We are nothing.

Little India

Little India is an ethnic neighborhood in Singapore. A place that is rich in character from the people to its buildings.  

The Streets of Singapore

My recent trip to Singapore was spent mostly on walking the streets taking pictures of people, meeting friends, riding bus and trains, foodtrip, going to Laneway Festival, seeing some local indie bands, vinyl hunting at Adelphi and of course some local beer and more walking.

So on this post I will be sharing some portraits I took at the streets of Chinatown, Little India, Orchard Road and some other parts of this big city. From the working class, to street performers and to some tourist who are having a taste of what this country has to offer.

Thanks to all my friends who made this trip possible. You know who you are.

This is my second installment.

 

More photos to come...

Email me at lorenzoreyesphotography@gmail.com

A smile a day

Some people just act weird when you have a camera pointed at their face in public. Some maybe conscious or shy and some will give you that frightening stare. This is the beauty of taking photos on the streets. On the other hand, here is a set of photos of people with a smile on their face.There is the pa-cute smile by the city's traffic enforcer, there is the conscious yet boast a big smile for the camera and there is the weird smile. I am not sure he's really smiling or what but he appreciate it when I took the shot. So I guess that's positive.

This why I really love street portrait. No need to ask them to strike a pose for and most importantly emotion and stories are real.

No Future sa Pader

No future sa pader

"No future sa pader" is a classic anthem by the Filipino punk band Urban Bandits. What future do we have for this kid sniffing solvent on the street? We cannot tell.

Ped Xing

Ped Xing

Madonna

Madonna

A mother and child portrait. 

In times like this

In Times Like This

Another street portrait taken at the streets of Batangas City. One reason why I love street portraiture specifically candid is you can simply tell a story by just looking at the person's expression and eyes.

I only use a 50mm 1.8 lens for my street photos.

City of Seven Lakes

Friends Aiko and Arnold while food tripping at Sanpaloc Lake in San Pablo Laguna for Earth Decay 2011 an annual Indie-Punk-Hardcore Fest for the environmental awareness. Great view, great street foods, lots of fun. 

Happy and Confused

Happy and Confused

A happy man and a confused lady at the back, as they hide the mystery in blurs.

Kubrador

KUBRADOR ( Bet Collector)

"Kubrador" is the bet collector for the illegal game called Jueteng (a game of numbers) dating from the Philippine-Spanish colonial period. This also serves as a milking cow for some politicians and the likes.

No One Knows Where We Go

No One Knows Where We Go

Been shooting streets portraits for quite some time now, and I can say that this is my favorite so far. The eyes and  the smile is so genuine, it gives so much emotion that once you look and stare at this photo. It gives you a feeling that you cant explain, maybe a mixture of joy and a little bit of sadness.

On the other hand, he's not your typical street kid or should I say not the easy prey. He is on his neat school uniform and just eating some street foods from the vendors outside the market. The title "No one knows where go" is a line from a song "Rabid bits of time" by Chad VanGaalen. It was a beautiful song, from the lyrics, to the music up to his voice. It was a song full of genuine emotion. 

And it was the perfect caption for this photo.

*Listening to Rabid bits of time by Chad VanGaalen

No To Contractualization

This people are working for several years now at Purefoods Flour Division a company owned by San Miguel Corporation in Batangas near our place. And my sympathy goes to this people, who work so hard for less. I heard that every 5 or 6 months they have to renew their contract, in order to go back to work and have some food on their table. 

Labor Contractualization is one way for this corporations to remove the Unions and exploit the rights of every worker. They never become regular employees even if they get hired repeatedly for years.

Contractualization of labor is favorable to the employers in more ways than one:

1. Union and strikes are prevented as workers as strictly they are not employees of the employer or principal. A five-month or less contract also does not give the employees a chance to organize.
2. Contractual workers replaced retrenched regular workers.
3. Most of the contractual workers do not have benefits such as PhilHealth and SSS.
4. Contractualization further depresses the already very low wages of workers. 4/10 respondents revealed that they are paid below the mandated minimum wage. From this income, they spend as much as P500 up to P1,000 in application requirements. They also have to pay for the cost of their uniforms and other work paraphernalia.
5. Contractuals cannot refuse overtime work which during the peak season means staying beyond until 10 p.m., though the labour code prohibits this as inhuman practice.
6. Contractualization brings down the workers’ self-esteem. As a whole, management looks down on workers but their biggest contempt is reserved for contractual.
7. It nurtures and reinforces the already prevailing culture of docility and subservience that have been inherited from the feudal-patriarchal culture introduced by Spanish colonizers.

- From Wikipedia on the topic of Contractualization

I say this is GREED.

The Trics

Street portraits of tricycle drivers found in the city.

*Listening to Jesus and Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking 

The daily dose

Kapit

Oras

Bilis

Higpitan mo ang kapit,

Habang pinapatay naten ang oras.

Sa bilis ng takbo ng buhay,

Bukas lang ang naghihintay.

- Lorenzo Reyes

Street Portraits

The Shoeman

Friends Forever

The Shoelady

The Kids Are Alright

Through the Eyes

Taken from the streets of Batangas. I remember this kid always strike a pose whenever I point and click my camera. 

Brighter

This kid has a problem with his one eye, and that is not a problem to put a smile. 

This street photos is not about poverty, this is more about life and the reality that surrounds us. This are portraits that reflect the lives of every individual that we can found on the streets. Every picture tells a story. This why we love walking down the streets with our camera and capturing the days of our lives. 

"There is so much beauty with simplicity."

Portrait from the streets

Salamat

Salamat

(Thank You)

"Salamat" simply because I want to thank her for the inspiration, to embrace the street and to face what is really happening in our surroundings. Even if we close our eyes we can still see the reality of life, the hardships and the pain. There is no way to escape this.

The small amount of cash we gave, made her smile.  I was able to talk to her and ask how she is. She even said "ingat kami" (take care), "ingat din po kayo" (take care as well). Salamat po (Thank you), we replied. I wish I have more time to talk to her, and ask a few more question. Well, maybe next time.  

And now, I miss the street already. Hope to have a great weather this weekend so we can go back to the streets. We are planning to go to some slum areas in Batangas for our next project. This is to capture the reality on what is going on, in the life of an ordinary Juan. 

On the other hand, I am now satisfied with result of my monochromatic post processing. Its a long process, I tried to work out a lot on some layers and color filters. Its still a learning process for me.

Shot details:

Camera: Nikon D90

Lens: 50mm 1.8

Aperture: 2.5

Shutter: 1/400

ISO: 400

Output: Jpeg Fine (Large File)

Postprocessing: Adobe Photoshop CS5

If you want to work with me on a project just send me an email at lorenzoreyesphotography@gmail.com

Thank you. See you on the streets. 

* Listening to Slowdive's Just For A Day, Pygmalion and Souvlaki albums, perfect for a rainy evening.

Street is Love

Which One?

 

Fire Safety Is Everybody's Concern

More photos taken at our Batangas City's Photowalk. Email me at lorenzoreyesphotography@gmail.com