Black and White

Black and White. Ahh, it's been a week since my last post, so I felt like posting two pictures today. Yesterday, we had the privilege of joining the company of Mr. Ed Santiago, a reknowned black and white photographer and photojournalist. He shared with us his collection of photos which are of course mostly black and white. He also shared his experiences in photojournalism and his insights in creating a photoessay. He didn't really teach us the technical side of photography but rather his 50+ years of experience in the profession. By the way, he is one of the more rare photographers nowadays, who prefer film over digital cameras. Moreover, he values the B&W prints more since according to him, it can be preserved in its original state much longer. I was inspired by his stories and I have to admit, after seeing his portfolio, I had a deeper appreciation for black and white photographs. So, I tried practicing on shooting B&Ws.

The first photo was taken at a Starbucks store. We bought some coffee and hanged out for a while. I remeber the first time a Starbucks coffee shop opened near my school in Makati. People rushed in the store buying coffee like crazy. Maybe it was for the love of coffee - frappuccino, latte, espresso - you name it. Maybe it was for the whole new coffee experience - students drinking expensive coffee while reading the newpaper comfortably sitting on the couch, chatting, or maybe it's just the rush of everybody wanting to try a newly opened store. As time passed by, as expected, the number of people dwindled. Sure there were still customers, but not as much as it first opened. Then came the rise of San Francisco coffee, Seattle's Best, not as strong as Starbucks though, but competition emerged - the nature of things. I don't know with the others, but compared to the other coffee shops, I still would love the Starbucks experience. I am not an endorser of Starbucks coffee. In fact I hate their iced tea and iced fruit juices, but I have to admit, I love their iced mocha frappuccino. That's my favorite.

Coffee and cars. This second photo was taken inside the car parked near a gas station. I was waiting for my friend, who was buying something. I got bored and took out my camera and began shooting. It was almost night time when I took this picture, so I had to use flash to illuminate the interior of the car.