There was a time when I really thought that I could hold the world in my hand. A time wherein I thought I could fool everyone into believing that life is easy to navigate once you are equipped, you have a compass in one hand to provide direction and the brain and the guts to go on your way. I thought that every human being although unique in their own way, has always been kind. And that they reciprocate. I guess I was reading too much crap.
You know how they say, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”? It is logical. It’s how the universe works most of the times (if not all times). We comprehend things by its totality not by its parts. In my case, I like to see (appreciate) things in parts. That way, I don’t miss the little details that to others may seem trivial. Say, this flower for instance. I could have just taken a shot of the whole flower instead I zoomed in the petals which made me appreciate the role of the dews and how they accentuated the flower. But looking at things in parts has its downside too. One is bound for misunderstanding as one sees only the other side.
When we were in Kayangan Lake in Coron, Palawan a few weeks back, I was watching this Danish girl sitting in one of the rocks, playing with a school of flying fish. Her feet were floating on the water while the fishes prick her legs. It must be subtle because she never complained. Her mom was beside me on the bench, watching her too. A few minutes later, she cried and said that the fish bit her. She was speaking in Danish, I just got it from her actions. The little girl was pinpointing the sting on her leg, it's how I knew she was bitten. So what’s my point? My point is, never trust your instinct too much. Mine’s have always not been that reliable. Being stung is okay, but getting another one and not learning from it, is a huge sin.
I have been very vocal about my preference for taking photos of people, the human face in particular. It’s the best canvas in the world. The human face tells you deep emotion without having teh aid of words. Most of the time, the trick is in the eyes. We met Honey, the little girl in the photo, when we went in Coron. She is the grand daughter of our boatman. She and her aunt (almost her age) accompanied us during the trip to the islands. Her face interested me the moment I saw her. She rarely smiles, could it be because we were strangers to her and our group was really noisy that she rarely gave me a look. Her eyes speaks a lot, though. I had at least a whole series of her shots most them looking away, and there were a very few times that I caught her smile. And her smile was not even meant for me. One big, genuine smile is (so) rare to find these days.
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