Wish you were here

Friday, January 20, 2006

Featured Photo Site: NYCLondon

For those longing to see some pictures of New York City, here is an intensely awesome gallery of black and white photographs taken by R. Gardiner. He was born in Sydney and had moved to New York in 1999, but now lives in London.

As he had written on his blog entry, “With a million unique visits to this web site in 2005 (and many times more page views), I am more convinced than ever it is the ideal medium for photographers to exhibit to a wide audience. The web can not reproduce the beauty of a physical print of course.”

This photo site, nyclondon.com, is absolutely worth exploring!

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:32 PM | 3 comments

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Featured Photo Site: MY SARISARI STORE

Many photo bloggers and fellow members of pinoyblog.com are already familiar with Sidney’s photo galleries and may wonder why I’m featuring his site.

You see, I’m doing it for the benefit of my friends and relatives living abroad who keep asking me to email them pictures of Metro Manila. I thought it would be better if they go directly to MY SARISARI STORE and enjoy a whole lot of them. Besides, Sidney has the eye for capturing the many facets of our city.

So, here it is! Enjoy!

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 9:51 AM | 3 comments

Thursday, January 05, 2006

HIGH FASHION CSI PHOTOGRAPHY

Inspired by Luc Sante’s Evidence, Melanie Pullen sets out to reconstruct images of crime scenes as fashion shoots. She uses specially made props and sets, extensive make up, designer threads and some powerful digital colour alteration in making the large colour prints.

A New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles, Ms. Pullen, 29, is a granddaughter of an editor of Audubon magazine. She worked at the family firm, AG Editions, publishing information for stock photographers and other material before she taught herself photography during a stay in England. She has since done professional work as a photographer for several magazines including Rolling Stone and Village Voice, as well as publicity work, album covers, movie posters and fashion photography.


photo credit: Melanie Pullen @ Ace Gallery

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:26 PM | 0 comments

Friday, December 16, 2005

Featured Photo by CARLOS BRAVO

Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.”

Beautiful words of wisdom, indeed, but if these three beautiful children were mine, I’m afraid that I’m going to find the Prophet’s words hard to take. When I saw this photograph on Carlos’ site at flickr, I immediately sent him my reaction: “a colorful yet subtle celebration of innocence.”

I told him I chose Independencia to feature on my site simply because it speaks of connection, harmony and unity. And since Carlos is from Monterrey, Mexico, I added that I’ve always considered Mexicans and Filipinos as cultural cousins as well. So, this is indeed the ideal photograph for me to spotlight as a way to introduce him to my readers.

However, don’t let Independencia fool you and think of Carlos as a mere portrait artist. He happens to also excel in conveying surrealism, horror, culture, wit and playfulness in his other photographs. He’s indeed multi-faceted with his camera.

Please visit his galleries, but make sure you have plenty of time to browse around and fully appreciate his photographs.

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:47 AM | 12 comments

Friday, December 02, 2005

A Filipino in Nicaragua

I discovered this seemingly mid- or late-19th century photo from Cesar’s gallery of historical Philippine photographs. He has an interesting collection, but somehow this one, Filipino Huts, warms my heart the most.

I guess, it reminds me of the barrio where I summered as a little child in Subic, Zambales. But when electricity, television and refrigerator came, the barrio began to lose its mystique. These technological intrusions stripped away the frightful elements imbedded by the older cousins in their nightly tales of aswangs, dwendes, and the headless friar that stalked the barrio’s chapel. The wonder years of our provincial summers got lost in the transition. Such is the downside of technology.

In our emails that ensued, Cesar told me that he was born in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte, in Mindanao in 1970, but grew up in Missouri. He then moved to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua in February 2005, from Silver Spring, Maryland.

Aside from his collection of early Philippine photos, he also has a few galleries of his own photographs taken in Nicaragua, the United States and from his other travels. So, I am now adding his name to my list of talented photographers I have met online:

I will keep adding on this list as I discover more talents out there. If you know of any I should check out, please let me know.

Muchas gracias, amigos!

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 1:37 PM | 5 comments

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Special Photo Feature: spiritchild

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:38 AM

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Featured Artist: Joaquin Zamora

Joaquin’s intention with a camera as he puts it is “in the hopes of capturing scenes that would never repeat themselves and to find order in the midst of chaos.” This somehow reminds me of the artist, Marcel Duchamp, whose use of chance factor in shaping a work of art had a profound influence on the development of abstract expressionism in painting, indeterminate music, and much of the conceptual art of recent years.

Whereas, Joaquin’s photographs remind me of what English visual artist, Russell Mills, once wrote about T.S. Eliot; “In his critical and analytical writings, T.S. Eliot has often suggested, in diverse permutations, the possibility that the poem a reader reads may appear to be better than the poem the poet has written. While an author may consciously imbue a piece of writing with specific meanings, a reader’s interpretation of that writing cannot be predicted. Similarly, this then can be applied to visual images beyond those that the artist has consciously embedded within a work.”

As I then searched my mind for appropriate words to describe my personal reaction to Joaquin’s photographs, I was surprised to have come up with only a single word, in Italian, bellissimo! It was the same exact word I shouted from the grandstand when Andrea Boccelli finished belting out Por Ti Volare (Con Te Partiro) at Araneta Coliseum.

The principal translation of the word bellissimo is very beautiful (wonderful). It is a fitting word to describe Joaquin’s body of work, for it reveals the beauty that already exists within his soul as an artist, and in which his photographs reflect. In essence, his beautiful photographs are mere extensions of the beauty within him. Anyone who could make a pretty picture out of a rusted screw or evoke a spiritual experience from captured sunsets deserves such accolade.

I thought I’d end it here until I was suddenly reminded of what I once read about the poet Baudelaire. He suggested that “the truest response to a work of art, the purest act of criticism, was to produce a second work of art in a different medium.”

Hmmm … I no longer have my keyboard, drum machine and sequencing software; stuff I used when I dabbled in electronic music ala Brian Eno. The only work of art I can offer is this blogsite. It isn’t much of a canvas or sheet music, but it’s the only medium I have at the moment for self expression; a work in progress.

Salamat po, Joaquin, for sharing with us the beauty that you see in this world.


I consider Joaquin as among my newly-discovered friends or kindred spirits at flickr.com whose talents and photographs never cease to amaze me. To view Joaquin’s fine collection, click on the following sites:

http://www.flickr.com/people/95351495@N00/
flickr.com

http://imageevent.com/quinits/photogallery
Makati, Philippines

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 1:03 PM

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Special Photo Feature: PROUST

Once again, many thanks to our friend Proust at flickr.com for sharing with us this whimsical photo. It was taken at Los Banos, Laguna which is about a two-hour drive from Manila.


To enjoy more of Proust’s photographs, click here.


Links:

Source for Research on the Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
http://www.coconutoil.com/

The Health Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil
http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/vandenbrekel1.html

Diabetes and Virgin Coconut Oil
http://www.coconut-connections.com/diabetes.htm

Virgin Coconut Oil: How It Has Changed People's Lives
http://www.mercola.com/forms/virgin_coconut_oil.htm

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 9:17 AM

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Special Photo Feature: RANDY GALANG

Manila Bay, Philippines
Photo by: Randy Galang

Although 25-year old Randy travels quite a bit, he calls Manila his home. In his College Yearbook Write-up (University of the Philippines Manila - BA Organizational Communication '03) one of his close friends wrote:

A classroom is just a room until he walks in, because Randy is the only person in CAS with class. Gifted with a keen eye for details, Randy has that knack for delivering comments that hit the mark every time. He is a man of many passions. His technical writing skills are such that he has been the only one who obtained a perfect score in a letter writing exercise. Good as he is with words, he is even better with a camera, with shots that can give Raymund Isaac and Earl Miller a run for their money. Randy also entertains fantasies of making it to the CIA, with his impressive collection of gadgets (you better make sure there are no bugs or worse yet, bombs, on you). Still, he has his feet firmly rooted on the ground, so he will just settle for being a speechwriter in Malacanang. A few more years, and Randy will be moving the president of the Philippines to tears of joy with his speeches.

Perhaps, one of these days he will share with us a sampling of his writing style. But for now, to enjoy more of this young man's photographs click:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randyg/sets/160147/

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:30 AM

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Special Photo Feature: ENZO

Pearly Gates
Photo by Enzo
Location: Intramuros

To enjoy more of Enzo’s photographs, click: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiapoilalim/

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 9:31 AM

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Special Photo Feature: PROUST

HEAVEN AND EARTH
Photo by Proust

A visual commentary on Metro Manila’s striking economic divide (taken at Osmena Avenue near Buendia at the entrance to the South Superhighway).

To see more of Proust’s photographs, click:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/proust/

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:35 AM | 0 comments

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Special Photo Feature: RAUL ROA

Untitled
Photo by Raul Roa

Explore Raul's other photographs
http://www.flickr.com/people/raulroa/





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Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 3:36 PM | 0 comments

Life in Manila as observed by a former New Yorker who with a laptop and camera has reinvented himself as a storyteller. Winner of the PHILIPPINE BLOG AWARDS: Best Photo Blog in 2007 and three Best Single Post awards in 2008.

 

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