It’s election season here in the Philippines and all these campaign colors reminded me of our festivals. Featured here, in particular, is the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon province taken during one of my most memorable solo shoots way back in 2013. Yup! that’s how I got this idea of doing a series called From The Archives where I find an excuse to feature past works hidden in the depths of my hard drive. Pretty genius, right? 😛
Pahiyas Festival is a celebration to pay homage to the patron saint of farmers, San Isidro Labrador, for a bountiful harvest. And homage it is! This festival is colorful, vibrant, and beautiful. The streets are filled with people and every house is decorated with vegetables, fruits, “colored” rice, and even longganisa.
I vividly remembered that during this time I was obsessed with the work of Magnun photographer Martin Parr, a British photographer whose photographs are up close, colorful and vibrant. I also find most of his works to be humorous and his compositions are always interesting. Thus, I tried to emulate his style during this shoot.
In a very Parr fashion, I shot these photos using flash in the daytime as I tried to get as close as possible to my subjects. The flash added a kick that makes the photos more vibrant.
Coincidently, I have just bought my first Martin Parr Book. This book will definitely go as one of my favorites in my growing collection of Photography Books. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d rather collect books rather than camera gear (well, for financial and practical reasons).
P.S. I still want that Leica!
Aside from decorations, the festival also featured parades and “Higantes”. This actually brings me back to my early point being the election season. Because guess what? Manny’s here!
Kidding aside, I hope everything goes back to normal soon so that we can all enjoy our Festivals once again. And remember, choose the right color this coming election! And what color is that? Well, better do your own research. BYE!
King 