My personal best for 2008

Since I've been taking a lot of photos for the past months, I decided to make another year end blog. From now on, every January, I will choose 15 of my best photos for the year.

This will be a good way for me to look back at the places, people, and events that I've encountered last year. After shedding my budget to purchase cameras and exposing dozens of films, I guess it is all worth it.

So here it is, my top 15 personal best photos for 2008, enjoy the story behind each images:

15.) Dusk at the Villa
The sky was turning pitch black at Villa Escudero in Tiaong, Quezon. The tourist Jeepney was about to fetch us when I pointed the LCD screen at the trees. The color of the sky perfectly matched the tree's patterns so I snapped away.

Sony Cybershot
DSC-W70

14.) Lovers by the bay
This is one simple yet challenging photos I took during my basic Photography class last January. My first ever SLR did a good job even with a broken shutter adjustment. Its only working shutter speed is 1/60s so I didn't have any choice but to take photos with only one speed. With limited adjustments, I pointed the camera at the sun to get a lens flare, and the result was dramatic.

Minolta XE-5
Fuji Superia 400

13.) Hero's final steps
This is my first time to use black and white film in a pinhole camera. It was hard to take long exposures without using a conventional lens but it was fun.

Taken in Fort Santiago Intramuros, Manila, the photo dramatized Jose Rizal's final steps during the day of his execution. The treatment of the film contributed to the mood of the event. Rizal's sadness and fear can somehow be felt here. And also the grainy, blurry, and dreamy effect takes us back to 19th century Manila every time we look at the photo.

4M Kidzlabz Pinhole camera
Lucky BnW 100

12.) Down Periscope
Here's another innovation. A friend of mine brought his camera with him and I borrowed it. I had my Holga color filter set with me at that time so I tried mounting it with his kit lens, and the result was very surprising!

No editing, no manipulation, just plain filter! He was nice enough to send me a copy of this shot...

Nikon D60
Mounted with a Holga adapter and color filter

11.)Radio Production
During the first semester, we had a radio production class. We had four groups which used only one studio. Unfortunately, we were the last group to use it, forcing us to go home every night time. Good thing I always bring my SLR with me to kill the boredom.

This is one of my most challenging compositions due to the room's low light and an average film speed. I took my chances and made this photograph.

Nikon FM
Solid gold 200

10.)Coffee and Impreza
My top 10 is this double exposed shot of Starbucks Intramuros and a Parked Subaru Impreza near the Immigration office at the same location. As what the golden rule of Lomography says: "Don't think, just shoot." And the result was surprising...

Holga 120fn
Kodak Elitechrome 100
cross processed

9.)Chopper
I've never tried riding in a helicopter before, I guess it would be a great experience.

Shot in the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, I find this photo appealing to the eyes due to its soft green color rendition, the dramatic angle, and the subtle vignettes. I just love the way its propeller extends to the right most part of the frame and the reflection of the clouds in its windshield. It makes me want to fly again.

Holga 120fn
Fuji Provia 100
Cross processed

8.)Flood fight
Rainwater overflowed in some parts of Rizal Park during this time. I saw these kids playing not a care in the world as people walk past them. Their carefree attitude makes me want to be a kid again.

Nikon FM Solid Gold 200

7.) Mini Stop
Everyone deserves a stop over during a long travel.

This was taken last summer on the way to Baguio City. The long exposure at f13 with an ISO 50 film rendered a soft image and a glowing effect due to the street's wet surface, reflecting the city light.

Holga 120fn Fuji Velvia50 Cross Processed

6.) Free child
As a sovereign people of our country, we all have the right to be free, it is even written in our constitution under the bill of rights. But what we also need is freedom not found in any written documents but freedom from within mostly found in children. The freedom to play, laugh, run around, and be child-like in general.

We are so busy nowadays that our routines are sometimes taking the freedom out of us. Our freedom to go to church, freedom to play with our sons and daughters, freedom to talk to our parents, freedom to laugh with friends. I wish that we could all be like children: carefree, worry-free, playful, faithful, and high spirited. Even Jesus himself told us to be like them.

The running child is a representation of freedom as how I stated it above. His kite is his dreams, attempting to make it fly. We all have different kites with us, we never know when it will fly as we run in the field called life, but somehow, someway, when the wind will finally agree with us, our dreams will all come true. Someday.

Nikon FM
Lucky BnW 100

5.) Sharing Contrasts
This photo represents everything opposite: Youth and old age, wisdom and innocence, wealth and poverty, both sharing one passion. The earphones tell us that even if we are all diversified, even if we have polar opposites, even if we came from different places, we are still connected and that we can share to each other what we have, what we know, and what we are passionate about.

Nikon FM
Kodak Tmax 100

4.) "Splash!"
This is a split moment of a friend of mine demonstrating a perfect dive.

Lomo Supersampler
Kodak Elitechrome 100
Cross Processed

3.)Urban Sunset
The absence of rush hour and heavy traffic, finally! An urban scene that is soothing.

An excellent capture of a setting sun at the skyway. The red scaling (exposing the opposite side of the film) did well in popping out the warm colors of the atmosphere.

Holga 120fn
Fuji Superia 400
Red scaled

2.) Dove within the eucalyptus trees
Falling to the top 2 spot of my collection is this decisive moment captured in film. The frame within a frame technique of a dove flying around the eucalyptus tree.

Canon EOS Kiss
Solid Gold 200

1.)Foreign flag
This falls on the top spot of my list.

While taking photos on the dock of the Pasig Ferry, I noticed this guy looking up at the flag as if observing it. A different interpretation came in to my mind: "What if he is looking up at it with a sign of respect?" So I subtly captured the image.

The color produced by the cross processing was dramatic. The green and yellow tone popped out in the entire image but the red, white, and blue colors of the flag remained as if to say that the symbols of each color will never fade away just like how our fallen heroes fought for our country. We were living in a messed up place but I know that even if tragedies, challenges, and even our National security is washed away, our patriotic colors will still shine out, giving us a beacon of courage and hope that will guide us for our bright future.

Nikon FM
Kodak Elitechrome 100
Cross Processed



Every click I make with my Holga, every time I open my Nikon's shutter, and every time my Supersampler makes that noisy sound, I always get this strange feeling. I cannot explain but all my problems will be gone for a moment, my worries, my stress, any negative feelings will leave me every time I look through the viewfinder. Its like I found my stress reliever and my passion at the same time.

Another year has passed and I look forward to 2009 with more photos to come, more moments to be captured, and more experiments to be done. To all of you, Happy New Year!