I will not tell something about the shots. I just want to know if I can tell a story without opening my mouth.

Now, what do you hear?

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/3416/dsc3931ah1.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9590/leaderoftheband2uo.jpg

http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/9896/recycling3gi.jpg

uhm.....

i hear somebody saying: "arent there any other street photography subjects but destitude and poverty???" :D

unfortunately, that is the story of manila's streets....

excellent first pic.

I would venture to guess that you are trying to show poverty through photojournalism. If that is your intent, it doesn't work well because it is coming out too candid, too direct, too in-your-face, in my opinion. I think a little subtlety will stir a little more emotion.

OT: Generally speaking, a lot of snapshots are being passed as photojournalism and devalues the work of real photojournalists.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks... some more please, I will evaluate it all later.

I would venture to guess that you are trying to show poverty through photojournalism. If that is your intent, it doesn't work well because it is coming out too candid, too direct, too in-your-face, in my opinion. I think a little subtlety will stir a little more emotion.

OT: Generally speaking, a lot of snapshots are being passed as photojournalism and devalues the work of real photojournalists.

Just my 2 cents.

hi sir! i read your comment with a lot of interest. im willing to learn and to dig deeper into the real value of street photography. care to say something more about street vs. photojournalism?

i know that street is a candid form of photography. but walking around the metro and seeing scenes like this everywhere...isnt candid street photography blurring the borders with photojournalism?

what then, gives a street photograph (say taken in the metro) its real "journalistic" value?

thanks for sharing more of your thoughts :)

A story describes a sequence of events collectively enacted, and co-constructed. Your shots are good but i dont see any story happening just by looking at it. It would help i guess if these were constructed showing definite bits of emotion from the subjects.

What do I hear?
- the sound of stomping feet, people walking and rushing to get to work... not minding the presence of the so-called beggars... APATHY! I think this is the average response now of people when it comes to dealing with poverty.

My Personal Comments:
- 1st photo... you could have highlighted more on the passery-by, reverse the blur (e.g. blur the beggar boy and make other people in-focus to highlight on the concept of "apathy")

- 2nd photo... doesn't really talk of poverty and destituteness, but rather on the creativity of the beggar (e.g. unique and patented design of the tabo-coin-collector attached to the guitar)

- 3rd photo... I find this one a bit funny, the little girl begging for alms while using a Jollibee cup... it's as if she's asking for money to be able to buy a Jollibee Happy Meal... maybe it's worth showing to Jollibee Corporation for future use in their ads.

Thanks, Mr. Deluna. :D

My Personal Comments:
- 1st photo... you could have highlighted more on the passery-by, reverse the blur (e.g. blur the beggar boy and make other people in-focus to highlight on the concept of "apathy")

- Jose i agree on that.

What I hear:

1. I hear the boy saying on his head, Why i am here? Why me?

2. I accepted what i am, i'm making the best of what i have until God takes me away.

3. Sana malaki ang kita ko para makabili ng masarap na pagkain at pambili ng laruan.


Hi Rolando is this with SREALA 2? Thanks.

Jerome, yes. sReala 2 used in D70 and D200.

I like the first shot the best, put opposite to previous comments I think more of a blur on the passer's by would have isolated the child even more.

The second photo dosen't do anything for me, I think shooting face on would have been better and brought more "personality" to this image.

The third shot, I don't like the yellow tube of the hand rail because for me it just leads my eye away from the girl and out of the photo.

Mike

in my opinion, this isn't the image of metro manila. besides, what city in the world do not have this? it may have something to do with our penchant to dwell on the negative. (ever wonder why we celebrate only the death anniversaries of our heroes, and never their births?). i guess it's what each one chooses to see through the lens. seeing is one thing, doing something is another. maybe after taking those snapshots, why not bring those two little kids to jollibee/mcdo? it may not solve their poverty, but at least it would have made a big difference to those 2 kids during that brief moment in their lives. it will make you feel good too. believe me..... (just my 2 cents' worth.... wish i could comment on the pictures--quality, impact, etc. etc., but i'm just a newbie.)

this is the story that i hear... and the story starts from the bottom picture...:Scared:

as i stepped out of the carriedo lrt station i noticed this little girl...
hmm... how ironic? to hold a cup of jolibee while she is begging for food
isn't jolibee a symbol for happiness of young children?
theres no happiness here...
maybe it was the day but...
is it me? or is that a face of a monster behind the little girl?
grinning... taunting...
but no, i will not be provoke
i am not the leading man here...
i am the storyteller...
as i stepped further i saw another beggar
no jolibee here, maybe because hes not a child anymore...
he seems like a hundred years old to me and plays the guitar too
i guess its hard to grow old to a hundred without learning anything
a guitar would be appropriate, i guess...
and so as i stepped down further i saw a boy
no jolibee... no guitar...
i wonder if he will grow old to a hundred...
i wonder if i will be able to tell a story about him...
i hope its a story where he is the leading man
who took courage and conquered life
and not an old man who plays the guitar by the stairs...

@jake_amora... what a great interpretation... may pagka-poetic pa!

Now, what I would want to hear is the story behind your avatar... he he he...

hahahah! ibang iba na story yun sir!:D
tinitingnan ko lang kung lilingon ako sa picture! :D
<sori po... OT> :BlackEye:

why not bring those two little kids to jollibee/mcdo? it may not solve their poverty,

It may not solve there poverty but it could land you in a lot of trouble!

In the west you'd probably be arrested on suspicion of being a Pedophile, something that people in the Philippines are slowly becoming more aware off.

Mike

Jake... you are so sensitive that you were able to make a story however faint the voices in my photo. Thanks. I enjoyed it.

Raul, Mr. Dougan is right. It's not as simple as that. You can't just pick up anyone from the street and take them somewhere. But what do you know? We have a body who are supposed to be taking care of this, one is DSWD. Lastly Raul, I am not trying to portray Manila here, I just wanted to know if my photos can speak for themselves. Sorry if this has offended you in anyways.

Mike, thanks for looking... are you sure you can hear the story? :D

I really like the first photo. Not perfectly compose but the message is there.
Good high POV looking down on the boy with pedestrians just walking by. A very depressing sight.

Love the nice composition on the second pic. Why is it that in the Philippines people that play music for money on the streets are beggars and not buskers?

The third photo doesn't convey despair but hope. You can see it in her eyes that she's not losing hope.

There's nothing wrong with photographing poverty because it is everywhere in the Philippines. It's something that just cannot be ignored. Robert Frank's The Americans was once panned by critics for portraying a bleak and dark portrait of America during the 50s.
In my opinion capturing reality is the essence of street photography/photojournalism.

this is the story that i hear... and the story starts from the bottom picture...:Scared:

as i stepped out of the carriedo lrt station i noticed this little girl...
hmm... how ironic? to hold a cup of jolibee while she is begging for food
isn't jolibee a symbol for happiness of young children?
theres no happiness here...
maybe it was the day but...
is it me? or is that a face of a monster behind the little girl?
grinning... taunting...
but no, i will not be provoke
i am not the leading man here...
i am the storyteller...
as i stepped further i saw another beggar
no jolibee here, maybe because hes not a child anymore...
he seems like a hundred years old to me and plays the guitar too
i guess its hard to grow old to a hundred without learning anything
a guitar would be appropriate, i guess...
and so as i stepped down further i saw a boy
no jolibee... no guitar...
i wonder if he will grow old to a hundred...
i wonder if i will be able to tell a story about him...
i hope its a story where he is the leading man
who took courage and conquered life
and not an old man who plays the guitar by the stairs...

Nicely scribed Jake! :) It was an inspiring read... And the thoughts are real.

@ Mike Dougan, Hope you are well my friend. :) Your comments are as concise and direct as ever; but always certainly well worth considering.

@ Rolly - Napaka versatile mo talagang photog. Bro.! I wish people would get to know you more and learn about your sensitive side... kahit yung serious and comic side later nalang. :D

Nice point Sir Billedo... Like what news publishers say... it's no news when it's not bad. :D

Mike, thanks for looking... are you sure you can hear the story? :D

I hear it, I see it, it's all around me! I live in the provinces. We have no Jollibee or any other large chain resteraunt's here. It's only 80kms north of Manila but sometimes I think I'm on a different planet.

When I had a little involvement with Child Hope Asia, I was amazed at the hopelesness of there situation and I admired those people who where able to continue giving there time to this cause.

Mike

Earl.. one lens, shoot all. Hehehehe

Which side is that again? :D

mr. rolly: nope, i'm not offended by your photos. i know it's a reality here and in every bustling city around the world. it's just this tendency to focus on them instead of doing something, how little it may be, to make them feel better.
mr. dougan: here's one fairly recently. while gassing up at caltex mindanao ave on my way home one night, there was this streetkid who approached motorists at the station for alms. when he went to me, i talked to him, asked if he was hungry. he said yes, i asked if he wanted a hotdog sandwich (i'm buying one for myself), and he nodded. bought him soft drink as well. and when i asked if he wanted to eat there at the gas station kiosk, he said he wanted to bring the sandwich home to share with his younger sister. then i said wait, and i bought another for her sister. you should see the smile on this kid's face, and his 'salamat po' was one of the most sincere i've ever heard. just sharing.

mr. rolly: nope, i'm not offended by your photos. i know it's a reality here and in every bustling city around the world. it's just this tendency to focus on them instead of doing something, how little it may be, to make them feel better.
mr. dougan: here's one fairly recently. while gassing up at caltex mindanao ave on my way home one night, there was this streetkid who approached motorists at the station for alms. when he went to me, i talked to him, asked if he was hungry. he said yes, i asked if he wanted a hotdog sandwich (i'm buying one for myself), and he nodded. bought him soft drink as well. and when i asked if he wanted to eat there at the gas station kiosk, he said he wanted to bring the sandwich home to share with his younger sister. then i said wait, and i bought another for her sister. you should see the smile on this kid's face, and his 'salamat po' was one of the most sincere i've ever heard. just sharing.

Raul,

This is eactly what I do, in the streets here in San Miguel. Buy street food, hot dogs etc... at least there is plenty of people about to see that my intention's are not bad.

Mike

Sir Marcelo... i encountered such occassion too. Bad and Good. I do not have a ride like you do, so I was in a jeep, there is this boy who wipes passengers footware and then collect some change later. It's my policy to never give money to beggars. I thought it just encourage them to stay in the streets and make money this way. It is dangerous to them as well as to the motorist such as yourself. Okay, back to the beggar, I just gave him the food I have with me. He said it was cool because he will have some food for school the next day. So I gave him some more.

Now, lucky you you haven't been in another similar situation but this time its ugly! I was in Baywalk when a beggar approached me for some change. Instead of money, I gave him my food. It was not even a left over, and actually I am about to eat it. He took it then throw it at my face. Leaving a remark, "Gago ka ba? Pera hinihingi ko hindi tinapay!".

Just sharing too.

Now, as for the "tendecy to focus on them", I think this phrase is exageration already. You need not focus, they are everywhere. Unless you are living way up the poverty line, you will come to believe that poverty is normal. We are not even talking of Syndicated Beggars yet. :D

Sir Marcelo, actually, WE are doing something. You work, I work, we work, when we take our salary, there's a fixed amount taken from it, it's called tax.. a portion of this is supposed to be spent on the poverty problems. But that's beside my point. I just want my photos to speak that's all.

:D

@rolly, parang napamura ako 'dun sa baywalk experience mo ah. anong ginawa mo pre? kung sa marikina river 'yan hinataw mo na ng pleco 'yan sigurado :)

@rolly, parang napamura ako 'dun sa baywalk experience mo ah. anong ginawa mo pre? kung sa marikina river 'yan hinataw mo na ng pleco 'yan sigurado :)

:D walanghiya talaga yang pleko na yan, kung saan saan nakakarating! :D It's everywhere... ooooops OT na!

rolly: got your point about the photos. i really have nothing against those photos or people who like shooting poverty scenes. read tomorrow's inquirer about this very poor town in saranggani (i think) getting an LGU award for not allowing poverty to become a hindrance in their fight against poverty and its manifestations. inspiring piece.

I like the first one as well. The kid provided a very good contrast amidst the hustle of the metropolis.

Mykl, Actually, napahiya ako, maraming nakakita eh.. I just moved along... If we were in Marikina River banks, I will push him so the Plekos can feast on him. Hehehehe

Sir Marcelo, Poverty in the province is a different thing. Practically, in the province, it's hard to be hungry as long as you are not lazy. But poverty in the metro, where the slightest movement requires a change or two, that is a very different story. Heck, even the public toilets require you to pay! :D