New Camera . . Yeah!!! But it's not what you think . . . Boohoo!

I'm on the lookout for a new camera but before you start blurting out those beautiful words (Canon 7D, 5D Mark II or even G11) I have to clarify that it's for my mother in law. She does her fair share of traveling and goes on field trips around the country with her amigas so we thought she should have a way to record the stuff.

Needless to say, it doesn't need to shoot raw, it doesn't need high ISO capability, it doesn't even need manual control (as a matter of fact, if you could just have one button that would be great). Probably the only real requirement is a great big honking LCD screen so she can show the pics right after taking them . . . . (come on, we all do that). Still thinking about what model to get her.

Then it got me thinking, I should probably replace the one we lost recently, a canon Ixus 840IS for those times when you're out with friends and don't feel like lugging your ball and chain around with you (that's my camera gear. . . not . . .). I'd love the Canon G11 but it's not within my recently imposed restricted budget program so I have to look for something more affordable. Will let you know the outcome of the great Point and Shoot hunt.

And before you knock point and shoot cameras, above and below are pics I took with my trusty old Canon Powershot S40.

The Rope

The procession was about to start, two ropes would be unfurled in front of the carosa which would bear the Black Nazarene. Devotees would then pull the image from Quirino Grandstand back to Quiapo Church.

Sounds simple enough except for the fact that devotees believe the Black Nazarene can grant those with true devotion their wishes and in a country where the majority of the people live in poverty that is a major draw. As a matter of fact, that is probably the reason why it is the biggest religious festival (in terms of people attending) in the country. During the procession people will do anything to touch the statue and failing that, they will go for the rope in order to serve the image and hopefully still get their wishes granted.

Luckily, I was allowed in the cordoned off area just before image was to take its trip to Quiapo. The crowds however could no longer be contained and soon, the carosa was surrounded by the hordes of devotees. It almost seemed like a medieval siege with the different chapters bear their standard / flags to advertise their devotion. Soon, the rope was being passed to the crowd and the demeanor changed from organized nervousness to chaos. The crowd was so tightly packed now that whenever a wave pushed the crowd two or three feet in any direction, the people would not fall or trip, they would just lean over and push back.

When the rope neared my area I could see the fanatical look on people's faces, some looking so desperate as if touching the rope would bring them back from the brink of death. I really couldn't understand it and yet, as the fate would have it, the rope came closer and closer to me. In the end, it turned up right in front of my camera and all of a sudden I decided I had to touch the rope no matter what. I put my camera, which had been glued to my face until then, down and started pushing and shoving. I didn't care how many people I had to go through I had to touch that rope and after a few hefty pushes here and there I reached out and touched it. Not sure what I was expecting but after I let go I just stood there. As the rope stretched out an opening for one person seemed to open up right in front of me giving me a chance to actually join the procession instead of just rolling the rope out but as I pondered whether I should join, in that split second of hesitation, 4 people squeezed into that spot and soon the procession started moving forwards.

I took another few pictures close up and then moved back to the roof to join the other photographers.

I'm glad I went down despite all the warnings of being crushed alive, because that was going to be the only time I would be able to get that close to the rope or the image from then on. All in all close to 2 million people joined the procession and the less than 5 km route from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church took close to 8 hours to finish.

Location, location, location

I was on the roof of the Quirino Grandstand ready to take pictures of the Black Nazarene's departure for Quiapo Church. Apparently the rooftop is the place to be since you can capture the crowds and get a real feel for size of this event. But as more and more photographers started showing up (some with better lenses than me) it became apparent that I would at best get "just another" picture of this event.

So when a fellow photographer said that it usually takes the procession 30 minutes to clear the grandstand I made a drastic decision. I decided to go down and join the crowds and get close up pictures as the procession left.

As I was on ground level looking up at the photographers on the roof I kept saying "Yes, I'm the only one here taking pictures from this vantage point". That was until the mob started telling me "Pare, masisira yan" - (Friend, that's going to break) pointing at my camera. I told them that it was an old camera and thank you for the friendly advice.

Soon after as the crush of the crowd became more intense, they said in a less friendly voice "Pare, makakasakit ka niyan" - (Friend, you're going to hurt people) pointing at my shoes. You see, devotees of the Black Nazarene join the procession barefoot so my hiking boots were going to inflict major damage . So in the spirit of the procession, I took of my shoes to the delight of my new found friend.

Gear Choice for Quiapo Festival

Covering the country's largest religious procession had it's own challenges. One of my objectives for this project was to be in the crowd, to take pictures of people struggling to get close to the statue of Jesus of Nazareth. I had seen pictures of festival beforehand and knew I would be in a crush of people. I've also heard of people fainting, getting injured and even dying during the procession so I knew I had to have the proper gear with me. My trusty Lowepro Pro Mag 2 would not do, it being a sling / shoulder bag presented me with the real possibility of getting hung up. I could see the headlines now "Photographer, strangled by his own camera bag".

So I decided to take my old Toploader 75Aw but attached to a chest rig. This way my gear was always in front of me with no sticky fingers probing the contents. An added benefit which I would find out later was that it served as a buffer between me and the next guy when the pushing started, giving my camera a safe place to be (basically on top of it).

I wasn't too worried about the camera itself. A Canon 30D which has more than depreciated itself over and over again, I was secretly hoping it would fall apart and give me a reason to upgrade. And I had no illusions of changing lenses in the middle of the crowd, I'd stick to one when things started getting dicey.

So I brought my 10-20mm, 100-300mm and my general 17-70mm lens (all Sigma lenses). I generally want all three lenses with me wherever I go. The toploader fit my long lens and a smaller lens in the outer pocket. My camera with the other lens would be in my hands at all times.

Other preparations included making sure you didn't have anything you didn't want to lose in your pockets, it was a religious festival but as they say "Chance favors the prepared".

1st Photoproject of the year

And what a project it was. I've been meaning to photograph the annual Quiapo Festival for 3 years now but I've either totally forgotten about it or have been intimidated by the crowds. So when a friend told me he could help out with access to the event I jumped at the chance.

For those that don't know, January 9 is the Feast of the Black Nazarene in a district of Manila known as Quiapo. The district is in an old part of town, cramped and chaotic and that is on a normal day. On January 9 though it turns into the location of the country's largest religious procession in which 1.5 to 2 million people participate in. I had initially thought of just walking to the site and taking photos but this year I had an ace up my sleeve . . .


Tks to PH for the access.

Happy New Year Everyone. . . .

First of all, a very happy New Year to everyone out there and one of my resolutions for this year was to cut the red tape and so here's my very first announcement.

Ever since my daughter came along, my photography has gone down the drain along with my blog posts. All of a sudden my portfolio had an increasing share of baby photos, my solo travels began getting cancelled and even my normal SOP of staying behind after a trip with the wife to go around and take photos has been disallowed. Needless to say this has reflected on my blogposts (or lack thereof).

SO, since my baby has been the reason for these issues, I have tasked her with blogging for me. Here is her first entry "df;klhafsdevj;klhads;rhf;lkha;dshf".

Kidding aside though, I can't wait for her to be just a little bit bigger so I can take her places like India, Nepal or Chiang Mai. I can't wait to take her to have her first white Christmas with her Auntie Case and Uncle Sam in Rhode Island. I can't wait to take her to Siem Reap to give her "Temple Overload" like her mom and I experienced when we got there.

Until then however I realized that I didn't have to travel to the ends of the Earth to bring you guys great shots, I've lined up some projects in my own backyard that should bring in amazing images along with the few overseas projects that I've lined up.

So here's to a Happy New Year to everyone and to keeping faithful to your New Year's Resolutions, no matter what they are.