hey guys!

what/where are some of the places that you think are good street photography spots? i personally like the "riles" area along osmena highway but it's been cleaned up already and i think there's little or no more people living along the tracks.

John

not really street.. but have you tried the WATER PEOPLE "fishing community" at the coastal road area... the ones with houses on stilts beside the road?.... looks promising.. may market pa near the houses where they sell their stuff.

been dying to shoot there..hope to get someone to go with me

you can check out my friend's photoblog (http://my_sarisari_store.typepad.com/) who's into that field. he's on hiatus though...

@Francis

ako din gusto ko try pumunta dun. maybe we can form a group and go there one time

sure pre.. anyone one wants to go with me and jovit? i want to shoot black and white film for that... astig!

@ francis and jovit

yeah i've been to those places, i've been to one sa may laguna lake and like what you said, it was very promising. i'd be game for that sort of a trip!

John

this will be an interesting shoot. i'd also like to join the group.

not really street.. but have you tried the WATER PEOPLE "fishing community" at the coastal road area... the ones with houses on stilts beside the road?.... looks promising.. may market pa near the houses where they sell their stuff.

been dying to shoot there..hope to get someone to go with me


i thought bawal na magshoot sa coastal road,,, :Thinking: i think i saw it in one of the threads here,,, was about to shoot there for the sunset then i saw the thread nagdalawang isip na ko:Scared:

not sure but bombing and terrorism ata ung reason

Francis, sama ako. Kung matuloy man, I hope na di ngayong weekend.

game na to. tatakbo na.

Makati CBD. Just dont go in groups. Go alone.
Just walk around shooting people with a short lens and a quite camera. :D

i thought bawal na magshoot sa coastal road,,, :Thinking: i think i saw it in one of the threads here,,, was about to shoot there for the sunset then i saw the thread nagdalawang isip na ko:Scared:

Are you refering to Longos, Zapote? John, Me and other DPP members were there some time ago... We didn't have any problems of any sort, though there was a group there picketing not to reclaim that part of Manila bay, other than that, everyone were all smiles =)

Street photography does not neccessarily have to be poor people right? Just a thought.

Street photography does not neccessarily have to be poor people right? Just a thought.

Bingo!
Street photog doesnt have to show poverty.

Bingo!
Street photog doesnt have to show poverty.

i will agree with you that street doesnt have to always show poverty.

but, i will also have to sort of digress when the issue of street photography in manila is concerned. when over 70% of the city's population lives below substandard conditions, there's no way you can capture the spirit of the city's people without including (or representing) the poverty so prevalent around. doing street in manila, you would always bump into the lives of people who are not as lucky as you and me. if i see an interesting face, must i withhold a shot just because he is a vendor, a "tambay," or not wearing nice clothes? these people are part of manila's biosphere. its quite hard not to include them when documenting the city's streets.

i understand what your rationale for street is. of course, it can become so much of a cliche, to see the same things over and over (street children again). i guess as street enthusiasts, we are better off shooting people going about their lives, whether they be grand and upscale, or just simply eeking out a living in the city's gritty corners. photography can help convey the message not exactly of poverty, but of just how tough the pinoy spirit is. that inspite of all the struggle just to survive, eat one meal a day, and get to feed a family...the manileno can still give that wide, tooth-less grin - and show the world what real joy is.

Good point Jay, that's how Manila is indeed. I just asked that question since street photography in other places involves people in cafes or in public transport.

well said jay! =)

Bingo!
Street photog doesnt have to show poverty.
unfortunately in our country poverty is synonymous with street sonny. street photography is about life on the streets. you say you want to shoot street. do you expect to take photos in the streets of makati area where rich business men walk the streets in their luxurious lifestyles and it's full of 711's, mini stops, jolibees or mcdonalds or you go to quiapo to shoot real people, real filipinos in their bangketas or stalls that are marginalized by society? you want ala chris weeks. but the conditions here are not the same as of the states. our streetlife is different from theirs. hell, you can't even shoot in malls here or anywhere near them. have you even tried to shoot around even just outside our campus? have you even bothered to do so? yes, street doesn't have to show poverty. but what do yo do in a country where poverty is synonymous with street?

John

John,

Whats up with the tone dude? I sense some hostility there.
There is nothing wrong with taking your camera anywhere with you and whipping it out once in a while man. Its actually not too difficult to shoot inside a mall, I'm sure many here have done it. I havent tried shooting outside the campus yet, and I dont know why you needed to use such a tone with me.

Cheers

John,

Whats up with the tone dude? I sense some hostility there.
There is nothing wrong with taking your camera anywhere with you and whipping it out once in a while man. Its actually not too difficult to shoot inside a mall, I'm sure many here have done it. I havent tried shooting outside the campus yet, and I dont know why you needed to use such a tone with me.

Cheers

i'm not trying to be hostile here man. i'm simply trying to get my opinions across in the same manner that you expressed yours regarding people who go to the so-called "depressed" areas "just to shoot" street. :)

John

For clarification, my post on the other thread read:

"Street photography is taken almost literally here. People assosciate "street photography" with poverty and feel like they need to go out of their way and go to depressed areas to take shots of people there. You can also check chris weeks' deviantart for the rest of his stuff."

Dont recall using the phrase "just to shoot".

Like Fidel said earlier, he noticed that other street photographs show scenes in public transport, in cafe's, malls, etc.

The topic is about good street spots and I said the makati CBD area is a good area to shoot, the other thread is where I mentioned that one doesnt need to go out of their way to get those "street" images.

Hope this clarifies things man. Still looking forward to shoot with you.

i prefer manila like in quiapo, binondo, katipunan, taft and retiro area. i am able to get good shots there. you can also get good shots during rallies. that's where i go when i want legit journalism shots. you are able to immerse yourself into the situation and you are able to relay the right message to the people looking at your pictures.

i prefer manila like in quiapo, binondo, katipunan, taft and retiro area. i am able to get good shots there. you can also get good shots during rallies. that's where i go when i want legit journalism shots. you are able to immerse yourself into the situation and you are able to relay the right message to the people looking at your pictures.

hey jp! agree here. that's the way to do it, immerse yourself and get involved. that's the essence of street. hey, i shoot at those areas as well! maybe we should hook up :)


John

Chill guys. :) I think the point trying to be made here is that street photography could be photos of poverty or of more prosperous situations and people. I just noticed that some street photography does involve scenes like cafe's, malls etc. but I didn't say nor imply that photographing poor people is wrong.

BOTH are great subjects indeed and do make for excellent photos.

Chill guys. :) I think the point trying to be made here is that street photography could be photos of poverty or of more prosperous situations and people. I just noticed that some street photography does involve scenes like cafe's, malls etc. but I didn't say nor imply that photographing poor people is wrong.

BOTH are great subjects indeed and do make for excellent photos.

This was the point I wanted to convey too.
Miscommunication I guess.

hey jp! agree here. that's the way to do it, immerse yourself and get involved. that's the essence of street. hey, i shoot at those areas as well! maybe we should hook up :)


John

great john i would love that. it's nice to do a buddy system while doing street photography. it's hard to shoot street alone especially for me. i easily get lost even while walking around hehehe! i have friends in the the Concerned Artists of the Philippines and they are the ones guiding me to do proper street photogrpahy and photo journalism. they say that you need to know the sitaution the people you are shooting. otherwise, you might convene the wrong the message and the people who are looking at your pictures will be misinformed of the paradigm the people in that area.

okay everything cleared, let's get this thread back on topic. :Grin:

what about that area by the bay near mall of asia? it's such a nice place to shoot - there's lovers, kids, vendors, even stray dogs. different kind of activities done there day in and day out. glorious sunset also. who wants to shoot there this sunday? i'm going :)


John

Will try to be there after lunch :)

great john i would love that. it's nice to do a buddy system while doing street photography. it's hard to shoot street alone especially for me. i easily get lost even while walking around hehehe! i have friends in the the Concerned Artists of the Philippines and they are the ones guiding me to do proper street photogrpahy and photo journalism. they say that you need to know the sitaution the people you are shooting. otherwise, you might convene the wrong the message and the people who are looking at your pictures will be misinformed of the paradigm the people in that area.

yeah i've been shooting street and news alone ever since i started to take interest. i must admit that it would be a plus if you have even just one buddy with you (it's chaotic if you ride around in a jeep and go about the metro in a group of 4+ naman diba?? hehe :)). great! let's hook up soon. i'll pm you my number.


John

Will try to be there after lunch :)

okay! let's meet up after lunch then to those interested. :)

My view.

Street photography here in the country is almost always associated with taking photos of poor people as what has been posted. The more their poverty is showing, the better. Its so trite. My apologies for using the word. Countless forums and galleries are showcasing these kind of photos to the point that I'm thinking that we are just exploiting them for their condition. Overdo PS enhancements on the eyes and it just gives me the creeps as these poor people are transformed to otherworldy characters (no, this is not flame bait).

Maybe its time that we also show the other side of the street?
They're also real people eking out a living, going on with the daily grind to survive, feed family, and have fun.

yeah i've been shooting street and news alone ever since i started to take interest. i must admit that it would be a plus if you have even just one buddy with you (it's chaotic if you ride around in a jeep and go about the metro in a group of 4+ naman diba?? hehe :)). great! let's hook up soon. i'll pm you my number.


John

great! i'll hook you up when there are rallies i will be shooting. we will be part of the rallying group so we will be guided well where we can stay.

TIP for shooting rallies: always try to get a contact with the people rallying. sometimes you are alienated from the group that you are mistaken for a "spy" from ahem ahem the "other side." people will look at you and it might not be a pleasant experience if they suddenly turn their attention towards you.

great! i'll hook you up when there are rallies i will be shooting. we will be part of the rallying group so we will be guided well where we can stay.

TIP for shooting rallies: always try to get a contact with the people rallying. sometimes you are alienated from the group that you are mistaken for a "spy" from ahem ahem the "other side." people will look at you and it might be a pleasant experience if they suddenly turn their attention towards you.

thanks for the tips sir, i have covered a couple of rallies myself and i guess i know a thing or two about it :) yes i know about that, i got cornered once by protesters because they thought i was a spy or something since i didn't have a press card back then. luckily now i have one already. :)

John

as i had been telling friends, street photography is so hard to get into because the aesthetic values have never been properly set. its such an open field. one "street" photograph may be good for you but may be crap for another. everyone has their own value system about these kinds of images.

better just offer your views about what kind of street photographs appeals to you and leave others to their own brand of photography. some images might not work for you, but it does for her/him, so just the same we'll have to respect what he or she does....

if street photography is portraying a soceity's way of life, then poverty and street photography is so intertwined here in the philippines. there's no turning a blind eye here. if it does sounds tired, well....who isnt tired of destitution in this country? sino bang hindi nangarap na yumaman at umaseso ang bansa natin?

..if photography - especially documentary/journalistic/street photography - espouses the truth, then the truth is already obvious with the photographs that we are seeing...

okay! let's meet up after lunch then to those interested. :)

good luck john, my friend... hope i can catch up...

here's a teaser from some time ago...
http://static.flickr.com/66/183000413_ca95e1206e_o.jpg

as i had been telling friends, street photography is so hard to get into because the aesthetic values have never been properly set. its such an open field. one "street" photograph may be good for you but may be crap for another. everyone has their own value system about these kinds of images.

better just offer your views about what kind of street photographs appeals to you and leave others to their own brand of photography. some images might not work for you, but it does for her/him, so just the same we'll have to respect what he or she does....

if street photography is portraying a soceity's way of life, then poverty and street photography is so intertwined here in the philippines. there's no turning a blind eye here. if it does sounds tired, well....who isnt tired of destitution in this country? sino bang hindi nangarap na yumaman at umaseso ang bansa natin?

..if photography - especially documentary/journalistic/street photography - espouses the truth, then the truth is already obvious with the photographs that we are seeing...

yeah i agree that sometimes you have a different point of view from others. and it's very hard to sway them over to your pov. that's why we need to repsect their pov well up to a certain sense i guess for me.

but the truth in photographs can be misleading nowadays. it is not evident that the message you are conveying is the truth for the situation. a photogrpaher can capture so many moments in a given scene. but if you how only a single moment and it's not fir for describing the whole scenario then you will be doing a great injustice to the message of the event (eg. in rallies, you can show people showing how they bravely walk over to the mendiola hand in hand shwoing togetherness, but what if you show that there part where the police and rallyist are in a commotion and then a narrow it down even more when a rallyist is fightinig a policeman. if you are unable to show in your photograph that the rallyist just defended himself against an abusiive policeman during the rally then you migt have sent the message that rallyist are "anarchists" that are just out for chaos and violence. journalism is very sensitive due to importance of their message they are trying to convey.

peace!

right.

its still up to the photographer to show what half-truth there is in a given scene at a particular moment. not unless he has a 360-deg four-way fisheye lens, every photo is a "crop" of the truth.

are we saying, then, that photographs can never be counted upon to offer the complete truth....and thus we shouldnt believe in what they say?

what then is the value of photography in journalism?

right.

its still up to the photographer to show what half-truth there is in a given scene at a particular moment. not unless he has a 360-deg four-way fisheye lens, every photo is a "crop" of the truth.

are we saying, then, that photographs can never be counted upon to offer the complete truth....and thus we shouldnt believe in what they say?

what then is the value of photography in journalism?

photographs are very essential in the truth. but we have to choose our photos very carefully. we have to understand what photos we need to take and what not. since we are all coming from different angles there are chances that a different angle might perceive to portray a different message from another. the believing part for me is up to the one looking at the photos. what we are doing is showing the people what we see through our eyes. if we want them to believe what we are trying to say we need to be very selective in the photoes we use.

the role of photography in journalism for me encompasses aesthetics. it not just only feeds the senses but also reaches the human mind to comprehend the situation. it tries to talk to the individual that there is something hapenning in the photo and it is trying to send send out a message.

it's similiar to post modernism. it's no longer about just satisfying yourself as an artist/photographer. you cannot be absurd for the sake of being one. absurdity is just a form to relay your message. in photo journalism you must make clear what you are trying to say then follow it with the composition.

here's a tip on what i do whenever i do some artwork may it be drawing or photos. i try to answer the 3 M's.

Message- what's the message are you trying to convey?
Motivation- why are you doing it? do you have the right reason for doing it?
Medium- what's the form are you using? is it properly exceuted in that form or is that the best form to use for that scenario?

i just shortened the definition for each one. but i'm sure you guys will be able to get it :) there might be more questions other people can add to those. but those three M's for me are basics and need to be answered first above the rest. they can be even used when you do something in your everyday lives.

enjoy!