 |
|
Crumbsby Kimberly Tin When I chose my topic for the portfolio, I knew that my pictures were not going to be too pleasant, being that I was trying to capture the looks of objects at the brink of destruction; or if not destruction, in their not-so-best looks. I just hoped that each of my pictures would tell a story, just like the much-used phrase: a picture paints a thousand words. I thought deterioration a good theme because I would be taking pictures of objects at the brink of dissolution. The pictures would represent the "lives" they have served.
I had several ideas for my theme of deterioration. I wanted to photograph, not only deterioration of structures, but of deterioration in humans as well. My main idea was that I would take a picture of and elder man with no teeth left or with his false teeth falling out. But this would be too insensitive of me, so I stuck to deteriorating structures.
 One would think that it would be fairly easy to find spots for these, especially around the city of Manila, but it was not so. There were a lot of things deteriorating alright, but not all were good enough to be photographed. There were crumbling poles, broken chairs, stained walls, shattered windows, drilled cement; but none really captured the ideas for the photos I wanted to portray. My surefire hope was the railway station - that which gave me the idea of my topic. It was not hard to access the place for it was right at the main road. My concern was that I could be charged with trespassing. There was a wall surrounding the broken building but it was not closed full and there was still a passageway through to the ruins. I proceeded to exploring the place and taking pictures. What made the trip to that site unforgettable was that 3 security men of the compound nearly escorted me out of the premises. I had to ask them really nicely and tell them that I am a student and needed the pictures for a project before they let me take a few pictures. I was really, really nervous right around that time because the security team approached me one by one. My main fear was actually rape. Being the paranoid person that I am, I was alone in an empty lot, about to be bullied by three unknown men, I could not help but think that. I came out of the lot alive, thank Heavens.
The other shots were taken from the streets around Manila. I went scouting for the views and just took pictures of them. It was quite fun because I felt genuinely like a travel photographer which is one of my dreams. Again, the down side though was that I am a girl, alone taking pictures, and feeling vulnerable. It felt scary when people stared, especially when men would tease me and make sounds or say words I did not feel comfortable to hear. But, still, it was a huge adventure in a way. I was able to take a bigger step, go beyond my well-pampered and sheltered comfort zone and go discover strange places by myself.
|
|
