Street Documentaries

Mendiola_brutal

2009-08-20T10:26:00.001+08:00

Mendiola_brutal, originally uploaded by pitikbulag.

Aug. 19 Mendiola Rally: brutality and media harassment.

From Tony

2009-03-30T07:12:00.001+08:00

032809_P1000343, originally uploaded by Tony Remington.

A snap from my friend Tony Remington during our photo outreach to Sitio Magdalena in Manila.A great photographer and friend, Tony is the real Film and digital renaissance man.

"Quiapo, Metro-Manila. Photographers Brennen whom i only recently met (LX3 man), and legendary Philippine photojournalist, my old buddy, that scumbag Luis Liwanag.

Just kidding about the scumbag part, it's really great to see Luis again. he's always great to talk too. he's the real deal."

Black Nazarene V.2009

2009-01-10T10:19:00.002+08:00

The Mendiola Narratives

2008-12-28T02:40:00.001+08:00

The Cats in the Cradle

2008-08-13T04:59:00.000+08:00

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Help me find this guy....

2008-08-08T03:57:00.000+08:00

I am writing this sentence. Well, actually, I'm typing it. Not very efficiently I might add. I never really formally learned to type. I usually use just 3 fingers on each hand, it feels a bit awkward, I can feel a little struggle, but it works for me. Yep... So... why am I talking about this nonsense? Simple, I thought I'd take a little exercise in writing, er... typing. It's been ages since I've done this, or at least, wanted to do this. To be honest, I am forcing myself a bit, pushing in some effort where my body refuses to naturally flow it. This is a filler sentence.

I used to be passionate about blogging, I'd take the time to remember all the interesting points of my day and try to talk about it as wittily as possible. So yeah I mentioned passion, well passion's gone friends. Not just for blogging, or writing, or anything for that matter. I've lost passion for everything. I've become... a zombie if you will, wake up, get on the computer, do mindless things, kill time. Do I enjoy it? Yes, to an extent, it entertains me, keeps me "happy". Hell, I don't even go to school, or work, or do anything productive, I just leech off of my hardworking mother. She doesn't even know that I haven't been to school in about a year. I'm a great liar like that. She'll eventually find out the truth, I'll probably get kicked out of my house and I would most likely just kill myself. "ZOMG WHY!?!?", you ask? Well, the easy answer is, I've given up on life, on living, on all this good stuff. I just drift on day to day without purpose, yep that's what I'm doing. You see, people usually have this thing that gets them through life, I think it was called ambition... Or was it dreams... No that's kinda homo, let's just call it... a metaphorical fire under their ass. Mine went out a while ago, so here I am sitting in a pile of ashes rotting. Ooooh, I just deleted a couple sentences that were supposed to be here. Hehe, they were garbage anyway, a forced attempt at being witty/smart/funny you know, the things the ladies like. Man, I've failed, I've gotten bored of typing. I thought that maybe if I tried hard enough, I could get a little something going on and just throw all my garbage issues out in the form of digital letters and be cured of my lack of everything. Bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.

I found this rant in a blog on livejournal written on 5/27/2008. Waht an emotional pierce of work...it reveals a lot about what this guy is going through... I've been there, and i've done these things... I feel a lot like him..I hope he eventually goes home to find himself..

This is a piece written by somebody who is lost...He lives with his mom somewhere in California. Please help me find him...he can still learn a lot...from us from his brotyher and his little sister....

He is my long-lost son...Lyle If you know him , pls. tell him we are here.

Tomorrow is the end of the world

2008-05-26T18:37:00.000+08:00

I remember that when i was young and I used read comic books, i always see an illustration of soomsdat pr and we should all be scared.....but if you see signs That read " Even Good Guys Do BAD THINGS" then it could be worse

Luis by Harold Buck Pago

2008-05-05T04:52:00.001+08:00

just this image

2008-04-15T19:48:00.000+08:00

The woman with the R2M

Aperture 2.1

2008-03-31T16:12:00.000+08:00

I have been very excited to use Apple's aperture for a long time since hearing about it, but when i tried the version 1.5, I was turned off.The learning curve was too much for me and i found the interface not too intuitive. When i used Adobe's Lightroom for the first time...I got hooked. The workflow was perfect for me, and I found it very easy to import images from my cf card, rate my photos, and quickly batch edit the images for exporting to my target sizes and burning it for submission to my clients.Color corrections and global enhancements was a breeze. The Aperture program just lay there on my hard disk like a fat lazy something...when the 2,0,1 came out I installed the 30-day demo version and renamed my licensed version. I started enjoying it more because it adopted my favorite tool, Lightroom's vignette, highlight recovery, etc.

When I stumbled on the featured video of Nat Geo's Jim Richardson explaining his workflow using Aperture... i was really amazed! I didn't realize that it was the tool I'll ever need in doing photo stories. i will be using it more from now on.. especially since the 2.1 version came pre-installed with a dodge and burn" plugin...Awesome!!

A food chain

2008-03-18T00:18:00.002+08:00

A cat patiently waits for a share of the food that a street kid had foraged from the trash.

the fields

2008-03-07T10:47:00.000+08:00

When I was a kid, i always looked forward to the afternoons when after school, my neighbors would play "agawan base", hide and seek, camping and all konds of games inside a vacant lot in front of our house in Quezon City.There we hid among the talahib... ran after hundreds of dragonflies, and made small huts where we lit-up bonfires and exchanged tall tales with the elders. The vacant lot was a paradise filled with Santol, guava,Avocado, star apple, Aratilis and other fruit-bearing trees. It was really fun while it lasted.We soon grew up and the other kids slowly vanished as more and more of the neighbors started moving elsewhere.That was yesterday
Today, I spent a few days in Iloilo city on a documentary assignment, I came across this kids playing near the sea. I learned that every afternoon, they would play in this patch of land by the sea, a virtual fishpond for the community,,, sadly in a few months , if conditions permit, a huge coal-fired power plant would take it's place... right beside the existing Diesel power plant in the far background. Soon after the kids happy memories of their childhood will be wiped out by dark clouds of dirty coal exhausts and toxic heavy metal by-products of the future.

"So real"

2008-02-29T09:51:00.007+08:00

Images of the daily life of the people living in Happy Lnd in Tondo Manila and a patch of land called "Ulingan" where they make charcoal from scrap wood salvaged from the adjacent garbage dump. The landscape may be surreal but the faces and the smiles are real.

South Cotabato: Hot Days, cold nights

2008-02-26T11:12:00.000+08:00

I spent a few days in North and South Cotabato chasing KC Concepcion, US Ambassador Kenney, and the MILF brothers.Being a predominantly muslim province, I literally spent cold nights inside my hotel hugging my cameras for company. The days were really hot and humid . I ate a lot of Deep-fried Dalag with rice and Tolang dalag for breakfast and fresh kinilaw na isda, seaweeds, shrimp and sometimes fat crabs for lunch.The MILF politburo on the other hand never failed to bathe us in piping-hot native brewed coffee even under that raging hot sun.

The WIld Wild West

2008-01-22T05:06:00.000+08:00

About two decades ago, these children playing without a care in the world wouldn't have been possible. These kids live in a mining community on Mt. Diwalwal which in the not too distant pasr was populated by denizens of the underworld, lost commands, and anybody who in some way have lost their will to live among us and chose to search for gold elsewhere. In the 1980's a gold rush in Mt. Diwalwal gave birth to a town where guns and gold ruled. Gun duels were everyday fare and the death toll kept rising. It was a survival of the fittest.
Today , there is peace and women and children need not live in fear.There is a schoolhouse. a health center, and an economy built on gold revenues.
The only real problem is with iver a 100,000 population and without a real eco-government policy, Mt.Diwalwal might soon become an ecological nightmare.

Quiapo Sunday

2008-01-06T15:16:00.000+08:00

Fresh vegetables for a salad, DVD's for an afternoon couch potato session. I found "I 'm Not There".A really good movie about and not about Bob Dylan's life and works.

Lumix in the streets

2008-01-05T14:49:00.000+08:00

At first I was so frustrated because my timing was off...the shutter took a longer time to capture the images as I walked the streets of Quiapo. After a while...the world around me seemed to slow down as I reversed the process. I remembered the movie "Matrix" as I consciously weaved in and out of the hustle and bustle that was Quiapo. As my sweat began to break so did my fear. This camera is fantastic!!!! Very stealthy because it makes no shutter sound at all, the body is all black and the lens has a HUGE opening at f2.0-2.4 and with the 28-90 mm Leica Vario-Summicron lens...the DMC LC-1 is perfect for street photography.hehehehe I found a jewel at last. But of course...the little M4 on my other shoulder is still the king!

A Slice of Life

2007-12-26T20:26:00.001+08:00

Christmas Past

2007-12-26T20:17:00.000+08:00

I ususally hate when Christmas comes... for so many reasons that I can't pin down. But if you really want to feel the spirit, look around you and give...anything. Giving makes us see those subtle signs of happiness.

The RF gang

2007-12-19T08:03:00.000+08:00

Rangefinder cameras: a perfect companion for shooting the streets.
(L-R) Leica 1G (loaned from Angie De Silva, Leica m4-2, Fed-3 , Fed-2, Zorki-4K

WHERE IS THE LINE?

2007-12-06T16:54:00.001+08:00

Row four images #01

2007-11-28T20:26:00.001+08:00

Langistik Man: A protester attempts to put a comic twist to the already twisted economics of skyrocketing prices of fossil fuel.

NO TO OIL PRICE HIKE: The militant women join the protest

DEEP "TOTS" .This young child learns the realities of life from the protesting public utility drivers.

Coming Soon: ROW 4 Images

2007-11-28T08:21:00.000+08:00

It's been quite a while since I have last posted new images on this blog directly.I got bitten by the multiply fever and then the facebook apps. Nothing beats this blog, it's quiet and has an air of calmness to it.
I noticed that when you make some small adjustments in multiply and facebook...the whole world is roused from sleep.

The good news is, I have gone back to school to learn about photojournalism.

One score and seven years ago...I was hurled into photojournalism because I needed to work and be the breadwinner of the family.Photography was the only other skill I know next to drawing editorial cartoons that I felt would be a good dayjob. I (was) am really passionate and obsessed with photography and I felt that I can really visualize and present my ideas better with photographic images than I can with my drawings. Not that my drawing sucks but I am not really the better artist at home...my younger sister is.

It was the heyday of picture agencies and photojournalism...The Marcos regime was on the very edge of collapse.One breaking news led to another in a vicious whirlpool which sucked my tender years,until it spewed me out like a projectile into the present.

My kids have grown up to be emerging artists too and I realize that I have nothing concrete and structured to teach them...only experiential knowledge.

Looking back, I know I have learned the ropes of photojournalism out in the streets, infron and behind the picketlines, up on the hills, and deep in the urban ghettoes. It's time to go back to school, wipeout my pre-conceived notions, and start with a clean slate.

Photojournalism, it's responsibilities and moral obligations have evolved a lot. I am positive that I will relearn it with got a timely scholarship from the Asian Center for Journalism which works closely with the World Press Photo.

In the next postings, you will see the output of a year of my studies via online and on-campus learning sessions.

Hopefully, this won't be a view from the fourth row.

Mere propagenda or truth?

2007-10-31T01:46:00.000+08:00

Is this truth or mere Propaganda?

2007-10-31T01:40:00.000+08:00

Link

inside the dressing room:Amazing Beauties 2007

2007-10-16T05:09:00.000+08:00

details will follow....

Bureau of Internal Refugees

2007-10-03T05:04:00.000+08:00

This are images taken during a photo visi with Tudla Productions to the railroad tracks where demolitions and relocations are ongoing. The people living in small houses alongside the railroad tracks are being driven away to various relocation centers outside the city to find themselves trekking back to the city on account of poor living conditions, lack of jobs and services. These people may be squatters but they it is disheartening to know that they are part of the growing number of Internal refugees in our homeland,

These images are part of the documentation using a Fuji GW670 medium-format rangefinder camera and 220 size Porta film and scanned

Southern Exposure

2007-09-05T04:56:00.000+08:00

For a lttle less than two weeks, I went on a trip with a Video Journalist Aaron Goodman, s canadian based in Bangkok. I was fixing for him. This means I have to be the assistant cameraman, gadder, PA, researcher,translator ,etc.I don't remember the last time O did this sort of thing. It was hard work for me coz' we had to work 8-15 hours a day and in the evenings, I spent a lot of time brainstorming the next day's shoot. There was no time to shoot stills for myself. Most importantly though,,, I had witnessed a lot of real things, Mothers losing their beloved husbands by extra-judicial killing, very old farmers with bent-backs toiling their landm peaceful villagers tacing the impending land-grabbing of their titled lands. human rights workers teaching the masses their basic human rights, daughters and children facing up to the loss and grief of losing their fathers and grandparents whoo were summarily killed, simple folk and sof being communists, intelligence agents swarmiaround us while we were doing doc were also the sights of dally life. Sights of hope and optimism. Here are just simple snippets of life in Southern Tagalog region as witnessed them.

Macapagal Tenement Building in Tondo

2007-09-04T05:13:00.000+08:00

Aura and Chris, a couple of really good artists give the dilapidated and condemned building a fresh coat of hope and vigor by painting the whole central area of the buildings 4th floor with heroes abd other characters. They were helped by supportive young residents.

Found:

2007-08-13T21:58:00.000+08:00

A dear friend, fellow photographer Alan Dejecacion from San Francisco found this old image he took of me in the mid 90's when we went to see "The great John Lee Hooker" (as far as i can recall) at Yoshi's blues bar in Oakland.Taken with a Leica M6.This image really gives me the blues.

Marines off to war

2007-08-02T10:48:00.000+08:00

Once in a while, there is an outbreak of war. Sometimes it's just beyond our doorsteps and we have to send our brother, our friend, or even ourselves in harm's way to fight our brothers, friends or maybe even our own selves.

Walking home from the barber shop

2007-08-02T07:15:00.000+08:00

Walking home from the barber and still reeling from the frustration of the crappy hair cut I got, this scene washed all my anger away . I need to have a cool shower too.

Jeepboy

2007-08-01T13:15:00.001+08:00

Working boy

Healers

2007-07-26T09:31:00.000+08:00

These people are fixtures of Quiapo and it's sub-culture

Quiapo Hula

2007-07-25T07:09:00.000+08:00

Standing out in the crowd, this young woman patiently waits fro her fortune and destiny to be foretold by the Fortune tellers of Quiapo at night

Honky tonk woman

2007-07-25T07:00:00.000+08:00

it's so dark inside...but the lighting was so irresistible that I took a shot the focus was off but what the heck!! I like the psychedelic pinks and violets plus the orange.

2007-07-24T07:53:00.001+08:00

Young Korean exposurists at the 2007 SONA

The lightbearer

2007-07-24T01:58:00.000+08:00

A team shoot while winding down after the SONA of PGMA..We had nothing else to do so we turned on our slave strobes and started jumping around Commonwealth avenue at dusk.John Javellana,Gil Nartea, Jes Aznar,Akira Liwanag, Buck Pago were all there.(photo by Jes Aznar)

SONA preview

2007-07-22T19:21:00.000+08:00

Quiapo Fridays

2007-07-21T21:40:00.000+08:00

It's a Friday and I spent the whole day shooting an assignment for my agency.. before I knew it, the nightlife began to unfold as I was walking the streets of Quiapo. I've long missed doing this stuff . I think this starts something

Makati Avenue on an early morning

2007-07-19T07:51:00.000+08:00

FHM 100 sexiest

2007-07-13T05:55:00.000+08:00

FHM GANGSTA article

2007-07-12T09:29:00.000+08:00

LINK to my photos on FHM

The Leica Freedom Train

2007-07-12T02:37:00.000+08:00

Cross posting

2007-07-12T01:30:00.000+08:00

I don't know that Multiply is such fun.I have not bee updating this site for a long time because initially I found it hard to maintain. This is just a test.

Turbulent 80's

2007-07-10T06:06:00.001+08:00

Please have a little more patience while this slideshow is loading.This one is good!

On the Edge

2007-07-09T08:04:00.000+08:00

Boys play in the streets, oblivious to the vehicular traffic.

Compilation of images

2007-07-02T19:31:00.000+08:00

2007-06-27T22:29:00.001+08:00

2007-06-27T22:26:00.000+08:00

A simple homelife

2007-06-24T07:59:00.000+08:00

My wife venus staring at a blank screen (balancing the blank budget ;-)

Akira ironing his school uniform (night vision mode.hehehe)

My daughter Isis pondering on whether to help with the baking or not.

Malate kids at nightfall

2007-06-22T23:48:00.000+08:00

taken with Tri-X,Leica+jupiter-3,Parodinal developer

2007-06-22T23:43:00.000+08:00

2007-06-22T16:24:00.000+08:00

2007-06-22T15:01:00.000+08:00

Father proxy

2007-06-17T20:58:00.000+08:00

2007-06-16T07:28:00.001+08:00

Siobhan with "Sexy" the dog (jupiter-3/Lucky 100)

2007-06-16T06:59:00.001+08:00

My niece Siobhan taken with a new Jupiter-3 lens I am testing

Fed-2 FSU rangefinder camera

2007-06-13T12:24:00.001+08:00

Open Source: The Fed-2 RF camera and Linux...you can't go wrong

just texting

2007-06-09T19:34:00.001+08:00

wanderin

2007-06-09T19:29:00.001+08:00

2007-06-09T19:03:00.001+08:00

hanging out

Grandpa and grandson

2007-06-09T18:46:00.000+08:00

Fathers and Daughters

2007-06-09T13:40:00.000+08:00

2007-06-09T13:36:00.000+08:00

clean fun

Anti- election fraud protesters

2007-06-05T08:32:00.001+08:00

PICC 2007: M4-2, J8

Recto Ave.

2007-06-05T03:54:00.000+08:00

CIgarette Vendor 2007:m4-2, J12

Sunday's Best

2007-06-03T08:05:00.001+08:00

Pantranco QC- Leica, Jupiter-8, Lucky film.
I was about to go up the footbridge..in the corner of my eye, a solitary figure in a long white dress was lurking in the shadows. I Pre-focused my lens ,shot a frame, and moved on.

Just when everybody else has gone Dig....

2007-05-30T21:37:00.001+08:00

Just when almost everybody has gone digital... here I am dabbling with BW film. Well I am trying out this new FSU (former Soviet Union) lens. It's a Jupiter-8 50 mm f2.0 lens. It is a little soft at the largest opening but it peoduces a certain character that I like. If not for the end of the Cold war, It would not have landed into my hands. I will push the envelope of these lenses.

J8

2007-05-28T03:18:00.001+08:00

Baclaran

camera porn

2007-05-18T09:26:00.000+08:00

2007-05-17T00:55:00.000+08:00

Floridablanca, Pampanga: Election Day

Slow count

2007-05-17T00:46:00.000+08:00

You've got to Watch this

2007-05-08T22:19:00.000+08:00

My 15-year old son Akira and the crew of "Wacky The Bastard Productions " which was part of the UPFI's basic digi-filmmaking workshop, churned out this final video with the loving supervision of Mr. Ramon Bautista. their workshop facilitator. Akira handled the cinematography..this is the scaled -down Div-X version.

Akira goes to film school

2007-05-08T08:35:00.000+08:00

Akira (right) goes to a film making workshop at The UP Film Institute (photos by Raquel Fausto)

Flying men

2007-05-05T09:16:00.000+08:00

Adrenalin pumped men

COOL NORTH

2007-05-04T01:12:00.000+08:00

SF STREET

2007-05-04T00:42:00.000+08:00

Film holdouts

2007-05-03T17:10:00.000+08:00

by Buck

Rangefinder Day

2007-05-02T08:44:00.000+08:00

RFilipinas members in a restaurant photo by Buck

Working Man's Dayoff

2007-05-02T00:42:00.000+08:00

Labor Day 2007

2007-05-02T00:41:00.000+08:00

May Day 2007: Anti Riot Police wait under the moonlight

2007-04-30T17:59:00.000+08:00

Remedios Circle Mom

2007-04-30T07:53:00.000+08:00

Children of Remedios

2007-04-30T01:36:00.000+08:00

Remedios Ciecle

2007-04-30T01:30:00.000+08:00

Remedios Training Center

It's a Bird

2007-04-29T19:17:00.000+08:00

Remedios Circle

Malate Shootout

2007-04-29T14:51:00.000+08:00

First image during the RFP walkabout at Malate Manila.
(Jupiter-12 100 asa )

2007-04-25T18:35:00.000+08:00

A beach stalker prowling White beach in Puerto Galera

2007-04-23T23:47:00.000+08:00

2007-04-23T22:55:00.000+08:00

North-bound on a bus

2007-04-23T20:47:00.000+08:00

The kids (Jupiter-12 lens)

EarthDay Jam 2007

2007-04-23T02:52:00.000+08:00

Kitchie Nadal@ EarthDay Jam 2007

2007-04-23T02:48:00.000+08:00

Nina @ EarthDay Jam 2007

2007-04-23T02:46:00.000+08:00

Orange & Lemons@ EarthDay Jam 2007

2007-04-23T02:44:00.000+08:00

UP Dharma Down@ Earthday Jam 2007

2007-04-23T02:42:00.000+08:00

Bloomfields@EarthDay Jam

just photographs

2007-04-15T23:54:00.000+08:00

Tondo, Divisoria, Baseco 2007

A new home for the Jupiter-12

2007-04-15T15:39:00.000+08:00

I got a Russian Jupiter-12 35mm f 2.8 LTM from a nice young lady who in turn bought it from respected photographer, Lester Lesesma who himself is a rangefinder kind of guy. The lens which is 43 years old yields decent images. I tried it on EPA photog Mike Alquinto above which was mounted on a Leica M4-2 anf shot at 1/125 f 2.8 and Fuji NPH film ISO 400. The lens is a keeper

RF PILIPINAS

2007-04-12T01:32:00.000+08:00

Gari B, practices loading film into a reel as he watches a movie about photography

strange paraphernalia

Members partake food amidst waiting film tanks

Jay signals start of the film processing workshop

jay agitates film tank in cold water buffer

Rain, wam and Kat seems to be in trance watching Jay

more agitation

I was shocked to read an article in the April 2007 issue of The Digital Journalist saying that the next quake in photography will be an intensity 10. Apparently, there is a movement going on in the newspaper circuit in the U.S. slowly easing out digital still cameras in the arsenal of photojournalists in the field and replacing them with HD video cameras .See article here

Not to be alarmed, a group of photography purists elsewhere in the world remains unfazed. In fact their dedication to traditional film photography is proof that despite everyday breakthroughs in digital photography, rangefinder cameras and film will continue to survive the painful revolution.