Thursday, March 29, 2007

RED AND GREEN CALESAS





































Calesa or karitela is that horse-driven carriage which I enjoyed riding whenever I find myself in Binondo.

According to Wikipedia, the word calesa predates the Spanish rule of the Philippine archipelago; that it was derived from an Old Church Slavonic word meaning "wheels." However, the calesa itself was only introduced in the country during the 18th-Century.

Currently, there are two basic models that ply Manila's streets: a two-passenger seater and the other with two rows of seats that can accommodate four persons. In both models, the driver or kuchero sits in a wooden seat hosted over the tip of the cart near the horse.

I love riding a calesa. So much so that this must've have been the third or fourth entry I've posted about it. However, this particular entry takes an even more special meaning. You see the above photo, out of a thousand or so entries, was selected as one of the four winning photographs by the judges of Manila Bulletin's first Picture Perfect Photo Challenge 2007. This photo capped a consolation prize, which I'm afraid might consequently earn me the moniker Photography's King of Runner Up Prizes.

But all kidding aside, though merely a consolation spot, it's still a prestigious win, for thousands of entries are usually submitted for each of their quarterly photo contest. It was also amusing that right after the publication of the winning entries in last Tuesday's edition of Manila Bulletin, I've received invitations from a couple of local camera clubs to join their groups. However, I plan to remain with the club recently established by fellow batchmates from FPPF's Basic and Advance Photography workshops, Infinity Camera Club.


One of the prizes I will be receiving is a voucher for a free photo seminar at FPPF, which I plan to use when signing up for Allan Razzo's lighting seminar come May.


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posted by Señor Enrique at 7:10 PM | 27 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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Name: Señor Enrique
Location: Manila, Philippines

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