There’s a saying that, “The best camera is the one you have with you” – whatever camera that is. And upon looking at my portfolio, that quote couldn’t be more accurate. I find that most of my favorite photos published (or waiting to be published) on this blog came from cheap, plastic, point and shoot cameras. But this series might just take the cake. The photos here are taken with a 2 megapixel phone camera. Nope, not a smart phone, just a good old BlackBerry 8520 with a physical keyboard and 2-inch display.
Of course, I won’t be able to print large photos from these files, but the photos I made here are the photos I wish I was making more today. Not the tragedy element within the photos but rather how I was able to pass the “barrier” between me and my subject and felt comfortable enough and just tell a story. This was definitely a time when I was focused more on taking the photos that meant something to me rather than focused on my gear.
These photos were taken a few days after Typhoon Ondoy hits Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces. Uncanny how this tragedy, as unfortunate as it was, felt like a lesser tragedy to me compared to what we are experiencing today. Or is it because for the first time, a tragedy hit us all that no roof above our heads can protect us from? It is true that when the harsh reality of life came closer to you and your “circle”, one can suddenly appreciate the little things in life more realizing that the things we took for granted before can just be easily taken away from us.
Let’s just hope that we’ll soon get over this pandemic and that we’ll once again have a genuine smile on our faces. We Filipinos always do anyway.
King 