Xphotography

IRONHIDE

2010-09-30T13:05:00.003+08:00

This a Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Class IRONHIDE. No modification for this one just a straight repaint. Painted the Alt mode using PYLOX spray paint,I think made by Nippon paints. Made all the necessary prep work to make it more automotive finish. Had a hard time with the rotating part just underneath the chest part. Good thing I got a Dremel so I can properly sand it to prevent paint chipping.

The robot mode is stainless metal like finish for more movie accuracy. The grill in front so as the panels around the head light and tail light are chromed using ACLAD. Yeah, same as the exhaust pipes, they are all chromed.

This is really a tough one to paint. Hope you like my take on this toy. Thanks!

Thanks for viewing...

FACES OF ILIAN

2008-07-16T22:45:00.013+08:00

Philippians 2:3-4

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

I was given a chance to visit Legaspi, Albay because of work. So armed with my ever reliable camera, I traveled down south anticipating to meet a lot of native people who will be happy to be my subject.

Since it was my first time there, I felt compelled to go to the Cagsawa Ruins to see the famous Mayon volcano at the same angle with those pictures I often see in books and postcards. I took a number of landscape shots, but I was not contented with my photos. Still, I was yearning to see faces of filthy children and the elderly that exude a strong character.

So I dragged my colleagues and asked around where to find tribes we could take pictures of. We were then informed that there is a tribe residing in the nearby town of Iriga, where people are friendly and approachable. Good thing, our work was extended for three more days so together with my co-workers, we started our adventure to search for that town. We went to the local’s department of tourism to ask for directions and to notify them of our intention in taking pictures of the tribe. We were warmly accommodated by the personnel and so we left the department very thankful and excited. Immediatly, we drove to the land of Ilians, which was located just fifteen minutes away from the town proper.

Before we went up to meet the them, we bought some goodies to give to the children of Ilian. When we have finally reached our destination, we saw the children suddenly stopped playing. All of them looked at our vehicle with a look that says, "Who are these strangers and what do they need from us?" We got out of the vehicle and looked for their leader. One lad gladly accompanied us to the house of their chief. When we arrived at his house, he was resting so the people needed to wake him up. We worriedly thought he would get annoyed because we bothered him from his sleep, but instead, he welcomed us and allowed us to take photos of the place and his people. Indeed, the chief was hospitable, living up to what Filipinos are known for.

When we were about to take pictures, the children were daunted by the size of our cameras. They immediately ran away and hid inside their homes. Their parents encouraged and reassured them that it was safe to mingle. After a while, the children stepped out one by one to have their pictures taken. Soon, they felt comfortable around us so they all followed us as we explored the tribe. We saw how the children of Ilian were joyfully living their simple lifestyle.

Time had passed very quickly and dusk swept away the light. Also, rain was about to fall so we decided to pack up. Before we left, I stood in the middle of their basketball court; and the children surrounded me as I distributed packs of candies, cookies, and chips.

Yes, meeting the Ilian tribe was truly pleasurable. The little money we have spent for goodies were paid off by heart-warming smiles of gratitude from little children; and not to mention – wonderful portraits of the Ilians. I have seen wonderful sceneries in Bicol that were picture perfect, but I must say the photographs we have captured with the Ilian tribe made our journey really worthwhile.

CHILDREN AT COASTAL ROAD

2008-07-14T10:07:00.007+08:00

Matthew 18:4

"Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven"

Last Sunday we had a photoshoot at Bulungan, Coastal Road, Paranaque City. We all met at SM Mall of Asia around 2pm and then convoyed our cars on our way to this wet market along coastal road. As soon as we parked our vehicles, a lot of children ran toward us and eagerly volunteered to guard the vehicles.

We spotted more of these friendly youngsters at the dock of the market, just a few steps away from the parking area. And as what adults expect from kids during free time, we found them playing and having fun. So without wasting a moment, we started taking pictures of these children, who unsurprisingly were very fond of being in front of the cam. They were playing non-stop, doing impressive stunts and unusual poses.

As we explored the marketplace, we discovered some kids who were hammering concretes, chopping woods and gathering scraps from a recently demolished squatters’ area. These kids were diligently helping their parents build a new place for shelter. Then as we went further inside, we saw a number of fishing boats docked nearby and fishermen carrying sacks of mussels. These mussels were eventually brought to laborers for cleaning. Small heaps of mussels filled a portion of the market and the cleaners sat beside their share. We learned that cleaning mussels is one way for these people to earn money, and to earn more, children at very young age were encouraged to help. We have noticed that these children have become experts of this craft – cleaning mussels with sharp scissors, that is – judging by their speed and manner of cleaning.

For merely half of a day, we saw the risks and the hardships these children face. We have realized that despite these, they can be genuinely happy and content.

And once again, we were reminded of how blessed we are…

BASECO

2007-09-18T08:12:00.000+08:00

"A huge fire in a Manila shantytown early Monday hurt at least 23 people, destroyed thousands of homes and left about 25,000 residents homeless, disaster relief officials said. No deaths were reported.
The blaze broke out around midnight Sunday in the impoverished Tondo district and raged for more than seven hours, spreading through 47 acres of the 121-acre compound of the former BASECO shipyard.
The fire was believed set off by a gas tank that exploded, officials said.
Firefighters struggled to gain access to the blaze in the overcrowded area where ramshackle homes line passageways that are too narrow for firetrucks to pass, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said.
Twenty-seven firetrucks and a navy fire boat on a nearby river assisted in the operation.
At least 23 people were brought to various hospitals for injuries, but no deaths have been reported so far, the Office of Civil Defense said.
At least 2,500 homes were burned down, leaving 5,006 families — or 25,030 people — homeless, it added."

A very tragic news that shaked the city of manila and because of this tragedy the hard life of the people of baseco even become harder.Though there were help from the local government and other government sectors it wont still be the same for the homeless people.Little by little they try to stand again from the pain they've experience and just thanked God that no one died.

With all heart and good intentions we journey BASECO. Contrary to what others say that this place is full of goons and bad people that no one will get out here alive,we were welcomed by the warm smiles of the cute children along our walking marathon.With all honesty we were a little frightened but when we see these little children we became to wonder: How can this place be a haven of warm and happy smiles if this place is a scary place? Well the liitle fear we felt in short was gone.
Before the tragedy this place was composed of small houses made up from scrap cartons and sacks floating in the dirty water full of garbage supported by scrap woods to make it stable from storms,big waves and heavy downpour.Got the picture?I bet you will. You can imagine how hard life is for them.But thanks to the good people who have the heart to help these people they have a more stable place to live. A few houses were already made up of concrete although a little smaller for an average family but safer. But there are some who wasnt so lucky or I may say not YET lucky.Because there were so many of them not all of them were lucky enough to have a concrete home. Beheind these houses,there are still families who live in a big scrap materials,patched to have a protection from rain and intense sunlight.They are still floating near the shores and they're old boats they use it in fishing for a small income. You can assume that they dont have enough food for they're everyday living or enough income to make their children go to school or educate them with all the big stuffs we know or teach them to write or read but how come they have this beautiful smiles that a rich little girl sometimes conceive?? the answer is simple..because their contented.Behind all the agonies of life and pain of living they manage to smile.

As we continue to witness the beauty of this place we were again shocked by this picture. This young child is woking so hard in a very very young age where they should be going to school or playing and enjoying their wonderful child years.But for them to get on with their life and have something to eat they should be going.
In our continuous journey in baseco we saw and mingled with little children who were very much excited to take their photos while they are playing.As we watch them we saw how happy and how they enjoyed their lives after the tragedy. But there is this one thing that crashed my heart,a child came to me and asked me: "kuya kelan po kami magkakabahay?" As I watch this child's face with full of different emotions,his eyes seemed to be crying help. I can tell how hard life is for him and how he is longing for a better life.I begin to ponder things like: When will it be? or Will there be? Questions that even I dont have the answers.I just smiled at the child and pat him in the head.I know it wont remove the pain he's feeling but I prayed that someday,someone will help them not for political reasons or show-off but because it came from their hearts.

ESCOLTA

2007-09-04T13:35:00.000+08:00

As we think about new profound streets and a flashback of the smiles in our street people's faces,we found ourselves in the middle of a very known place during the late 70's or as what we knew today as the "ESCOLTA" . Back then Escolta was one of the happy streets in the metro,where actors and actresses gather to perform,where bars are known and great food were served in the what we say "alta-de-suidad" restos,where even Dolphy and Panchito do their stand-up comedy.A place known for its beauty,where expensive goods are sold but this fairy tale don't last long. All its fame and cheers and everything were lost and what's even more devastating is what we saw and witnessed in the streets of Escolta...children in a worn out cart sleeping,families with no place to stay and a small amount of food shared by five,with their dirty plates and bare hands they were able to manage the hunger,that even the leftovers in which I believe can have so much germs that can make them sick were being eaten.

Here,we saw children that seems to don't care regardless of what their life may seem or what they have for tomorrow,they're just happy playing like a normal children that doesn't show tiredness. We approached them with our cameras on our hands and a hope that says "please don't be shy",some smiled at us and pose as we try to capture a wonderful spirit but others seemed to be shy and scared as if it's the first time to see such people with huge cameras. They hurriedly went back to their parents whom standing nearby.The father told him to "go on,let them take your picture" with a smile on his face.On the other hand we can see their mother preparing their food with plates that seemed to me like a haven of germs and bacteria.

Slowly the child stepped out from his shyness and played with his siblings as we took the liberty of taking their pictures,as they enjoyed the limelight for the moment.After that we gave them a little help which we know wont change their form of being or how they're suffering but maybe just maybe it will help them for that span of time. We went on but I know inside me that I'm not contented with that little amount I gave them.In my heart I hoped that someday someone can give them enough help for them to live in a clean and simple place.Some place where it is safe for small children to live.

In our continuous stroll in the streets of Escolta, I noticed this old lady sitting in the corner of the street,I hesitate to approach her so I simply took a shot of her in a place not so far from her,but as odd as it may sound I still took the courage to approach her and asked her if I can take her picture.In my mind I know she'll "shoo" me or say no for an answer but with all smiles she looked at me and told me "Yes".I even had a chance to talk with her and asked her name,it was Aling Francisca Pascual a beggar in the streets of Escolta.In our chit-chat she told me that she has no place to stay,no family nor friends,all she has is the wide streets of escolta and the lightpost of these streets. I wanted to talk with her and continue our little chitchat but we have a long way to walk towards the streets of BASECO..Every place has its own stories to tell,every place has it's own original version of ones uniqueness..that's BASECO--also a not so rich place in the metro and a story of a that's yet to be told...

BASECO my next journey...

MY JOURNEY STARTS

2007-09-04T08:20:00.001+08:00

I,together with a few of my colleagues stroll along the streets of Manila almost every week to capture the never been seen moments and subtle expressions of the so called "Street Life" in the eyes and faces of the street children. As photography conveys not so much of their lifestyle , it atleast takes our soul to a different level of understanding which we may have left unexplored.So I would like you to journey with me through my pictures and take a peek in my lens so you can have a glimpse of the "BUHAY KALYE".

These photos were taken July 8,2007 a fine sunday. We decided to conquer the streets with a heart full of hope and a small prayer that it would not rain.Our feet led us to Baclaran and as we gaze around it's busy streets we were so amazed on how hardworking others may seem and how other people continuosly visits the beautiful church of Baclaran and offer candles and flowers at the altar.We then get our cameras,take our chances,pushed our luck and look for a good subject.By fate these wonderful kids came to us and let us took a few of their time to let us capture their beautiful smiles,they even showed us their form of living.It's Kind of heartbreaking that they dont have nothing to brag about or reasons to smile for but maybe because that's how i see it-my perception.I wonder where did they get that smiles form?or How can they seem to forget schooling? or do they even know school exists? These children were built by time,strengthen by poverty but nurtured by happiness in their hearts. We may not know how they feel but I guarantee you that there's more to them than just being "batang lansangan".