'Tis the season

My essential needs:
a need for permanence in a civilization of transience;
a need for the Absolute when all else is becoming relative;
a need for silence in the midst of noise;
a need for gratuitousness in the face of unbelievable greed;
a need for poverty amid the flaunting wealth;
a need for contemplation in a century of action, for without contemplation, action risks becoming mere agitation;
a need for communication in a universe content with entertainment and sensationalism;
a need for peace amid today's universal outbursts of violence;
a need for quality to counterbalance the increasingly prevalent response to quantity;
a need for humility to counteract the arrogance of power and science;
a need for human warmth when everything is being rationalized or computerized;
a need to belong to a small group rather than to be part of the crowd;
a need for slowness to compensate the present eagerness for speed;
a need for truth when the real meaning of words is distorted in political speeches and sometimes even in religious discourses;
a need for transparency when everything seems opaque.
Yes, a need for the interior life...
(J.P. Dubois Dumee).

MY RANGEFINDERS

leica m2
leica m6

(above photo by pidoy velez)
i have given up the bulky SLRs. i prefer these smaller tools that deliver beautifully.
epson rd1s











maybe, i have room for one more rangefinder. a great russian camera to pair with my fed 3 with. a fed 2 perhaps or a zorki 6. imagine all these hanging around my neck! too much! but they shoot great!!!
voigtlander bessa r
contax g2
fed 3canonet g3 ql17
leica m6 backview with diopter lensrollei 35s

MY KIDS

Isay

photoessay on motherhood: wife, mother, witch, queen, playmate and friend in random order

my 9-year-old uses his kodak instamatic film camera in his first portfolio

antonio maria urbano concepcion, 9 years old, and his pictures from a kodak instamatic and without any adult supervision. No cropping and enhancements done.

going global

Soccer is not a favorite among Filipinos. But these Filipino kids are serious players. In the frenzy someone's shoe is going for the ball on its own.

ma vlast: blasted by poverty

Sorry, Smetana, I could not resist the literary value of your opus for my little work. I just had to inject some humor the way my countrymen do in dire circumstances. We overdo zen; we chuckle and laugh out loud to drown the whimper inside. And we try our best to survive.




These are pictures I took 20 years ago. They may well have been taken this morning.













I wanted to know where he gets our drinking water. Then, I wished I didn't.






I was waiting for my companions when I saw these kids staring at me. I shouted "Don't move!" and stole this shot.















The teacher was very accomodating and allowed me to disturb the class for a few shots. Note the desks. Now they have been "upgraded" to plastic.



















I wonder what these grown-ups-by-now are doing. I hope to meet them again and take photos. I also hope that they are still friendly enough. The area is known for insurgency.