Life budding where pangs of life
After what he said registered in my mind... I felt a surge of coldness inside me... My head went blank and there was an empty and blunt throb in my heart... I walked backwards... slowly... away from him... and rode off in my car... I even forgot to ask his name.. (As I always take my time to talk to people in the streets whom I take pictures of...)
After a week or saw I learned his name from a common acquaintance... His name is Fedencio Aquino... or "Mang Piding" to those who are close to him...
With all due respect to the other specialties (like landscape, model shots, wedding, seascape, nature, etc...), I love street photography for the following reasons:
1. Because of its challenges. - For me, there is no other type of photography (except photo journalism) that gives you the challenge of walking up to total strangers on the streets and ask to take their pictures.. specially for street portraits. Well ofcourse there are instances when you have to take candid shots of street scenes but you can do that inside your car or a taxi cab. The real challenge comes when you need to come close to your subject in the streets and more often than not, the street can be a really hostile place... more often than not the people are not that friendly...
2. Because here, you need to establish a certain connection with people on the streets and even at some point, you need to establish a certain connection with the streets themselves. - I walk up to potantial subjects... talk to them before or after I take their pictures and try to listen to their stories... I never like taking pictures and not know or atleast not have a clue as to what lives they have... Sometimes I think street photography is more of a way for me to get in touch with people rather than getting in touch with them as a way for me to do street photography.
3. Because in street photography, the drama is your basis for composition. - In the streets, everything happens so fast. Very often, you wouldn't have the time to technically prepare for a shot (not enough time to set up your lights, to place each object or subject within the rule of thirds and not enough time to direct your subjects' pose), and on one hand, you have capture a moment while it is happening so fast. So the aesthetics would greatly rely on immediate drama of your shot and those pictures that really touch the emotions are the most effective.
4. Because in street photography not only do I learn how to take pictures of people and scenes... I also learn many things about life.
After taking my son to school the other day, I drove around the city's main metro area for 10 minutes. I saw this old man sitting on a curve, in front of an old abandoned building. I parked on the side of the road to take his picture and as i did, he asked me, "Mapapahamak ba ako dahil sa litrato na yan?" Then I answered, "Hindi po 'tay, libangan ko lang po ito."
Then while I was already taking his pictures, he said to me, "Kung sabagay, kahit mapahamak ako, ayos lang... mamamatay na rin naman ako... malapit na...."
It took a while before his words sank in and when it did, I felt a blank and blunt throb in my heart... I guess I was shocked with waht he said... I walked slowly away from him and rode my car... I even forgot to ask his name.
Maybe I'll see him again... and ask him what his name is... maybe...
