spilling blood
before pasig river became a mutant life-form, it used to have clear running water, fish swimming along and people taking a swim. few can remember that time when "mutya ng pasig" (muse of pasig) meant pure and virginal. nowadays, mutya ng pasig can be bought for Php 200 short time, and when business is really bad, free. except that no one would even care to enjoy pasig, we end up holding our breath till we are blue on the face so we avoid smelling the putrid gas that float to the surface and "pop".
as citizens, that is how we mutilated and raped our own land.
almost a year ago, guimaras was considered to be the next "mutya" on the rise. luscious mangoes can be had and virginal white coasts extend from the northern to southern tip of the province. until solar 1 sank off the coast of nueva valencia (11 august 2006) and leaked black blood that tainted the white sands and destroyed marine reserves along the southern coast.
i am posting memories of a now unnamed resort in nueva valencia just a couple of months before the tragedy struck. here's a reminder of what we've lost and to millions of filipinos who will never get the chance to see this in its purest state.
picture left: profile of the boatman, taken while crossing the guimaras channel from iloilo. the boat ride took 10 minutes
picture right: all sorts of produce gets transported from guimaras to iloilo. the most interesting is this motorcycle that was tied to the bow of the boat. guimaras has a policy that you can't bring in any mango or mango derivative item to the island to protect its prime mango industry
picture: this frame of a family by the beach caught my eye. the other picture of the girl looking out to the sea is rather melancholic and sad, on the other hand it is the unaffected innocence of youth that believes everything will be alright
picture: the resort is in a natural cove that is bordered on both ends by natural cliffs. if one is daring enough to scramble over rocks and wade through the shore you can come across private nooks. we were advised no to stay out too late as the high tide usually cause these coves to disappear.
picture: am experimenting with exposure and kept my foreground underexposed to create silhouettes. the trees growing on the cliff created some interesting visuals against the sky.
the same concept but taken in color, the vivid blue sky stood out from the darkened foreground subject.
there are times when taking a self-portait is not as creative when taking subtle proof of a visit to a particular place. often times, i resort to taking a picture of my foot, and in this case, a footprint.
i left my footprint that will just as easily be swept away when the tides rise, erasing the memory of me in that place, at that very instant, at that very moment. and like the beauty of this place, this is now lost to dark blood spilled in guimaras.
as citizens, that is how we mutilated and raped our own land.
almost a year ago, guimaras was considered to be the next "mutya" on the rise. luscious mangoes can be had and virginal white coasts extend from the northern to southern tip of the province. until solar 1 sank off the coast of nueva valencia (11 august 2006) and leaked black blood that tainted the white sands and destroyed marine reserves along the southern coast.
i am posting memories of a now unnamed resort in nueva valencia just a couple of months before the tragedy struck. here's a reminder of what we've lost and to millions of filipinos who will never get the chance to see this in its purest state.
picture left: profile of the boatman, taken while crossing the guimaras channel from iloilo. the boat ride took 10 minutespicture right: all sorts of produce gets transported from guimaras to iloilo. the most interesting is this motorcycle that was tied to the bow of the boat. guimaras has a policy that you can't bring in any mango or mango derivative item to the island to protect its prime mango industry
picture: this frame of a family by the beach caught my eye. the other picture of the girl looking out to the sea is rather melancholic and sad, on the other hand it is the unaffected innocence of youth that believes everything will be alright
picture: the resort is in a natural cove that is bordered on both ends by natural cliffs. if one is daring enough to scramble over rocks and wade through the shore you can come across private nooks. we were advised no to stay out too late as the high tide usually cause these coves to disappear.
picture: am experimenting with exposure and kept my foreground underexposed to create silhouettes. the trees growing on the cliff created some interesting visuals against the sky.
the same concept but taken in color, the vivid blue sky stood out from the darkened foreground subject. 
there are times when taking a self-portait is not as creative when taking subtle proof of a visit to a particular place. often times, i resort to taking a picture of my foot, and in this case, a footprint.i left my footprint that will just as easily be swept away when the tides rise, erasing the memory of me in that place, at that very instant, at that very moment. and like the beauty of this place, this is now lost to dark blood spilled in guimaras.
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