Photowalk: April 21 2012 with Daan SP Group Part 2

This is the continuation of the post Photowalk: April 21 2012 with Daan SP Group Part 1.

Arriving by taxi at the Glorietta 4 Park around 5pm, we waited for A.G. de Mesa. A few minutes passed and he arrived.  It was our first time to meet A.G.  Joval invited him to join us in our photowalk.  A.G., a more seasoned Street Photographer, writes for Eric Kim's Blog.  A.G. had a Leica M4-P rangefinder and a external flash with him.  We started talking about shooting in film and film cameras.

I told A.G. that I'm excited to see an actual Street Photographer shoot ala Bruce Gilden / Eric Kim in your face flash style in action.  I have seen it in videos but not in real life.  I always have questions whether it is advisable to do it here in the Philippines like what they do in the streets of New York or L.A.

Joval, Boyet, & A.G. at Glorietta 4 Park

After a few minutes we decided to move on and start the late shift Part 2 of the photowalk. We walked  to the Ayala Triangle.  We roamed around the area to shoot and wait for other friends Amiel Lapuebla and Ed Marfori to arrive.

Ayala Triangle area is actually a good place to shoot Street in the afternoons.  There are the runners, the business district employees going home, the nearby residents walking their dogs, people chilling at the cafe's and restaurants in the area.

The afternoon sun's angle creating a perfect back-lit for street portraiture

Residents dog walking

2 Cute Dogs

Around 6:45 pm, Ed arrived but Amiel left due to some prior engagements. We left Ayala Triangle and walk towards the nightlife area of Makati Avenue.

At 7pm, the nightlife area seems to be still asleep.  The sun has set and we have only the street lights to paint our camera sensors.  Shooting in this lighting becomes a challenge.

Shooting in Artificial lighting

A.G., armed with his flash, manages to shoot a few subjects ranging from street vendors, and interesting people walking around.  I checked the reactions of the subjects and surprisingly he did not get any objections at all.  Watching him shooting with the flash and surprisingly without any untoward incidents or objections made me conclude that this style of Street Photography can done here in the Philippines as well.  This gave me more confidence to look into this style which will be useful especially at night and back-lit street portraitures. Hopefully we will see some of A.G.'s photos shot during this photowalk here in this blog after it's  been developed and "marinated".

A.G. waiting for potential subjects

With a few "interesting" subjects passing by, we decided to have dinner and the awaited Photo Drink (PD) which is usually bundled with the afternoon/evening photowalks.  We decided to hang out at Gilligans.

With a few buckets of SanMig lites, 3 can of Coke Zero for me, good BBQ dinner, and pulutans, talking about SP ranging from poverty porn, editing, Eric Kim's up coming visit to Manila, debates about SP, etc... time passed by very quickly.  I think we got too loaded to shoot anymore.

Joval and Boyet shooting across the tables meeting real estate agents telling them what Street Photography is

By the time, we settled the bill, it was already 1 am, and time to go home.  Thanks guys, for a nice day and night of Street Photography!

The nightlife area of Makati Avenue seems to be a good area for flash photography style of street photography. We will definitely come back there better prepared next time with our flash and our GUTS to shoot those interesting subjects. Coming Soon!