ABOUT THE PHOTO:
I met the kid last weekend. I was languidly sitting in front of the jeepney, waiting for the traffic to move. The traffic in Crossing, Los Baños was drastic (as usual). When we got in front of the San Antonio de Padua Church, he came to me. He was asking for money. I told him I don't have change and asked if I could take his photos instead. He said he was shy and got scared by the flash. He said, "Huwag, ayoko!" Later he got the hang of it and posed for me even when the jeep was already moving. I didn't even get his name.
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We meet people we're bound to forget, even those who promised that they won't forget.
9 comments:
Tena koe ehoa
Rayts I absolutely love these impromptu portraits. They hold so much visual impression it's hard not to feel touched by the visual persona of this young man. There's an integrity and REALISM in the bottom two images especially, that just captivates part of my consciousness.
The three images cover a discovery and release of emotions from this boy as his want forces him to engage and know a stranger in a brief moment of his life. A meeting, a comfort and an acceptance.
....We meet people we're bound to forget, even those who promised that they won't forget.
"We are touched even more by those we know nothing about, should we open our minds and hearts to the discovery of others in the confines of a frame ~ The photographic revelation of life is a strenght that opens doors of discovery" ~ ndiginiz
As a footnote your image text/logo is by far better than the previous PiecesBW font version. Just center the top over the bottom.
This is amazing Rayts! You are truly an artist. And I really like that story about how you met the boy. You just immortalized that encounter.
A very good looking kid. Love that last photo, even though it is not in focus. Adds to the mystery of the shot/scene, somehow.
Wonderful pictures, brilliant portrait of this little kid.
To be honest all those street kids are giving me a bad conscience. Begging, peering into the car, selling sampaguita flowers… I always give something to street children. But all those kids are really haunting me.
One of my “never ending” photo series that I will publish in the future is about the “lost children of Manila”.
Those street kids are not only robbed of their childhood but are sometimes put in jail…
Hazel Thomson did an amazing photo shoot in some Filipino jails.
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0607/kids-behind-bars.html
I tried to do the same but was denied entry with my camera…
he doesn't look shy to me in the photos...he quite enjoy about it....love the last shot...i like his curious eyes:-)) lovely series
ndiginiz,
i enjoyed taking these photos. they happened on the street while the traffic was jammed. i rarely take street photos, i am not just apt for it. but i do like capturing moments. moments with people. this kid, he never insisted on asking for money, and although a bit hesistant, he was willing to pose me. i didn't quite get what you mean by the footnote photo.do you mean that i should put the "about me" photo as my header? :-)
toe,
thank you so much. kind words like that makes me smile once in a while.
peter,
thanks. it is unfocused, it is blurry.
sidney,
i checked out the link. it was interesting how Hazel Thomson got a nice sneak inside the jail. it's the hardest endeavor i reckon, hiding your camera as much as possible to avoid questions and weary look from the inmates. i don't know if photographers will ever be allowed inside a jailhouse, much more a juvenile facility (unless you got some connections)...we have to give them the same courtesy of protection, right? to be annonymous. but i like your "Lost Children of Manila" project. do you have your collections ready or it's just all plan for now thingie? and by "will publish in the future", do you mean like a coffee-table book or something? or publish, meaning post it on your blog? your project is interesting. it's a good idea to gather some contributions. :-)
outdoorexposure,
i got a number of shots wherein all i got is his hand covering his face. it took a while to pacify him...that it's okay to take photos. luckily, he got me off the hook.
To be honest I don't think they do it to protect the inmate's privacy... those who are jailed are packed in a small cells which is not exactly my idea of privacy... ;-)
They just don't allow it because they don't want people to show what is really happening inside the jails.
But I don't give up. I might snoop or bribe my way inside a jail in the countryside.
To be fair, I visited the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and it looks quite nice (except that it is overcrowded). The inmates can just walk around in a huge compound. I was toured around by a carjacker… The problems are the city jails.
I have already many pictures of those street children. When I say publishing I used a big word… alas I should say: I will post it in my little blog… ;-)
by right, i am not talking about "privacy" per se but the right for an individual's anonymity (particularly) of seing a face and the crime (subjective) committed or associated with it. overcrowded jail has already becoming a fact and the lack of proper facilities to care them for. other issues looming inside which are unlikely to be exposed is never an isolated case, it happens in a place where "order" has to be imposed. there's one prison in Palawan where a photographer can practically roam around with prisoners, The Iwahig Prison. ;)
well, posting it via photoblog, is also "publishing" in a real sense of the word. i am all weary with word usage. but alas, i was wrong...incidentally, that's the reason why i asked questions (to be clear), no matter how stupid these inquiries sound. anyway, i hope this project of yours push through. i really do. it's a great feat.
Sorry Rayts, I was referring to your watermark text/logo on your images and not your header. The watermark you have now is very nice and looks photographically sophisticated. I like it very much.
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