Day 031: Encounters

Day 031:

"You can never know about your own destiny: are the people you meet there to play a part in your destiny, or do you exist just to play a role in theirs?"
- Libba Bray, Going Bovine


I’m impressionable.

I tend to pick up the phonetic and lexical idiosyncracies of the group I stick with after a while, maybe as a subconscious way of seeking acceptance in a group. For instance, joke-types or fake German or Transylvanian accents or even the preference of speaking in English or Tagalog.

But there are also instances where I am seen as “influential” (Just a few, though. Hahahaha).  People follow what I say, or ask me for advice, or look to me to get things done.

In our encounters, what I find most interesting is that spectrum in which we find ourselves. Sometimes we are blown away by the influence of other people. They make a dent in the fabric of ourselves that after meeting some people we are changed forever. Sometimes, we are the bludgeoning force that causes the change in other people. More often than not, we’re caught somewhere in between.


I enjoy meeting new people. It's fun.

Day 030: Good Friends

Day 030:

Good friends make things better.

Day 029: Memories

Day 029:

One of my more happy moments nowadays, a gigantic consolation in a tense time.

I went home for the weekend, immensely tired and a lot on my mind. Felt like the world was crashing. Nothing was going for me. I woke up hours late for all my appointments, panicking and still feeling horrible. Phone turned out broken. Back up phone didn't have enough contacts. Screen bonking out on me again.

But as I stumbled out of my room with an emotio-physiological sort of hangover, my younger brother greeted me, "KUGA!" It was the first time I heard him say my name, or at least a similar variant of it. Apparently, he learned how to say it a few days ago. He already had a version meant for waking me up, for reprimanding me, and for asking for food.

That made my day alright there and then.

Day 028: Out of Focus

Day 028:

An F1.8 aperture would allow you to perform well without much light. You'd be able to catch sharp images, with minimal grain due to the low ISO number. However, your depth of field is reduced to a minimum. Sometimes, you'd like that, focusing on a single subject, as you'd prefer to do for a portrait. Sometimes, you lose the detail and sharpness that you would have wanted... such as in landscapes or in group photos.

High pressure situations call for focus. We call on all our resources in order to get some things done. We purposefully ignore or set aside some aspects of ourselves in order to assure the completion of the task at hand. This isn't meant to be a permanent tunnel-vision, but a temporary one. As soon as we complete an exam or a task, we're meant to scan the area again for the next emergent item. The advantage, is of course, we are able to perform well, despite the "low light".

However, there are details that are lost. Maybe, found somewhere in the background, or just out of your depth of field is what should have been the photo of your life.

[I borrowed a friend's EOS 500D for this photo, with a 50mm f1.8. Thank you good friend.]

Day 027: Departures

Day 027:

Something possibly unrelated, tangential at most to the picture: Today we ended our Neurology module with an exam and wardwork. Our preceptor, Dr. R, asked, "This is your last day in Neurology isn't it? Well, I hope you learned a lot."

Indeed we did.

Back in grade school, maybe even high school, parting with teachers was almost an emotionally significant event. There was warmth in your heart, well-meant expressions of gratitude exchanged. When we said, "Thank you, I was glad to have met you." We meant it.

This faded along the way. College. Probably one in three professors actually became your friends. People you could talk to.

Now, we just meet and part with a shrug, hello, goodbye. Some professors pass. I forgot their name.

It's sad.

Day 026: Potential

Day 026:

The dreamer sees not what is but what can be...

"I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic. I try to give that to people. I do misrepresent things. I don’t tell truths. I tell what ought to be truth."

— A Streetcar Named Desire

Day 025: Smile

Day 025:

Sometimes, I believe God places little things here and there to remind you to smile. So Smile! :D


To Someone I know... Happy Birthday! :)

Day 024: Wasted

Day 024:

Took this yesterday also. PET bottles. It's great for bringing drinks around. Softdrinks. Water. Iced Tea. Milk Tea. Easy to store, chill, open, close, re-open and re-close. Cheap to make. (getting cheaper as the demand goes up).

It just sucks when you realize that even a million years won't be enough for the elements to degrade it back into a nature-usable form... especially if it's littered about like this.

Day 023: The Plan

Day 023:

Took this at my sibling's football tournament... :)

Day 022: The Metanarrative

Day 022:

A little over a decade ago, an image such as the one above would have cost around 10 pesos per. We buy a 36-shot roll (ISO 400 for low light situations), take a photo, pray to god we got the exposure right, finish the roll, remove it carefully, bring it to the the developer, wait for an hour. SURPRISE.

Now... well... there are... just photos. lots and lots of them.

Day 021: The Night of the Amphibious City

Day 021:

The Night of the Amphibious City. Tonight, I happened to be passing along Yakal st. in Makati. We spent an hour traversing 700m worth of road. Thank God I had a driver with me. As we approached the end, where the roads converge towards Osmena Highway, we saw the reason for the snail-like pace.

My car... a stock 2006 Honda City became amphibious that night. ONWARDS!

Day 020: Leading Lines

Day 020:

One of the key or suggested elements of photographic composition is leading lines. They are lines (often straight, sometimes curved) that guide the eyes of the viewer through the story of your photograph. These are most obvious in instances of straight lines, like telephone poles, successive regular shapes, and things like that. Curved roads often make good ones too. The challenge is for the photographer to find a good, subtle leading line.

This photograph is far from perfect. It was also shot from far from perfect conditions. Ask the people I was with when I took it. Taken from outside a 40-story building from the 32nd floor... where do these lines lead?

Day 019: Playground

Day 019:

Starting two years old, play becomes an integral part of a child's social and cognitive development. Slowly we'll see children move from being surprised at the cause-effect of their actions, to symbolic representations of the world around him or her. Toys become representative of fantastic worlds, or maybe real ones. A doll becomes "my baby", a matchbox car becomes "daddy", a tea party becomes a real party with friends from all over the neighborhood.

When I was a younger, around 4 to around 7, I remember enjoying walking around malls, megamall or whatever SM there was back then. I didn't like the stores. I had no concept of money. But I loved the floor. They were my canvas for fantasy. I imagined the blue tiles to be "safe zones" and the white ones to be boiling lava! I hoped from one side of the cavern of doom to the next. I was a hero trying to save the world! For a child, any place is a playground.

But, i don't know if it's right when that playground becomes our streets. Where the fantasies and dragons, animated in the child's mind, are realized by monsters that honk their horns, travel at 60kph, and have halogen lights for eyes. I don't know if it's still right if the play of children can actually hurt them back.

Day 018: Convenience

Day 018:

7-11. Ministop. Convenience stores. The haven of students and nocturnal animals. It is the mark of post-modern society. At 2 am, we can, within 400m of our homes, buy anything from alcohol, milk, miserable excuses for food, preservatives... caffeine... and whatever else a student can need. save for love and human contact... or maybe.

Day 017: Which way?

Day 017:

Which way home?


[photographer's note: The N97 camera is handy... but it handles agonizingly slow. And it performs awfully in low light. But, I guess, it is to be expected.]

Day 016: Always Something There to Remind Me

Day 016:

Actually at this point, I'm "semi-sorta" cheating. This is an old photo of mine. I took it around April last year (2010). More than anything else, probably this is really just a "blog" type post, with me trying to explain how I feel with a photo. So, this is how I feel. It's not really that positive, in case you're wondering.

Day 015: Conversations

Day 015:

There is a strange fascination in getting to know another person. And when you realize that the chance of two people meeting in this world is infinitesimally small... When you realize, I wouldn't have meet this person if I wasn't here... or if I didn't do this... or if this or that... the encounter becomes ever more poignant.

In the postmodern condition, interaction is simultaneously becoming unitive and disjointed, communication is put on intensified by instant-reception social networking sites, SMS, email and unlimited phonecalls. We are constantly connected to the world of our peers, yet we (as a collective race) have never felt so unknown and alone.

A real conversation, over beer, karaoke, oishi chips, coffee or whatever have you, is always refreshing. It reminds us that we are real, and so is that other person.

We meet people. We enjoy. We grow. We're lucky. Cheers.

Day 014: The Scientist

Day 014:

I don't think that the photo needs more explanation. But for the sake of context... In our medical school, we are tasked to generate research in large groups (16 per group). For the first year, we focus on basic science research (biochemistry or physiology). The succeeding years focus more on clinical and epidemiological research. So this is really a snapshot of us, trying to pass.

Cheers Ian. Go Quassia Amara group.

Day 013: Cleaning Day

Day 013:

Let's put a temporary stop to post-processing. :) Back to originals.

Cleaning day for research! The team's putting their noses on the line (against disinfectants) in order to ensure that our precious little cells won't get contaminated by bad things. Clean all surfaces. Note all glassware. Tabulate available reagents. Cut leaves.

Day 012: Exodus

Day 012:

Here's a scene from the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) of the Philippines. It was around 630pm. This is probably the third wave of people going home using the Metro. Although I'm not a regular MRT rider, I've used the transit more than enough times to know this is NOT a normal sight. I've never, ever encountered it this dense, this congested and this... chaotic.

It makes me wonder, why the build up of traveling people? Did it rain? Nah. Are there fewer trains today? Maybe. Was there a bus strike I didn't know of? Possible. Or is there a real exodus of people to escape some impending zombie apocalypse? Oh no! we're doomed. Or maybe... this is simply a reminder how lacking the transit system in the country is. Boo.

Day 011: Ihaw

Day 011:

Ihaw... Grill (or Grille) in Tagalog. If you don't mind the gritty urban feel, the noisy tricycles passing by, or the smell of smoke (and other things), for around 25-50 pesos (0.5 to 1 USD) you can get a full sumptuous meal. Rice and well treated pork belly. Yum Yum.

Day 010: Safe Haven

Day 010:

Everyone needs a refuge, even if it's a 10 square meter space in the city. Back in my undergrad years, it was my car. Now, I have a wall, a bed in half-a-room. It's a different game altogether, in a different world altogether.

It is here in these sacred spaces that we find ourselves when we get lost. We refocus and return ourselves in the right direction. It's these small moments that give us the guts and the energy to face our monsters another day.

Day 009: Curious Cat

Day 009:

Walking off the LRT, I noticed something peculiar along the tracks. Curiosity did kill the cat.

Day 008: New toy...

Day 008:

Today... I got a new toy. :> Nyahahaha... it will bring my photography to new heights... or new depths.

Day 007: Soft Inside

Day 007:

Apparently, there are "proper" ways to do these things. But on the more real side... I've always wondered how to eat soft boiled eggs.


P.s. It seems I am a few days behind... so pardon if I upload several times to make up for it.

Day 006: Teachers' Goodbye

Day 006:

Slice of my life. We had our KUB (Kidney, Ureter & Bladder) exam today. With that, we end our short encounter with the anatomy department. Fin. We say goodbye to the Anatomy Laboratory. We say goodbye to our cadavers, our dear friends who have taught us much. The lives we will save, we owe to you. Cheers.

Day 005: Ants

Day 005:

We are lucky. Our blood cells and blood vessels are not as efficient as our cars and roads. Otherwise we would suffer a heart attack everyday.

Day 004: Gimme More!

Day 004:

Being around children is always very refreshing. They possess the spontaneity and honesty that we've lost somewhere in the process of growing up. There is no "warming up" period prior to opening up, or being "themselves". They are who they are.

And this child wants food.


[p.s. Happy birthday dear sister! I miss you! Take care!]

Day 003: The Mind's Eye

Day 003: Look into the world with the Mind's Eye.

It's a little bit dirty at the moment... Took this while cleaning my baby. Canon EF 24-105 F/4 L IS USM. Horrah.

Day 002: Happy Hour

Day 002:

The bar scene at Fez, Serendra. There isn't much bar, to be honest. I wonder... in a place like this, do people actually go to the bar, order a drink or two, and tell stories to the bartender, as they do in shows and movies? Is it functional in that sense or is this simply a venue for them to mix drinks and to better the ambiance of the place? Cheers bartender man.

Day 001: Happy New Year

Day 001:

It's a day late... But might as well start from the beginning. Happy new year everyone!