These Places: 2010

10/12/10

new cameras :O

rolleicord III w/ xenar

Moskva 2 with industar

let's go out and shoot!

7/27/10

I find it very therapeutic to go on walks alone. There's just that empowering feeling of independence that I get. Add to that the faces I encounter along the way. Sometimes you just have to find out for yourself the happiness that's been predestined for you to experience.

Manila Post Office
Pentax SPF, Takumar 28/3.5, Yellow filter x2, Arista EDU 400

Video Shooting Day

Malay's video for their first single Moving. I was there to take some shots for documentation. I can't wait to see the video!!

7/17/10

Long exposures

Silhouettes

6/22/10

The Matriarch

After Lolo Sopong died, it was obvious that she was to become the head of the Bucag family. Lola Jean as we would call her, she emerged as a stronger woman taking up the void left by my lolo. It was not to my surprise that she despite her aging physique continued to impose her presence upon me mentally. It was as if her very self was the lifeblood and only evidence of my every claim that I am truly part of the Bucag family… and she had her whole life to prove me that.

Life for her was mostly a series of challenges that she unrelentingly faced and she never seemed to fail to remind me that. How she and her older sister had to find ways on how to make ends meet on a daily basis because their father died at a very early stage in their life. How she graduated consistently on top of her class despite the extra duties she had apart from academics. How, after graduating, she fell for the young and prominent Dr. Bucag but everybody else insisted she wouldn’t be taken seriously. She proved them otherwise when they eventually got married. How she raised a family of five boys that would soon become five successful and disciplined men in their respective paths of life. How she established the Rural Bank of Cauayan with her own money and her inexhaustible will despite her detractors being her closest friends.

However, she just has this air of arrogance around her that seems to stem from the wealth of experiences she has had in her life. It has always been easier for me to take all the things she says for granted because I never find them to be in any way relevant to my own personal life. Or maybe I just don’t know for sure if it’s for my own benefit or for the sake of her reveling in her past achievements. Sad to say it almost always seemed to be the latter.

Nevertheless, there’s still that familiar feeling I get whenever I hear her talk about the things she remember. Something that makes me forget all the marks or scars of wisdom on her face. A part of her I can really thank simply just for making who she is now. On the back of my mind there will always be that person who did all she could in her life enough to convince me to write this for her… that part of her truly deserving to be dignified.

Juana Reyes Bucag

5/14/10

Our old typewriter

Taken with a Canon Powershot Sd770 IS

converted to monochrome in Lightroom

5/13/10

Tribute to my gear

L-R:

Yashica D w/ Yashikor

Fed-2 w/ Industar-61

Pentax Spotmatic w/ S-M-C Takumar 28/3.5

not present: Canon A-1

5/8/10

Foma Film For Me

fed-2

industar-61

souped in d76 1+1

primary film for my rangefinder = )

4/25/10

Swirling Bokeh

Yashica D with Yashikor
Fuji Acros Neopan 100

4/24/10

First Ever Model Shoot

Canon A-1
Canon FD 50/1.8
DNP Centuria 100

3/12/10

kite flying

Pentax Spotmatic F

S-M-C takumar 28/3.5

Fuji Proplus II

3/11/10

portraits

spontaneity is priceless

Pentax Spotmatic F
S-M-C takumar 50/1.4
Fuji Proplus II

3/2/10

power nap

fed-2

industar-61

lucky shd 100

d76 1+1

kapag ako'y tinamaan ng antok, walang akong sasantuhin kahit pa ang lansangan

taken at tandang sora over pass. tandang sora corner commonwealth avenue.

aking mga anak

fed-2

industar-61

lucky shd 100

d76 1+1

aking mga anak, aking mga anak, aking mga anak.

Taken at East Ave corner Nia road.

2/21/10

intoxication.

Pentax Spotmatic F

S-M-C takumar 50/1.4

Kodak tri-x 400 pushed to EI 1600

d76 1+1

"lights will guide you home"

2/20/10

babel!

Pentax Spotmatic F

S-M-C Takumar 50/1.4

Kodak Tri-x 4oo pushed to EI 1600

d76 1+1

The moment we all become Gods, divinity will cease to exist.

1/31/10

Malay

This was my first time covering a gig. And it was fun hahaha.

Metering was hard. Stage lighting as expected was uneven (DUH). the left side of the stage was more brightly lit than the right side so most of my good shots came from the left side. Of course the band members were moving constantly which was a challenge because under poor light i had to shoot at 1/60 or slower. But it was all good. I was close enough as possible and I was able to move anywhere in front of the stage. I was so exhilarated i fired 24 shots in 5 songs @_@ HAHA

I want to thank Kuya Pochoy for giving me the opportunity to shoot them. I think i'm gonna be covering the next of their gigs (I WANT TO!!).

camera: Pentax Spotmatic F, Super Takumar 55/1.8