bagong bayani

I am one of the prime movers for the Photonski Exhibit, but frankly I still don't have an entry. It's ironic that I am the one who actively push every member to participate yet I have none yet. Well, I am not alone though. Tonski and Tolitz doesn't have an entry too.

So the three of us decided that today, we will scout for good pictures at the Botanic Gardens. We heard that this place has been the favorite hang out of Filipino during Sundays, and we thought that we could get some pictures that could depict "Buhay Pinoy" in Sg.

I arrived at our meeting place - the Lucky Plaza - an hour early than the two guys. So I use the time to practice taking pictures at the people around. I was particularly interested on capturing a beautiful angle of a Pinay who is making a money remittance. I thought it would be an easy task but after taking more a dozen shots, I realized that it was harder than a fashion show shoot. Gee, capturing the right position at the right angle and at the right mood was really challenging. The movement of the hands - passing of the remittance money - was very fast and I could barely freeze it in my photo. Worse, the subject often times looks at the camera and smile. This spoils my objective of taking a candid picture.

An hour later, Tolitz and Tonski arrived. They too tried to take a shot at the remittance center but, like me, they couldn't make it with long lens. Tonski tried a different approach. He changed to ultra-wide lens and came near the cashier. He waited for awhile and when he saw an old Pinay giving money to the cashier, he readily take a snap. The resulting picture was really nice. The angle was good - almost fish eye rendition - and the mood of the subjects were very natural.

Desperate to get a good picture, I changed my attention to the SSS center.

I took few sample shots at different angle and studied the result. When I found one good angle, I stood there for 15 minutes and waited for the right moment. I was watching two ladies reviewing an SSS pamphlet and when they raise it (thus displaying the word Overseas Filipino Worker), I immediately lift my camera focus it to the paper and click the trigger. I did not use a flash to avoid attention but still the ladies saw me and throw me a dagger look. Hehehe.. I slowly move away to preclude trouble.

Three hours later, we leave Lucky Plaza and proceed to the Botanic Gardens. We move around to check for beautiful spots but didn't got one. Instead, we befriend some Pinays who gamely offered us food and drinks. They are nice and jolly to talk with. We enjoyed their company too much that we eventually forgot to take more pictures. That's why we left home with no pictures from the Botanic Garden.

We parted ways. Tolitz went home at Geylang while Tonski proceed to Jurong.