Story Behind the Pictures #1

If you know anything about me or you've ever traveled with me, you know I take a lot of photos. An obnoxious amount of photos. I always seem to take a lot of photos of people. They turn out so beautifully. I wouldn't ever call myself a photographer, but I love clicking away.

A lot of people have asked me to tell them the story behind some of my photos, so I thought I'd post a few here every once in awhile. Starting off with a couple of my favorites.

Photos:

Taken in Feb. of 2007
Banaue, The Philippines




This photo is one of my favorites from my trip to the Philippines. I had been living in Japan for almost 8 months and decided to take a vacation back to the mother land. My Aunt, last minute, decided to join me. Growing up, I always thought it would be neat to go to the country where my mother was from. I never really thought I'd make it happen, but the opportunity arose and I couldn't pass it up. It may have stressed my entire family out, but I'm so glad I went.

I had made a list of all the places I wanted to go and Banaue (famous for the rice fields---also an 8th wonder of the world) had been on the top.

With such a packed itinerary, our little group (including a driver, a tour guide, and a security guy) traveled during the night, we spent more nights in the car then in a bed. We arrived to Banuae early morning and were able to meet a few of the Igorots or aka the Ifugao people. Igorot basically means "mountain people" This group, (clearly out for tourism purposes) was dressed in traditional clothing and were playing various instruments. You can see, the man playing the flute with his nose.

(I tried it once with my tin whistle...Harder then it looks)

The woman though, is the gem of the photo. I love that I caught her winking at me. I love the beauty and the depth of her wrinkles. I love her gorgeous, friendly smile. I can only imagine the life she has lived, the wisdom she holds and I think I even caught a glimmer of mischief she has.

Here are a few more of the Igorots:



This group of women were at a different site. I'm not quite sure their vision was very good. I think at least two of them were blind. You can see the rice fields peaking out in the back.

The fields, all man made and run without modern day tools were amazing. You could see people working in the fields, their backs hunched over the watery land. I can't even imagine the labor and the pain they must feel at the end of the day. Talk about a hard day's work.

My convoy and I were only in Banuae for a few hours, but it quickly became one of my favorite places.