November 2006 Archives

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/1250s f/7.1 at 54.0mm iso100

The Journey Continues - Posting from the Island.

I'm finally here - what a production getting the workstation packed and ready to go to Cebu City, and to the bus for the journey to the top of Cebu Province - to make the trip by boat to Ste. Fe.

The weather is beautiful here now, flawless blue skies but very hot and very humid.
...I'm finally away from the noise, smoke and crowds of the cities, and back to the reality and peace & quiet of just a few small paved roads and many unpaved dirt & sand roads with lumps of volcanic rock poking out; perfect for the only basic transportation here - the motorbike.

I was up at 4:55am yesterday to photograph the beautiful sunrise; I rolled out of bed, washed my face, took a shot of Extra JOSS in water, grabbed the camera and jumped on my bike while it was still dark out, and make the 5 minute trek to Paradise Beach driving through the grove of coconut palms, and ran through at least 300 frames druing the day's shooting.

A few minutes into the shooting, I heard someone in the distance running towards me from behind, and I turned to find my little friend The SandMan had rolled out of bed on the beach saw me going out to shoot (actually, his Parents woke him up & told him I was back, and he was so excited he took off running) - it was really good to see him again, and we spent that morning shooting the sunrise & reviewing the images, then went into town to buy 50kg's of Rice & vegatables for Sandman's Family - who welcomed us back and made us a wonderfull simple meal of sweet & sour Fish, which was the best I've tasted in quite a while.

More tomorrow, Typhoon permitting of course.

Regards,
PJAMES

ps: there's a Super Typhoon comming North of the Viasyas tomorrow; it looks like it's going to hit Manila hard, and I hope here in the Visayas it'll limit itself to just some strong winds & a few sprinklies (it's windy here now & rained like hell last night for a while)

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/320s f/5.0 at 14.0mm iso200

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/160s f/3.5 at 45.0mm iso400

Donnie photographed in Manila Philippines last week.

Donnie's doing as well as can be expected (yes, he's still sleeping on the street) and it was really good to see him again at the coffee shop - he always manages to just pop in to find me - he actually approached me from behind after he saw me sit down and put a hand on my shoulder (which is not the best way to greet me in a back alley coffee shop in Manila) - and I didn't know it was him until I spun around in my seat & had his arm by the wrist:)

We both laughed it off, but I did ask him never to come up from behind me like that again.

Of course we sat down to a lunch of Fish & Rice & had a long talk; I asked Donnie to fill me in on what's been going on, and I'll post about that tomorrow when I get to the Island, as I'm leaving Cebu now and have to pack up the gear again.

more later...
PJAMES

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/100s f/3.5 at 25.0mm iso800

Posting from Cebu, Philippines

May Anne photographed in Manila last week - she's growing up now & getting taller; she's really doing well dispite the circumstances of living in Rosa's Family compound.

Just wanted everyome to know she's doing well, and we all shared some cake outside Rosa's place on the street for her Birthday last week.

Good Sunday Morning to you all,
PJAMES

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/4s f/2.8 at 14.0mm iso800

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/40s f/2.8 at 14.0mm iso1600

Above images shot in Manila Philippines earlier this week.

Rosa & Edison in their shelter, watching a TV the Family somehow got for a few pesos, for Rosa's 12th Birthday.
...Tito Willie told me he's hoping the kids will stay in more now that they can watch a bit of TV & not have to play on the dangerous streets.

Willie & Auntie Josie have been telling me that Rosa is in the top percent of her school classmates, in Math & Science and that's just the best news since Rosa stopped sleeping on the streets a year & a half ago.

The deal with the school is that both children either get two meals a day there, OR 1kilo of RICE every Friday.
...Rosa chooses the 2 meals per day, and Edison brings home 1KG of RICE on Fridays (Josie makes 2 rice meals for him to eat during the school day there)

After I bought the Family 220lbs of RICE, I also paid for the kids Jeep fares to their school, at 40 cents per day for both kids, as Auntie Josie has been vending cigarettes & candy outside their shelter all day & night because that's how the Family were sending the kids to school, with cig & candy profits.

When I asked Josie what Rosa needed for her Birthday, she told me Rosa really needed school shoes.
...so after I bought Rosa her first ever Birthday cake (she was so happy to be able to have a real cake on her special day) I took her over to Robinsons Mall and got her a beautiful new pair of black school shoes, with a buckle.

Rosa's so very happy with her new shoes, you should have seen her smile!

Regards from Cebu,
PJAMES

Posting from Cebu Philippines

...what a can of worms one opens up when one decides to fly (Manila to Cebu) with a mobile workstation - even one as simple as mine pictured here (read: airline issues thanks to Air Philippines failure to understand what a photographer flys with, and what a photographer can NOT place in checked baggage, due to risk of loss)

They originally insisted I check my Pelican 1510 carry-on flight case with my camera/laptop inside, and I said absolutely not. (the monitor goes in checked baggage of course)

They kept me at the counter for 20 minutes while I re-packed my camera & laptop and power supplies, than they decided they didnt want the power bricks on the aircraft, so I re-packed again, and they then decided that my WACOM pen-tablet was a security threat, because it has a USB cord attached to it.

I'd had enough at that point, and politely asked for a Supervisor & an airport security Supervisor to come over to the check in counter, and that's when the airline finally decided to let me onboard WITH all my gear (yes, another re-pack and a terrible waste of time, with very poor service)

Anyway, the image above is the workstation at the hotel in Manila - and the internet there was just terrible - either the cafes were full booked, or the signal was down - but I just got to Cebu yesterday and I've been up since 5am today preparing some new files I'll be posting now & later tonight.

I didn't disappear - I just haven't been able to see the Familes, buy what they need, spend time with their kids, take my images, edit the images at the hotel, AND get to a net cafe to post - so most days it's either going to be one or the other, and I'll be happy to get 3 days a week regular internet when I get to Ste Fe in a few days.

So thanks for being patient and thanks for letting me rant:)
...the swelling has gone down in my hands & feet, and the jet lag's gone - and I finally got a good nights sleep when I visted friends in Pampanga after Manila & slept on the concrete floor of their simple home; best sleep I had since leaving the USA & I really needed it.

Regards,
PJAMES

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/25s f/3.5 at 54.0mm iso1600

Posting from Manila Philippines: Rosa's Birthday is Nov.17 this week!

Seeing Rosa again for the first time in a year was fantastic - she's 12 years old now & in school; doing very well there, as is brother Edison.

There's much to write on her current situation, and I'll try to post more as the week goes by - but a new challange I'm finding with her Family is that I can now only photograph them at night, as they're in school from morning until they return at 7:30pm each day - I don't really do much night shooting, and I don't want to be attracting all the attention that a flash brings at night on the streets, so this was a difficult capture at iso 1600.

She's growing up now, and they are going to school in Pasay City while living in the same run down place as last year, but the Family's spirits are UP, and they all came running over to greet me as I rounded the street corner.

I'm spending a lot of time with them this week, but I have to get out of the hotel here due to costs and get to Cebu in a few days - so I've been busy shopping for the Family's RICE, as well as the kids school clothing needs, and I'm so thankfull I have the funds to be able to do that!

More later this week - I'm finding there's no way to be online here in Manila 10 hrs a day like I was in the USA - 1 hr. per session is my limit here, so with all the things I'm trying to take care of for the Family, as well as shooting the images, AND trying to schedule time to edit them on the mobile work station I have here - keeps me running & moving all the time now, but that's good.

I need to shake this jet lag as soon as I can.

Thanks so much for reading today.
PJAMES

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/1600s f/5.6 at 54.0mm iso200

From Manila on Day 1: I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself this past week with the departure from the USA, so while I was fighting being up all night & wanting to sleep during the daytime, I made it down to Roxas Blvd. and made a nice capture of a beautiful sunset, to help clear my head & plan my week.

I hope you enjoy this image, it really decompresses me this week, making images like this.

Regards,
PJAMES

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/80s f/4.0 at 14.0mm iso400

First time in Cathay Pacific's HK airport; it's beautifully built but some of the terminals are poorly laid out logistically - it was a VERY long walk from my incomming flight to my connection, and the sineage there is often quite poor, making you seek out directions from staff there, not all of whom communicate those simple directions clearly.

PJAMES

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/125s f/2.8 at 14.0mm iso200

I'm in Manila now; I finally made it here after a 22 hr flight.
...I'm sorry I wasn't able to get posts up earlier, but there's been a lot going on - the flight was really rough, I'm having a much tougher time adjusting than in prevoius years, as I'm up all night going in & out of sleep and wanting to sleep during the daytime here, and I feel I'm walking around in a semi-catatonic state sometimes.

I never suffered jet jag before, yet this time my hands & fingers are all swollen, as are my feet & ankles, and I have yet to get a good nights rest here....when I went to find the regular net cafes, 2 had closed and the wi-Fi connection at the Mall was unreliable - but I found a new place here and its small but it's also expensive.

What happened in the USA before I left, is that I was planning to start 'the pack' the week before my flight, but work ended up getting really busy & I had a full work week (with 2 double shifts in the 3 days before my flight), and it only left me with last Sunday to even start the pack.

Couple that with the stress of not getting enought sleep in the final days before my flight, and Sunday was an extremely stressfull day, and I wasn't even able to get online to do a final post before my flight.

I slept maybe 3 hrs the night before the flight, and I guess the lack of sleep & the 22hr flight just began to pound on me here, and its continuing all this week.

There are so many new issues to write about; some of the pRICE kids have moved away, and some are still here - it's Rosa's birthday yesterday (yes, we had cake with her Family, etc) and I'm shooting images here each time I go out.

The Journey begins again....
PJAMES

April 16, 2003: Manila Philippines
Olympus E-10: 1/125s f/3.2 at 17.0mm iso80 with Flash

A happy shot of a Family of Children who are obvoiusly well cared for (well fed, new clothes, etc) shot while I was out for a walk on Roxas Blvd.

The Family was very nice and asked me to photograph the kids, and my only wish is that all the Children in need featured here can someday be as well cared for and as safe as these kids pictured here.

I leave in 2 days for Manila - I'm anxious, I'm excited, and I'm very concerned about the current conditions I'll find with all the Families I know there.

Thanks for reading tonight,
PJAMES

Nov.13, 2003: Metro Manila, Philippines
Olympus E-10: 1/125s f/2.8 at 26.0mm iso80

A couple try to grab some sleep on a stone wall in the middle of the day, and the man is using his slippers for a makeshift pillow under his head, while the woman uses a towel under hers.

Could be a nap from being tired in the hot sun, but most people with 'someplace to go' usually opt to go home to nap, if they have a home - those that don't have a place to go often seek to sleep in an open, public place where they're safer then in a back alley street somewhere.

His slippers are 'Islander' brand, and very nice at $4.00 a pair like mine are - but his are very badly worn & dirty from the streets, and maybe he can't afford to replace them.

Regards,
PJAMES

Jan.22, 2006: Lisa, Cebu Philippines
Olympus E-1 ,Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/250s f/5.0 at 42.0mm iso400

...speaks volumes to me, all by itself.

Do a search on 'Lisa' here to see more images and posts about her & her Family in need.

...I should be in Cebu by Nov.20 or 21, and I'll go right to her little house on the same street I used to live on, to see the Family again, and to make sure to get all the correct sizes etc. for the clothing trip I'm taking for Lisa, LetLet and the rest of her Family there.

I'll have to find a local clothing market downtown in Cebu City (there's a few to choose from) and I'll be taking Joel Cruz my trusted friend & helper since 2004 with me, to make sure it all goes well.

I'm excited again about getting back.

Thanks for reading today,
PJAMES

April 26, 2003: Laguna Province, Philippines
Olympus E-10: 1/320s f/4.0 at 9.0mm iso80

Although it's been getting very crazy here the past few days as I try to get everything done before I fly to Manila in 6 days time, I want to try to get some more content up here - and this is an image from my first Philippines trip.

A simple roadside fruit stand run by a small Family - and these are the exact type of businesses I make an extra effort to patronize when I'm in the Philippines.

We were making the trip from Metro Manila to Laguna, and we were all quite thirsty while out in the middle of nowhere, so we stopped here for some fresh Buko Juice (coconut).

I'm going to try to head back there to find the Families of the 'Jeepney Kids' from the very first Project Rice post, and give them their photographs as a gift.

Regards,
PJAMES

Feb.11, 2005: Cebu Philippines
Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/4000s f/6.3 at 25.0mm iso100

Sunday's are a wonderfull time to wake up, see the sunrise and be thankfull for all you're Blessed with.

Good Sunday morning to you all,
PJAMES

ps: today I'm working on images for the Pasuk Foundation in Norway and I'll be back to post later this evening.

Recently, 8 of my images from the Philippines were liscensed & published by two wonderfull non-profit .org's, and so my warm thanks goes out Kathryn Tobin & Katie Elmore at populationmedia.org, and to Martijn Ros at pasukfoundation.org

The images were compiled from .pdf's they have sent me - I don't have the tear-sheets as yet, but I'll scan them and post them here as soon as I recieve them.

www.populationmedia.org - which is based in Vermont USA (image of a Father & his daughter)
www.pasukfoundation.org - which is based in the Netherlands (portrait of LetLet from Cebu, Philippines)

Regards,
PJAMES

I just wanted to thank Olympus Factory Service in NY for the quick return of my E-1 SLR camera & the beautiful job they did replacing the rubber armor grips on the camera body & the SHLD-2 battery grip.

Last year while I was shooting in the Philippines, the rubber grips on the back of my E-1 were beginning to peel off on the back of the body and along the Compact Flash door, and while the camera was under warranty at that time (it's not now), I couldn't get it addressed as I was still needing to shoot with it daily.

I sent it in for servicing on Oct.20, 2006, and I had it back in-hand on Oct.27, 7 days later with new grips installed at no charge.

I was able to follow the repair ticket online, and when I called them to let them know I was leaving for Philippines again on Nov.13th they told me not to worry; that they'd take care of getting it done well in advance of my trip date.

My E-1 has actually flown over 40,000 miles with me in the past 2 years, and this was the first time it had ever been out of my hands as I've never had an issue with it that required a service.

Beth in Olympus Customer Service (1-800-622-6372 option 4, ext. 105105) called me twice that week to let me know they had the camera and that they were expediting the service, and later that they'd shipped it back to me repaired. (they even packed it so well, it looked like it could have survived being tossed off the UPS truck on a highway - they air-sealed it inside an oversized poly bubble, and I'd never seen that done before)

My thanks to Beth at Olympus, and to the guys I spoke to in the New York Service Division for great work & wonderfull customer service.

Regards,
PJAMES