In life we go through both joys and sorrows, a lot of ups and downs, trials and triumphs, problems and difficulties, successes as well as failures — and if we don’t get a hold of ourselves, we might end up sick or even worse. It’s always good to have something else to do, like having a hobby or something.

For me, it’s photography. Here’s a photo of my wife, Jojie — a willing subject, always ready to pose for the camera. I have a ready-and-always-willing model for portrait photography haha! She has always been my favorite photo subject ever since we were still young until now that we are getting older.

It was sometime during the late 70s that I began taking snapshots of my wife when were still young in our early 20s. That was around four decades ago hahaha! I do still take snapshots of her when I get the chance.

My wife and I used to go to SM Pampanga often where we buy our food and groceries regularly. We still do but with the opening of Waltermart closer to our home, we have lessened our visits to SM Pampanga. There are times though when my wife would prefer to go there for a change.

Several months ago, we noticed that big foundations were being constructed at the back area of SM Pampanga and as construction progressed over time, it was becoming obvious that they were constructing a ferris wheel. I thought to myself, this must be the biggest and tallest in the Philippines. I found out later on that I’m right. It is 65 meters in height and 50 meters in diameter. It really is the biggest and tallest ferris wheel in the Philippines. They call it the “Pampanga Eye.” The whole complex is called the Sky Ranch Pampanga. They have other rides built as well within that complex. It opened to the public just this December 2014.

Well, it’s a good thing but there is a downside to it. I noticed that during this Christmas season, vehicular traffic has become heavier in this area because of this new attraction which seems to have captivated a lot of people in Central Luzon. The City of San Fernando, Pampanga is the regional center of this whole area of Region 3. For the first time my family and I experienced heavy traffic last January 2 when we went to SM Pampanga. It was the first time that traffic was crawling like we were at EDSA during peak hours! Traffic was even heavier right within the mall’s inner roads—really terrible . That was quite an experience.

During my boyhood years during the 60s, photography was usually done using mostly black and white films. We were used to photographs taken in black and white. Eventually, colored films became more and more available and less and less expensive and with the coming of “instamatic cameras” — that is, point-and-shoot cameras — people everywhere used colored films more and more and became popular.

Film Photography

There was a time when one can make a choice of whether to buy black and white films or colored films. If you’re buying film in a photo shop, you would normally have a choice of whether you want it colored or black and white. I remember back then that one had a choice of buying a roll of film with 12 shots, 24 shots or 36 shots. Eventually black and white films became less and less common and I guess those who would be looking for such films would usually be artists who continue to be fascinated by black and white photography as an artistic medium.

Digital Photography

Well, with the coming of the digital age, even colored films eventually became obsolete. Films are no longer needed with the advent of digital cameras. It’s amazing to see the development of photography through the years. Who would have thought that we won’t be needing films for photography nowadays haha! It would indeed be a rare chance if one can still buy colored films these days. But I guess it would still be available. I just don’t know where. You’ve got to have an old film camera too if you want to use films. Additionally, you would need to have these negative films developed. I guess that would be a great challenge haha! And I would suppose that it would even be more difficult to look for and buy black and white films.

Well, no worries if we don’t have black and white films because with digital cameras nowadays, we can still continue to shoot in black and white if one so desires especially for artists who continue to love this medium. It’s maybe because black and white photos somehow evoke emotions of the past and a nostalgic feeling of bringing back “the good old days.” It’s just dramatic and artistic when photos are in black and white — somehow. Of course, I love colored photos too.

Model: Ayana Manriquez