Photograph a moment and you’ll capture the happiness.

Street photography is hella fun! and in fact I’m dying to learn how to. But in some specific manner, taking photographs of those particular people in the streets especially the kids and the old ones sitting on the dirty cold floor of the side walk, is a big NO NO to me. I simply don’t see the point of taking snapshot of their pity faces. What for? To show how good your portrait photography is? For poverty’s shout-out? (Well for some they have their good reasons, I guess).

Nobody loves to see their sad hungry faces right? (If you do, oh dear maybe you’re Stalin’s grand grand child? Just kidding on that.) So, if you’re a photographer and like the idea of capturing those poor faces, I want to ask you.. What’s the point of taking that photo in the first place? Have you tried to imagine if you’re in their shoes, would you love seeing your sad face in a silk B&W photo paper? Bato-bato sa langit, ang tinamaan, kalma lang. I am not raising an argument here; I just merely want to say that it saddens me to see a photo of a poor naked kid, greasy and almost crying with his hands begging for some peso.

On the other hand, as I was cleaning my drive I saw this photo, I STOP and STARE at it. This are street kids’ faces, but hey! I don’t see poor sad faces here!

This was taken not so long time..I still remember how I manage to take this one. I was on my first photo walk with a friend on a late noon at a Children’s Park. With the camera on my shoulder I scout the place. Then these little fellas jump right infront of me and said “Te, piktyuri mi beh” I kept silent for a second and thought that if I said yes, I’d be back-stabbing myself… but then w/o any other thoughts the next moment I just found myself saying, “Sige, pero kanang nindut kau nga posing hah?” Then, the shutter sounded..

That’s exactly my point is, WHY NOT TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH AND CAPTURE HAPPINESS?