Day 097: Passion

Day 097:

There are things. Actually, maybe most things. You can do well, if you have enough passion. Maybe you'll begin without that much competency. But passion will push you through. Passion will lead you to learn more and more. Passion will be your drive. Passion will make you succeed.

Day 096: Dreams of Tomorrow

Day 096:

Ladies and Gentlemen... I present you with the lights of tomorrow... or rather today. Located in the Faculty Medical Arts Building of the PGH, we have Operating Rooms that are lit by shadowless and heatless sources of light, designed specially for safer, faster, more effective medical interventions.

I also present to you a dream. My dream. Or at least one of my dreams. (Together with being a Divemaster or scuba instructor and a professional photographer!) Surgery. hahaha. Maybe in the future, it'll change. When I see what surgery means, or how surgeons are made. But now, at least I have a dream.

The next important step, is looking at people who have "achieved" their dream. Look at what models they've patterned their life after. Will it work for you? Look at how they live their lives or the decisions they've made. Can you do the same? Look at who they are. Would you like to be similar to them? Then you look at the dream again. Is it still your dream?

Day 095: Dark and Scary Corners

Day 095:

I took this photo on one of my night strolls around Manila. This is a sidewalk along Pedro Gil, a major road beside my university. On a normal day, this path would be bustling with people going to and from work, students rushing to their classes, doctors and healthcare workers hurrying to save lives, and vendors pushing and shoving to make a living. That is, of course during the daytime...

At night, normal paths like this become more than a little ominous. I think I was brave carrying my tripod and Canon7d around the streets of Manila at this time. Although, admittedly, this sidewalk is relatively safe and close to civilization... the streets of Manila are not exactly your best site for an leisurely evening stroll. But, as a photographer, there is beauty to be seen here. I love the way this photo came out. Slow shutter speed and a tripod. Very useful.

Likewise, there are paths in our lives that are ominous presences. We cannot help but be afraid, as we enter them. Exams, entrance tests, rites of passage, neighborhood changes... all of these are moments of uncertainty. We look at them. cringe a little. gather our guts. lunge forward. hope that it will be worth it. And like this photo... It often is.

Day 094: Time-Bound

Day 093:

Time changes our orientation about everything. A seemingly mediocre task, when placed within the confines of a time limit becomes rattling and challenging. As the time of judgement comes closer and closer, things just become seemingly more and more impossible. We can panic and lose our heads... or we can do what we have to do. As doctors, I think we must be ready to do the latter, under any form of pressure, from everyone, from time, or from ourselves.

Day 093: From the Eyes of a Child

Day 093:

Today, my 2 year-old brother is a guest photographer in my blog. He's pretty funny. Before he learns how to write or read, he already knows how to operate a digital camera. He loves playing with my mother's dual screen samsung. Thank God he doesn't take vanity pics... well, at least not yet. But he often walks around our house, with an awkward hold on my mother's red-and-black camera. He'll call our attention, point and shoot.

Most of his shots would classify as low-angle shots. Understandable. But if you go through the things he takes a picture of (most of which are blurred, or covered with his own finger), you'll get a glimpse of what a child sees in the world. Wouldn't that be something? :)

Day 092: Slippery Business

Day 092:

Balancing different responsibilities is a troublesome act... the danger of failing one, the other or both is always high.

I took this photo... I just found it funny. The placement of the sign just lent itself to a humorous interpretation... maybe one too literal. Hehehehe.

Day 091: Sometimes the day...

Day 091:

... it just sucks.

Sometimes, the day just doesn't go right. Anxiety hits in. Arguments ensue. Nervous about an upcoming exam. Waiting for past exams results. Unstable realities. Harsh difficulties. Hopeful for the future. Worried about the present. Take a moment. Rub your aching head. Think about what you've done wrong. What you've done right. Reflect. Change what you can. Accept what you can't. Take action. Expect the worst. Hope for the best. Do your best. Don't rest when you're tired. Rest when you're done.

[Note: Thank you Nino Venida, for taking this photo. As obviously, I was the model. I haven't done BW post processing in a while. I missed it. So here's a rough go.]