LAST GASP OF THE NIGHT

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

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*

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

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.
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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

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.

summer cap 2007

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

annie liebovitz' 1990-2005 life

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

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

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

rangefinder filipinas meet on CBCP project

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.