About an hour away from my home, there exists a small portion of the city where,
if you focus really hard,
and ignore the occasional motor of a passing car,
I swear -
You'll be taken back 300 years.
Showing posts with label Everyday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Everyday. Show all posts
Time Machine
About an hour away from my home, there exists a small portion of the city where,
if you focus really hard,
and ignore the occasional motor of a passing car,
I swear -
You'll be taken back 300 years.
Friendship
Taken just as the night was winding down after dinner with friends on a rooftop.
Really, what would life be without friends? Initial strangers who, throughout the years remain your constants throughout the crests and troughs of life's fury, and at some point in it, end up changing yours completely.
Street Vendors - Buko Juice
Meet John Lee. It is debatable if that's his full name, or his first name which happens to be a compound name, but that was how he introduced himself. This initially timid man with slightly jaundiced eyes is a street vendor, peddling coconuts (buko in Filipino) along the corner of General Luna Street and Makati Avenue.
He's not your noisy type of vendor, broadcasting presence with a horn or booming voice like the more ambulant ones. John stands unassuming by the street corner, waiting for customers he know will come. His strong piercing eyes foreshadow a confidence brought about by a sense of business savvy not normally expected from one with that office address.
An Afternoon With A Keysmith
After having feasted on my sweet fill of pork (at least I’ll assume it qualifies as pork in one form or another - the alternatives are pretty disgusting) and fishball goodness, I returned to the car, but lo and behold as I tried to start it, the key refused to turn in the ignition switch. I pushed, pulled, pleaded and prayed for the next 45 minutes, but it seemed like all was doomed.
Street Vendors
I've lately been feeling like I haven't been paying much attention to personal photography. Of course I've been travelling a bit, but it's different, trying to beautifully capture what's already there versus shooting a photo, or a series of photos that you conceptualized. Unless of course the travel bit is what you conceptualized, but I digress.
With that in mind, I decided the other day to revive a old idea that was lying dormant in the corner of my todo list -- Street Vendors. Once upon a time, I thought of shooting all the different types of street vendors the Philippines has roaming about its streets. Between the balut ladies, the fishball manongs, takatak boys, and mamang sorbeteros, we have in us an extremely rich plethora of...roadside entrepreneurs. How this little piece of our culture evolved is beyond me, but here it lies and being the lover that I am of all those things-that-your-mom-tells-you-not-to-eat-when-you're-young, it is extremely close to my heart.
Despite this, other priorites kept on piling and piling until it teetered on the edge of being forgotten before receiving a lifeline from my friend Tine who persistently kept it on my mind. So finally yesterday, off we went to the streets of Manila to see what we could find, stomachs half empty and jars of hope quite full.
We barely got as far as my car when we came across Manong Philip. A familiar face to most from DLSU, Manong Philip sells assorted candies and cigarettes across the North Gate of the school. Owning the spot for as far back as I can remember, he is to me as iconic a character in the cast of my college life as was Jenny the Beggar, Ate Ems or even Mang Jack.
The concept of co-branding is clearly not lost on him, although the fact of whether the other brand is aware of this remains a bit vague. He came off as a bit gruff at first, as most street denizens do, but a small purchase and the promise of a printed portrait delivered a smile (not shown in photo).
We shot one more before the rains forced us to seek shelter in a wonderful little Indian restaurant, but that shall be for another post. Adios muchachos.
With that in mind, I decided the other day to revive a old idea that was lying dormant in the corner of my todo list -- Street Vendors. Once upon a time, I thought of shooting all the different types of street vendors the Philippines has roaming about its streets. Between the balut ladies, the fishball manongs, takatak boys, and mamang sorbeteros, we have in us an extremely rich plethora of...roadside entrepreneurs. How this little piece of our culture evolved is beyond me, but here it lies and being the lover that I am of all those things-that-your-mom-tells-you-not-to-eat-when-you're-young, it is extremely close to my heart.
Despite this, other priorites kept on piling and piling until it teetered on the edge of being forgotten before receiving a lifeline from my friend Tine who persistently kept it on my mind. So finally yesterday, off we went to the streets of Manila to see what we could find, stomachs half empty and jars of hope quite full.
We barely got as far as my car when we came across Manong Philip. A familiar face to most from DLSU, Manong Philip sells assorted candies and cigarettes across the North Gate of the school. Owning the spot for as far back as I can remember, he is to me as iconic a character in the cast of my college life as was Jenny the Beggar, Ate Ems or even Mang Jack.
The concept of co-branding is clearly not lost on him, although the fact of whether the other brand is aware of this remains a bit vague. He came off as a bit gruff at first, as most street denizens do, but a small purchase and the promise of a printed portrait delivered a smile (not shown in photo).
We shot one more before the rains forced us to seek shelter in a wonderful little Indian restaurant, but that shall be for another post. Adios muchachos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)