Cauayan Public Market

I've been going to the public market ever since I was a little kid. My mom would take me with her on weekends as she goes through the fish, meat, fruit, and vegetable vendors. She would occasionally introduce me to them and I had to ask for blessing from each one every time even though I could not remember their names anymore. My hand would smell of fish, chicken, pork, and beef altogether combined by the time I'm done with all of them. Then we would eat at Goto Heaven where they serve the best lugaw and sopas in town. They're so good I used to order two bowls of each. And at only 10 pesos per order nothing can surely beat that.


It's interesting how after all these years the public market hasn't changed much. I still see the same people I used to see back then when I was a kid. I still have to ask for blessing from the same people my mom introduced me to and my hand would still smell funny after everything. I still eat at Goto Heaven and the prices of lugaw and sopas have remained relatively cheap. 

There was news before of the local government relocating the public market but it was met with heavy resistance coming from the people who have been there for a long time. In a few years SM, Puregold, and Robinson's would be opening and it would definitely kill a lot of these small businesses. I just hope the local government will have plans to protect the livelihood of the people who will be affected.

Socialism

Yes, it exists. There, in every wall where the working man has written his deepest sentiments.

Sunsets and Skylines

On rare occasions where I actually have time to watch the sunset from my office building's rooftop. Most of the time I never even notice it has passed because I work from 8:30-6:00. And I always feel it calling to me from outside through its yellow light creeping through the gaps in the window blinds.

Rock the Riles 2011

Every year RockEd PH celebrates human rights day by setting up gigs all over the metro with popular and upcoming bands. The gigs are staged in different stations of the EDSA Mrt line with each station highlighting a specific theme. I stayed at Shaw boulevard station because my cousin's band Malay would be playing there. Ideally I could have watched all the bands I like such as Up Dharma Down, Radioactive Sago Project, and others by riding the Mrt back and forth. But I was just too lazy to do it and I didn't want to lose my front row spot at the Shaw station. All in all, it was a great experience as always and it will continue to be one of the events that I look forward to every year.

P.S. Gotta practice taking band photos

To the dearly departed

As far as I can remember I have always visited the dead on all soul's day except this year. I am working now and I don't have the luxury of time to go home to the province to visit my dead relatives. So i'm stuck here at home with nothing to do. I could have made plans to go out with people I know but for very justifiable reasons they need to be at some other place without me.

It goes without saying that with all the idle time I have in my hands I have been thinking about life in general. Sometimes I wish people could live forever but in my opinion life itself would lose its value. The finiteness of life is what makes it worth living (if that makes any sense at all haha). Not to say I'm happy that we will all die and that those that went before me were lucky because they went first. Sometimes things that don't last forever are easier to appreciate than things which are always there. We don't take them for granted because we know someday they will perish. Though we sometimes do, still, every moment spent with them is special.

As for the people very close to me who have passed away, I will always remember them because I have lived with them.

And let perpetual life shine upon them...

Bicycle shots #4 and #5

I can't stress how much I love bicycles. Its simplicity draws me to it. It only requires human energy to propel itself into motion. More importantly it does not produce any kind of pollution in the process. It is one of the most basic and efficient ways to go from one place to another. 

I have never ridden a bicycle since my childhood days yet the memories remind me of how an exhilarating experience it was to be in one. I remember my first fall which ripped my knees and made me swear I would never ride one again. I remember how I eventually learned to keep my balance and finally cruise smoothly through the empty roads and streets. I remember how when I was already going so fast I would close my eyes and just feel the wind rushing to my face and every inch of my body.
...

These images are 4th and 5th of my ongoing obsession of taking pictures of bicycles parked in random streets in Metro Manila. Hopefully these images will find their way on to an album once I am able to take and collect a number of them. So far I have already 5 but I am running out of ideas on how to make each photograph unique. 

Someday I will buy a bicycle and I will cruise through our neighborhood every night like I used to back then.

Floating prayers

 Sometimes when I stare at this photograph for a long time I see a shape of a heart. Maybe it's just me but that is how  I really visualized it when I was taking the picture...

 

 This was taken during our trip to our lady of Manaoag. This shot was underexposed by full stop. I was able to save it using levels adjustment in PS. But it's sad because I desperately want a traditional print of this and I am not sure if they can adjust the exposure in the darkroom. I would have to find out for myself. Also the focus was not accurate. I was focusing on the two nearest candles but as you can see in the actual image the two candles are slightly blurred with the sharpest part of the image falling just behind them. Nevertheless, I am still quite satisfied. Maybe I'll get another chance of taking the same photo under the same conditions and I swear to myself I would get it right the next time.