Signal is back and the party people are up. So brace yourself for an influx of face-painted selfies, colorful costumes, and zoomed photos of actors and actresses on flutes. Of course, what’d you expect? It’s Sinulog – one of the most colorful celebrations of the country.
But just as Phil Kaye shared on one of his epic Spoken Word performances, if you repeat something over and over again, it eventually loses its meaning. Experiencing Sinulog for almost a quarter means getting used to all those festive moments. As my college friend, Liz, fondly calls it – we were adulting. However, this does not mean that I had to spend the rest of the day watching live what’s happening outside. I wouldn’t be Dakilanglaagan if that would be the case.
Good thing I got the chance to meet the Street Photographer from Bantayan Island, Jinri, on our Butuan Blogging and Mobile Photography Workshop last week. Having been exposed to traveling and all the colorful wonders this world got to offer, the dark tones of Street Photography didn’t ignite an interest in me. However, after his sharing on the different elements that has to be taken seriously with his craft, I realized that there’s really more that I have to learn in this world.
Okay, so this has become too long for an introduction. Allow me to share my version of Sinulog.
Same goes with blogging, Street Photography tells a dramatic story. It goes beyond the usual fascination with sunrise and sunsets, the overly-romanticized chasing of summits, and the popularly ‘plandid’ shots on the beach. It needs deeper visualization and a more intense reflection with what’s happening with the world – and how would you like to convey it. What’s more interesting is that you have to perfect the timing because this should never be scripted. It’s interesting and challenging at the same time. It’s like having to pass a test without even studying. HAHAHA. Worst analogy. But I hope you’ll give it a try. Till then you’d realize how we have missed beautiful opportunities in life because we have been bombarded with a lot of things in this ever fast-paced world.
Dakilanglaagan 