a blog of blob

January 10, 2016

i always go back

I'm sitting here for 5 minutes now just scrolling back and forth at these photos and wondering what to say. It's not that I don't have something to say ― I just don't know how to say them because things always lose their sense when I try to take them out of my head. You've heard me say this a million times.

What I'm basically trying to do here is do a throwback of this travel in Cambodia just like how I did last year. It will be two years, 14 days from now, and every time I think of it I always consider my photos from Cambodia as the best photos I have ever taken in my short time of documenting life. I deem them as the best not because of the technicalities it bring to photography like composition, proper exposure, etc., but because when I look at them, they consistently bring me pure, peaceful memories and sensory.

The perfect combination of cool breeze and warm light.
Rich, clay-pot–colored soil covered by a carpet of dry leaves that crackle as you walk on.
Striking rays of light and patches of patterned shades.
Hearing distant conversations in languages I'll never decipher.

So happy that I've convinced myself it's okay to take a selfie (s/o to the man at the end of ramp whoever, wherever you are)

Please ignore my poor sense in fashion.

I have not taken out my Superheadz UWS after using it in this travel because the rubbery finish has turned sticky already. No thanks to my poor storage and maintenance (or lack thereof). Anyone has the same laziness as I do who could give me a tip on how to wipe it off completely?

You can view my previous posts about Cambodia here.

January 1, 2016

you do you 2016

I'm usually not particularly giddy about new year's events because if I take away the idea of the calendar, all that's left in my head are yesterday, today and tomorrow. What I like about categorizing events though is it sort of creates an illusion of a fresh start, a new year, another beginning. Who doesn't want a try for a do-over?

I drafted a year-in-review post yesterday because it's what people do at the end of the year ― summarize, recall, reminisce ― but I left it undone in the morning, and when I came back to finish it in the afternoon, the whole lot seemed absurd already.

So I'm starting this year with these photos of random things that can be typically seen here in our area. For months, I've been thinking of committing to a project that I can pull out from my Neighbor Walk series ― shooting the neighborhoods here, if possible every street, within Cavite City. Doing the Neighbor Walk made me unexpectedly appreciate the look of a typical neighborhood here in the Philippines. Also, I want to tap more in to the realities of my life that is far from the high-end, touristy, manicured spots. I want to learn to embrace the grunge, the rust and the old-looking ― basically, the mess. I'm honestly not sure if I will pull this off, because taking photos in public streets here is very difficult and alienating. I usually get the strange looks from people because nobody thinks a public street or someone's garage/gate here is worth taking a photo of.

So there goes the challenge.