007-10-10T07:29:00.001-07:00

yashica 35 gsn with the agfa apx 400

2007-10-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

apx 400 processed with old stock parodinal at 1:50 for 11 mins (suggested was 16 mins) at 20 C. (sorry for poor fixing as well. i was in a hurry. this fogged the negative's midsection. i can't discount age of parodinal as a factor as well). i also forgot to compensate for the yellow filter.
anyway, i was more interested in checking for light leaks, the accuracy of light meter and the effects of the slightly moldy lens. the rf patch is hardly visible. scale focusing was done.
verdict: for CLA and repair of rf patch.

dinner at gilda's

2007-10-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

gilda, honey and joy in gilda's exquisite bathroom

we had sinister congressmen for bread!
no altercation just freeform dancing to shed the extra calories.

we had great indonesian food with flowerbud tea that "blossomed" under hot water. and we had some slow "maskipaps" after dinner. tito and honey carandang, agnes (i forget the family name), joy and myself basked in the hospitality and great food, wine, tea and the company of gilda cordero-fernando in her leandro locsin designed house.

my baby is back

2007-10-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

this was my first camera. i was a high school news reporter when my father gave it to me. i lost it a few years ago while transferring house. this morning, a patient came in with this as a gift. her husband has no use for it, she claimed, and i was just too happy to accept. it is geared for trial shots. it looks great but the lens has some molds.

a sunday

2007-09-30T19:24:00.001-07:00

a regular sunday is a visit to my mother and a birthday party that often occurs in the big family i am married to by virtue of its size. i take these as opportunities to shoot pictures. and lately, the zorky 1 has shown consistent results. these photos were taken yesterday, processed last night. Ilford HP5 plus with D76 1:1, 11 mins at 20C. and this makes life of routine more bearable.

the loves of my life

2007-09-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

i think my priorities are in order. and they are all i can handle outside of work, of course. (thanks, rollie, for the photo).

zorki 1 with group shots

2007-09-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

zorki 1 with fed collapsible 50 mm (elmar copy) with ilford hp5 plus (iso 400 pushed to iso 1600). night indoor shots with available fluorescent lights. film processed with D76 at 1:0 for 11 mins. at 20 deg centigrade.

she bares it all, at 50

2007-09-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

more than half a century old, my zorki 1 exudes fine craftsmanship and style. she can still handle some rough handling and challenging situations. she has got great curves and great shoulders. and she is russian (with some german genes).

back to back: canonet ql17 g3 and epson rd1s with cron35

2007-09-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

a testimony of how kids and rangefinders mix.
1st and 2nd photos simultaneously taken by me and my son
this was taken by my son

the 1st, 3rd and last photo in the column were taken with the epson rd1s. the rest were taken with the canonet. the canonet hangs around the neck of my son in the last photo.

revisiting malate

2007-09-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

she is an orphan (facing the camera). and an aunt, a cigarette vendor with two children of her own, has taken her in. she helps her foster family by selling those battery-operated torches. i wonder how she is now. she does not like being photographed. she works in front of this max's restaurant every night and studies in the mornings. she enjoys a scholarship from the church. i forget her name.

voigtlander vitomatic

2007-09-05T22:48:00.001-07:00

it looks unused and plucked out of some time machine! no dings. hardly any scratches. and the lens is clear and everything works including the light meter. and, garrie got it for only Php3k!!!

get-together for larry siy

2007-09-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

bedans '76 get together at joseph's place for larry and for old times. boy leonardo brought his high school album. joseph brought out our high school annual. those kneeling girls at the end of the soundslides were just looking at the photos and the annual. in other photos, some were also reviewing youtube videos of the san beda games where opponents were trying to maim some of our players. and that was the topic of the night. basketball: a game that became bigger than life that evening.

dressed-up leica m2

2007-08-31T03:40:00.001-07:00

leica m2 donning a borrowed summicron DR 50, a borrowed leica 1.25x diopter lens, a nikon (you read that right) soft touch, lutz konermann's $15 sling, a leica grip and an artist & artisan-inspired neck strap from marikina (a patient's gift). overdressed, i know, but the zorki 1 was getting most of my attention lately so i thought of making amends. and, it has become as heavy as an SLR with a long lens.

the made-over zorki 1 (courtesy of jay javier)

2007-08-31T03:11:00.000-07:00

the take up spool above had to be filed.
the retaining screw had to be replaced to keep the 1 m focus.
spick and span.
and to cap it all ... jay's DIY lens cap.

and this was how it looked before jay's overhaul: http://eddie-concepcion.blogspot.com/2007/08/another-glitch-on-zorki-1.html

the zorki 1 is a great camera (even in "hybreed" form)!!! it is a masterpiece.

med students visit my clinic

2007-08-30T20:28:00.001-07:00

these are third year medical students from PGH who opted to take a rotation in traditional chinese medicine. phil, their mentor and my colleague, gives an orientation. this is one of several batches who have visited the clinic over the years. and they look younger each year. (because i am growing older).

A SHORT SLIDESHOW OF FAMILY LIFE

2007-08-25T02:33:00.000-07:00

anton builds his first camera

2007-08-24T19:06:00.001-07:00

a patient comes home from a vacation in new york and gifts me a camera!

anton builds his first camera as i supervise from my sickbed. it is a pinhole camera. the photo below was taken with the rd1s using the pinhole plate of the diy camera.

this photo conjured up a need

2007-08-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

ocean beach, san francisco

that bird looks like mikey but chicken joe is my favorite in "surf's up". he knows how to enjoy life. he is the real surfer in the movie -- the great beach bum who practices zen. but with the daily routine of hearing out the aches and woes of patients, i forget my cherished philosophy. and this morning, i find this photo which i took eons ago. that was one vacation that was long enough, relatively stress-free and far and away. two weeks in a great town ... with just the wife!!! it was bliss!!!
well, i sounded off to the wife and she promised a vacation soon: vietnam. 8 days of hanoi will be excellent! it is far enough from work and close enough to the europe dream trip. anyway, flight has been booked. i will keep chicken joe in mind -- life is a beach ... albeit with occasional tsunamis! and, i better get out of this sickbed soon.

day 5 of photo-a-day

2007-08-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

very cloudy but no rain today. i am glad i am pushing 1600. so off i go for my photo of the day only to see the subject above unprepared. the papers are late.
and it is a sunday! i should still be in bed! this is becoming a test of perseverance -- food of my obsessiveness. of course, i went back for the film shot only to be greeted by news that have gone bad to worse.
our boys are dying needlessly in mindanao! such a high price to pay for trying to wipe out a monster of their own creation!

one photo a day

2007-08-16T00:54:00.001-07:00

it is day 2 of one-photo-a-day project. gerry, a member of rfilipinas, suggested it for the next fun project. one roll of film, one camera for one photo a day for a whole month on any theme or none at all. and though cloudy i was able to shoot what i originally wanted for my first day. so to peg day 1 i just took a photo of my godson-nephew who celebrated his 7th birthday last night. it was a choice between the birthday cake or the lovely bathroom the resto had. well, i took the latter. the photos below are digital photos of the choices. i have decided to use my reliable bessa r with the nokton 50 and the ilford hp5+ at 1600 iso.

Another glitch on the zorki 1

2007-08-13T04:27:00.000-07:00

A
B
C
it seems that the camera won't see action for the one-photo-a-day project. this time it is a shutter problem. the curtains are not shut tight (A) as i advance the shutter. they don't appose completely towards the end (B). hence, light leak on top photo.
the screws (C) adjust the tension. i remember seeing jay do it. he would press the shutter in front of the bright TV screen to see how the shutter closes and go back to his work table to adjust. he would repeat this several times until he got the tension right. yes! it is best to leave it to the expert.
i don't know if this is a new problem. but the test shots (6 exposures - leftover from the long roll) were done in the bedroom at night so no light leak. afterall, the camera is 57 years old so problems of this sort are expected. but this is just a minor problem in the hands of an expert. so, jay, advanced thanks. it is also obvious that the camera requires some cosmetic treatment. but i can address that later. no light leak noted but this was a night time shot inside the house.

ZORKI 1 resurrected

2007-08-11T18:19:00.001-07:00

it took courage. and i drew it partly from the fact that i could run to jay javier for help. hehehe. and i called him a hundred times for a million questions. anyway, the only problem left is the scratch the baseplate leaves on the negative. hardly noticeable but present on the b&w photo of my favorite subject.

f3.5, 1/20s, hp5plus, processed with D76, 1:1 for 9 mins at 20 degrees centigrade.
zorki 1 with 50 mm fed collapsible. eyes focused at 1 meter.

the two small arching plates are lens mount retainers. and that helped in recalling where they were supposed to be placed. i still had to call jay though to ask how they should be oriented.

joy with the zorki 1 fresh from the work table.

zorki 1 disappointments

2007-08-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

when it arrived, i wanted to write nikolai (aka siberian-shop on ebay) a negative feedback immediately. the aperture adjustment was stuck. the viewfinder focus was off. the take up spool was not compatible. it had to be yanked out forcibly with a pair of pliers. but i had jay to save the day. i called him up and he thinks the problems are correctable. upon his suggestion, a few drops of lighter fluid released the stuck up aperture adjustment. the gunk oozed out of the seams. but for the others, he suggested i let him see the camera. well, i visited an hour ago. he worked on the zorki 1. and like a magician's work, it is now usable. i just need to adjust for infinity and close focusing in the morning. it is late and i need lots of light for that. but, friends, beware that shifty ebayer.
his post of the item on ebay: http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=200125536153

out of inspiration

2007-08-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

is that lack of or because of it? more of exaspiration, actually.

epson rd1s set at B with a timer, jupiter 12 lens, f8, iso 200. photoshop used just to adjust contrast and cropping. it was taken with a single exposure. and it took me three tries to get it right.

i take photography seriously. but one can have fun with it, if you care to learn. this was inspired by a sister-in-law's comment.

first try at ilford hp5 plus

2007-08-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

a bit tacky but i wanted to see how far i can push hp5 and my luck with people's sensibilities.

my sweet sister gave me a long roll of hp5 plus. my last roll of agfa apx went to my son and so i try out the new roll. developed in D76 for 9 mins at 24 degrees centigrade.

Photos of the week

2007-08-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

RFilipinas: Philippine Rangefinder Camera Users

2007-08-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

the group continues to grow. the most recent event was a slideshow presentation of photos that had never been posted or printed by different members. this is a brainchild of drea zulueta, one of rfilipinas' founding members and award-winning hairstyle artist.
http://eddiecon.multiply.com/video/item/10

another lent leica

2007-07-12T00:53:00.001-07:00

my nephew tries out the LEICA m3.

the leica 1c had a broken shutter curtain so my patient dutifully replaced it with her leica m3 plus 4 lenses. all not for sale but for me to use until november. and i dread that day. it will be like parting with joy, the wife, or, at the very least, my favorite concubine.
the lenses include the summaron 2.8/35, elmar 4/135, summicron DR 2/50, and summilux 1.4/50. the body is a single-stroke high number (#1.1M+) M3.

zorki 1 on the way

2007-07-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

i have to have it. so for $70 and shipping cost, the gorgeous tool will be in my hands.

a photo tribute to chinoys

2007-07-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

photos i took at the bahay tsinoy after the lecture i gave on traditional chinese acupuncture last year. (with special permission from mr. chak chi ang).

a tableau of one of the six massacres during the Spanish period. an estimated 100,000 filipino-chinese were killed in these massacres.

winding down after a photoshoot at ermita

2007-07-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

LAST GASP OF THE NIGHT

2007-06-29T14:43:00.002-07:00

my friend garrie tries to inspire the kids.

she sat naked as water dripped from her hair. she just had a bath. and she anxiously stared at us as we took pictures of her.

at 2 AM early that day, government social welfare agents apprehended street kids again. in a rare show of zealousness, government agents seemed bent on removing street people. the outgoing manila mayor had already announced that street kids are non-existent. well, they were still there that evening. only sadder and more anxious. those remaining were saying that they were being treated like annoying stray cats. they were being hauled away from malate and dumped somewhere outside the government agent's jurisdiction. far enough so the kid would not be able to get back easily. and many enough to reach some set quota. one mother recounted how her daughter made it back when she was already a teen-ager. it was a sad night. perhaps, a fitting night to end this phase of the project -- a grim reality check on the futility of an insensitive and misdirected government.

we wanted to show the life of the street kids in a positive light. we did that quite easily when we concentrated photography in the parks. taking their pictures at night, in their places of sleep and work, brought us back to reality. we are now considering a phase 2 of the project.

paghiwalay ng balat sa tinalupan

2007-06-27T05:41:00.001-07:00

hi annie,
you prefer to see photos of kids relating to their environment. well, above is the only one i have. this is my "oil and water" photo -- children at play with ads for adults who wish to "play". they should not mix. but to isolate one from the other is what the title is referring to. the title conjures the image of how hard it is to remove the peel from a fruit, the bark from a tree and the hide off an animal.
hence, this photo of pristine innocence with a lurid background.
i am going back tomorrow, this time, with a film camera and a 50mm lens and see what else i can capture.
below are my two other non-close up shots which i like.
as regards your suggestion to have a view of what organizations are doing for them and for photos that call people to action, we have this saturday to discuss that. that sounds like the phase 2 that is being suggested by some members.

dog got tired of her and left.

ruby, 15, yaya, pregnant and homeless

*annie is a member of rfilipinas based in USA who made some constructive suggestions on the ongoing project for street kids. she has been an active member providing support in terms of films and paraphernalia for the organization. she is a new cyberspace friend of mine as well.

a mabini*

2007-06-25T05:37:00.001-07:00

the cement bench saw kids come and go. i just kept on taking pictures. but there was one girl who suddenly sat infront of my camera, posed and never left until i moved on to the other subjects. i was reviewing my pictures when i realized her different behavior. at first i thought she was just being a pre-teener. behaving older than the rest. but i really wonder why she behaved the way she did. i hope my suspicions are wrong.

*mabini: tagalog word for gentle; also a street in the red district in manila named after a paraplegic filipino hero.

malate: cafe latte of life

2007-06-21T22:25:00.001-07:00

the expression "coffee and milk" in filipino is the more favored counterpart of "oil and water" in the english language. but unlike oil and water, coffee and milk though diametrical do blend well like yin and yang.
hence, malate is cafe latte. the street kids live a damned curse yet they exude joy. it is "putang-ina mo, mahal kita!!!" (i love you, you SOB!!!) said in rough but endearing passion.
and it dawns on me that to be happy, it does not really take much. these kids are pointing the way. just have good friends. live today. trust tomorrow.

initially, i mistook her for a daughter of the woman standing beside her. she was neat and well-groomed. but she was actually selling her toy torches.

who needs a nintendo when you can get real thrill and harmless fun with friends?

a mabini.*

they were apprehended for sleeping on the sidewalk. tonight, they sleep on private property -- a ford fiera. not theirs though.

another coffee and milk example: abrasive yet polite.

ruby, 15 and pregnant and yaya of an infant niece.

life is a fun leap of faith.

* tagalog word for gentleness, also a street in the red district of manila named after a filipino hero.
-------------
photos taken june 20, wednesday, in the evening, as part of the special project of rfilipinas (rangefinder camera club of the philippines) for the street kids of malate.
special thanks to the staff of our lady of remedies program: angel deveza, the social worker without wings; ate lina asma who breathes well; ate tet sambale who coordinated for us; and fr. john leydon for welcoming our intrusion.
for more of the same and others, click: http://eddiecon.multiply.com/photos/album/21

the parcel

2007-06-18T14:30:00.001-07:00

the JUPITER 12 lens* from greece finally came today. the wife barged into the room holding a card last night. she could not believe it was a post office notice for a parcel because of the way it looked.
it was another item i bought on ebay, i said. i thought she would be upset by that. the government notice kept her in incredulity. and that worked in my favor.
the photo above was taken with that lens on the epson rd1s.

*not jupiter 3 as originally written. thanks, nelson, for the correction.

summer cap 2007

2007-06-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

last hurrah at laiya, san juan, batangas before classes begin.

annie liebovitz' 1990-2005 life

2007-06-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

more and more friends and relatives get sick and/or die in midlife and onwards. just this year, i lost three friends. and recently, one was diagnosed to have leukemia. our mortality beckons us. it is thankfully balanced by births and the sense of immortality they provide -- our offsprings producing their own offsprings in the big circle of life.
annie liebovitz' book validates this midlife phenomenon. death and illness and births in photos. and she gets quite personal. graphic pictures of susan sontag's battle with a deadly illness and, in the end, of her cadaver has made her a target of vicious flak. but she is a professional photographer. and this book is about her life and her life with susan. and what better way to grieve and heal than to immortalize it all in pictures.
she is top-rate and enjoys full poetic license. some downsides: the text that starts the book is too streamy-of-consciousness; it does not have a table of contents or an index at the end; no pagination too. but all these simply tell you that it is an intimate photo album. and, i have no regrets buying the book. it is definitely a collectible. cindy crawford's photo alone makes it so.

Turning 20 next year

2007-06-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

my pinoy maoist classmates were shocked to see this "desecration". ads for a toothpaste at the great helmsman's feet. and the following year, mao's monument was torn down.

we hit summer and had to shed off lots of clothing and my sense of propriety. i went to school in this get-up. i was the belligerent student, i thought, until i saw my teachers wearing the same shorts though somewhat longer.

It will be 20 years next year since I finished my course in acupuncture in China. And, I wish I can go back again next year just to touch base with teachers and classmates.

MORE PHOTOS ON RFILIPINAS MEETING

2007-06-03T15:26:00.001-07:00

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2091477349

rangefinder filipinas meet on CBCP project

2007-06-02T02:15:00.000-07:00

RFilipinas has approved the proposal presented by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP ) in a meeting held recently. Msgr. Pepe Quitorio, spokesperson of CBCP, proposed a joint project with RFilipinas to develop a database of photographs of the different parish churches in the Philippines. This involves the photo documentation of the unique activities and the physical structures of the different parish churches. It was evidently an offshoot of the Malate Parish Street Children Photoshoot Project RFilipinas is currently undertaking. Garrie David has been assigned the task to coordinate with CBCP for the formalization of the joint project.

leica on loan to be returned in september

2007-05-30T22:41:00.001-07:00

it is the leica 1c with the 135 mm hektor and 50 mm elmar. my patient is lending it for three months. she won't sell. she won't. she won't. and judging by the condition of the camera, i won't either if i were her. it is in excellent condition. the turret finder is clear. the lenses are clear and focusing is smooth on the 135, a little sticky on the 50.

i like the turret and how you adjust for parallax. manually! and the image is in reverse.

SONTAG QUOTABLES

2007-05-23T17:34:00.001-07:00

the late sontag did not say anything new. she merely used dramatic irony to describe what was already blasé. her style could impress you at first but the messages were mostly worn out, well established facts. even the photographers she described were already famous at the time of her writing. she did not cite budding ones who are now considered greats. these were the scathing comments i got from one of the venerable members of rfilipinas. (i might have embellished the words a bit but the bite is the same).
the book was written during the early part of the psychedelic years when ugly solid state technology made its rude onslaught. despite this, i thought it still had the vacuum tube realism.
but true, sontag did not write anything ground-breaking but her style of writing is like the dark coffee i take every time i need a perk. and notwithstanding the negative feedback from my well-respected friend, i quote some of my favorites from her book On Photography:

"A photograph is both a pseudo-presence and a token of absence."

"The camera doesn't rape, or even possess, though it may presume, intrude, trespass, distort, exploit, and, at the farthest reach of metaphor, assassinate -- all activities that, unlike the sexual push and shove, can be conducted from a distance, and with some detachment."

"The camera as phallus is, at most, a flimsy variant of the inescapable metaphor that everyone unselfconsciously employs. However hazy our awareness of this fantasy, it is named without subtlety whenever we talk about 'loading', and 'aiming' a camera, about 'shooting' a film."

"What renders a photograph surreal is its irrefutable pathos as a message from time past, and the concreteness of its intimations about social class."

"Photography, though not an art form in itself, has the peculiar capacity to turn all its subjects into works of art."

"Time eventually positions most photographs, even the most amateurish, at the level of art."

no doubt, she is a beautiful read. and so far, the best on photography. and i have read ... let me count my fingers.

corregidor 2007

2007-05-10T04:27:00.000-07:00

i was a high school freshman the last time i went to corregidor. it was an excursion of teachers and some students. upon reaching the island, i chose to stay on the beach to enjoy the sun and the clean sea. my teachers tried to convince me to join the guided tour and learn about the island's history. to their chagrin, i chose the beach. but this week, because of a friend's request, i visited the island rock with my family, my friend and her husband, and joined the tour. but i was saddened by the sight of a filthy beach. and i am hoping the workers on the boat are there to do something about it.

(you will hear an old recording of oscar obligacion, a comedian from the 50s, doing what he was known for -- Japanese impersonation).

you can click this link if the video does not work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2abdm_eSVks

available light photography on film

2007-05-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

anton with candle insect repellant
(rollei 35S, agfa 400 apx)

baguio silhouette, c. 1984
canon ftb, canon fl 55 mm/f1.2

kutchie, c. 1980
(canon fl 55/f1.2, canon ft)

honeymoon, c. 1986
(canon fl 55/f1.2, canon ft)

watching tv
(biogon 28, contax g2, agfa 400 apx)

reading under lowlight
(cron 35, leica m6, agfa 400 apx)