the thursday biscuit bin

what ige & i have been up to this week.

broas biscuit bin + permanent markers

it's like the song "my favorite things" drawn very colorfully.

can you guess which doodles are mine?  :)

whatever gets me righting again, write?

like fountain pens and new notebooks.

I recently unearthed my grandfather's fountain pen, a Parker 51, and, following The Other Butch's instructions, resurrected it to become a badass, everyday, take-anywhere pen again.  Lots of thanks to the Fountain Pen Network-Philippines for taking me in, for the pen and paper reviews and FAQ, and for simply existing.  Hehe.  As for my friends who know about my addiction to notebooks and writing instruments, don't worry guys, I'm still a long way from being a die-hard collector.  I'm happy just being inspired to write.  ;)

On the other (photographic) hand I would still like to own a rangefinder.

film film film: Pahiyas

lesgow! this is how i looked like as we crowdsurfed through Pahiyas. full battle gear!  i only brought two film cameras: the lomo lc-a and the blackbird, fly.

little farmers on display

these nuns were so fun to watch.  they'd have their pictures taken in front of a house, then up at the balcony, and on the street--by anyone and everyone.  they didn't seem to mind having their photos taken by other people--in fact, i think they kinda enjoyed it.  they were so bubbly and full of good vibes, the noontime heat went away.

it was really hot and bright.  good thing i wore my other (tinted) pair of prescription glasses.

i kinda like this one.

hahaha. a lot of people took photos of this ginormous pale on a float.  i thought they'd be giving away beer.  alas, only candies and biscuits and facial cleansers were given away to the crowd (would have been painful to catch a bottle with your head, anyway).

i saw an albino carabao!!! it was pink(ish)!

eating pansit habhab for the first time.  i'd like to think that i was successful because 1) i habhabbed it--no utensils! and 2) nothing was left in my banana leaf!

another photo of the Deaf performer.  this image was taken with my blackbird, fly tlr so originally it was square.  i just cropped it because i think the sprocket lines were distracting and the subject's costume would stand out more without the sprocket lines.

the parade started with a blaring of horns.

fashionista tourist.  she seemed really nice when lakan asked her for permission to take her photo.

the rainbow-themed house plus a major lens flare.

carabao head home decor.

 

these teens were on their way to the plaza beside the church where they would be performing.  they got waylaid by excited photographers, myself included.  nice shot of their behinds, don't you think?  :P that's lakan at bottom right with a fisheye 2 + colosplash flash.

aside from the lucban longganisa i bought, i wasn't able to buy festival souvenirs.  when we started to shoot i saw this store and i liked some mini pahiyas decorations.  but i decided not to buy yet because they would just get mashed in my bag.  i thought i'd just buy when we are about to go home.

i never got to go back to that street. ho hum.

anyway, that's all for this post!  the rest of the photos are in my multiply account.  thanks for reading and sharing in the festival cheer!

my support system

presenting susa nina and martin antonio.

 

dinner at a veneto trinoma.  thanks guys. :)

*it is so hard to capture susa. she moves around a lot.
lomo lc-a + lucky 200 negative film

Pahiyas 2010

Last Saturday I went to the Pahiyas festival in Lucban, Quezon.  Together with some Lomomanila friends (I was able to finally meet them in person!), I spent some six hours shooting under the scorching sun.  Wow that's a lot of s's.  Heheh.

It was my first time to attend the festival.  Behind me are Lakan, Erick, & Paul.  Lakan & Erick are Lomomanila members while Paul was a lone digital photographer we 'adopted' in our group. Hehe.  We got him interested in lomography!

Gearing up / comparing cameras before the parade.  Aside from my Lumix FS4 (which was used to take the shots in this post), I also brought my Blackbird, fly and LC-A with me.  And five rolls of film.

This guy greeted me and made sure I had a great time.

Handpainted bayongs like this one can be bought for fifty pesos.  Lakan got one.

Kiping chips in a cup for five pesos.  I really regret not having a taste.  Well, there's always next year, right?

The feast is celebrated in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. 

 

 And we got to eat pansit habhab!  It was really tasty and I enjoyed eating from the banana leaf.

There was a Deaf performer in front of the church.  He would dance if somebody dropped a donation.  I signed with one of his friends and felt a little sad I'm forgetting the basics (because I have no one to sign with).

We met up with more film enthusiasts (Vedicanation&Flowerpopgurl) in front of the church before the parade.  Cameras galore!

The karitons and floats were all elaborate and well-made, but the sponsor tarpaulins and banners kinda ruined and covered the pretty details.  "Masyadong commercialized," said Paul.  "Alam kasi nilang kukuhanan ng pictures."  Well, shame on them.

I like this pair's suman-inspired ensemble.

 There were so many people (with and without cameras) lined up along the parade route that I couldn't really get a decent photo, especially of the models sporting Pahiyas fashion.  Anyway, I was amused at the ruffles and loud colors on this dress.  Orange in front and pink at the back!

 

 My man Jollibee, and just about the cutest piece of upo in the whole planet.

The owner of this imposing structure also owns Batis Aramin Resort.  It had higantes...

...and miniatures!  Here's Lakan taking a shot using his Diana Mini.  :)

All in all the trip was awesome.  Exhausting too, but it was great to spend the day just shooting, getting to know people, checking out each other's cameras, looking around, getting lost on the way back to the van (hehe), and chilling out with like-minded photobuffs.  Sure we spent six hours in traffic on the way back to Manila, but we slept most of the time anyway. :)

Later I'm off to Digiprint to have my rolls developed.  So uh, expect more photos at the end of the week!

Next!