Travel and Adventure

Life’s Duality: Simplicity in a complex world

March 2, 2019

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Duality — Sunset in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines. I wanted to show the interaction between this young boy and the sunset. Though he is dwarfed by the imposing colours of the sunset, he somehow became the scene. His happiness is evident even without being able to see his face. I tried to distance myself from him to capture the context.

Text & photos by Manuel Librodo

Photography has been defined by some as painting with light. I would define it as painting with life. When I started to take on photography as a hobby, little did I suspect that it was more than just shooting faces and capturing sceneries. The deeper I got into photography, the more I realised that photography is a medium to showcase a person’s character and to capture precious memories. It is a means to immortalise life.

Duality_2 — Her Catch. With the boats returning from the ocean, this girl was one of the vendors ready to get her ration. Since they were all at work, my problem then was how and what to shoot. I was lucky to get her attention and what an opportune time to capture her with the catch.

Every person I meet in my travels is an essential part of the world I live in, even just for that brief moment of our encounter. When I take their photo, I am sharing not only my art but also their life. What I capture is a mirror of how I feel and see. This is when I usually realise how simple life can be.

Duality_3 — Hues of Youth. To capture the movement is to show the vigour of youth. To be able to capture their reflections is an icing on the cake. Composing was a challenge but when I started to let go of my expectations to get it sharp and precise, the more I came up with interesting pictures.

My favourite subjects are kids. They have genuine, spontaneous and unadulterated spirit. They mirror your sentiments and moods even if you are behind the camera. They smile when you smile, laugh when you laugh, cry when you cry. How they embrace life with innocence and purity comes as a reminder to us that life is actually very simple. In the world we live in, life is a rush. We have to move all the time. We dream big and we pursue it relentlessly. When we achieve that cherished dream, we aspire for something bigger.

Duality_5 — Girls with Bubbles. They were so preoccupied with their “game”, it was the moment I was looking for. I wanted them to look very natural and engrossed in their own world.

For the rest of this article (Asian Geographic No.79 Issue 2/2011 ) and other stories, check out our past issues here or download a digital copy here