STORIES, STORIES

Carnival Jeddah, Saudi Arabia photo by aphroditeshari Who is the "ghair-est" of them all? If there's one thing about Jeddah, it's that it is always on the brink of something great. Something huge and life-changing is always JUST about to happen. This feeling of anticipation, and dare I say it, HOPE, is what makes the Jeddah culture and its people inch slowly towards that sky they long to touch: Change. This movement is so slow that people barely notice it. It is only when you stand still and look hard at the sky that you see the world move. Jeddah is, by all means, an exclusive community. Its people bristle at the slightest negative remark made by anyone considered an outsider, whether or not the remark has some truth in it. They defend its culture with one eyebrow raised, rhetorical questions, and a touch of condescenscion: "How long have you been living here? 6 months? Ah." Because clearly, you wouldn't understand. You don't know the change ...

I remember a guy I met so many years ago, maybe 6 or 7 years back. His name was Macky. I met him in Makati when I got a job offer at a call center (I was looking for a job to support my clubbing, as my parents wouldn't. Haha). Macky was the only other person out of the 28 candidates for the position who also got a job offer. We stayed at the HR office signing contracts, doing the first part of the training session until well after sunset. The most natural thing to do after that was to grab a bite to eat, maybe chit-chat. But he was broke. I was broke. I didn't have any money. I only had cigarettes. I couldn't invite him back to the apartment I shared with my brothers, even though I saw he was so hungry his hands shook. I myself was so hungry my hands shook. But I couldn't, because we didn't have food at home. We were gonna go to my uncle's house for dinner, because that's what we do on the days we finish our allowance dry - go to our uncle's for our mea...

I seem to have a habit of cutting the top of people's heads off. Sometimes, it works for me. Other times, no. *** Cheese and Ice 3 August 2007 Faisal's home, Jeddah (Models: My cousin Faisal's kids) Cheese and Ice II 3 August 2007 Faisal's home, Jeddah (Models: My cousin Faisal's kids) McDo and Cheese 3 August 2007 Faisal's home, Jeddah (Models: My cousin Faisal's kids) These are kids that only talk to me when I have my camera out. They just love to pose. They have funny names, but their parents (and my dad, who is their stand-in grandfather) are insisting on their being called by proper names (all of which I can't remember). Oh, wait, no, I remember McDo's proper name (the boy). He would like to be called Richard from now on, thank you. (He actually said that.) The last picture would look so much better straightened, no? *** Swimming 19 July 2007 H's old home, Jeddah (model: Helmy) Pictures of pool water are so refreshing.

One of the things I struggle so much with when it comes to photography in particular (and all art in general) is originality and/or creativity. It's tough when there isn't much you can do that hasn't been done already. *** I love John and Yoko photos, and I love ABSOLUT ads. I fancied a remake that feels like both. Peace. Love. Black and White. 19 July 2007 H's old room, Jeddah (models: Nadia and Kamal) Rock 19 July 2007 H's old room, Jeddah (models: Kamal and Nadia) *** Luxury 2 August 2007 Jeddah My friends Suzann, Nadia and I tried out the (then) new chauffeur service APEX. You rent them for 80 riyals an hour, they send you a driver, a Dodge, and a chauffeur in a smart uniform who also offers you cold drinks, opens your doors, and generally follows you around. We got in the car and drove around Jeddah for about an hour at around noon. Coz we rock the city like that. Hahaha. *** Cheerleader 30 July 2007 My classroom, Jeddah At the end of the summer course, my kidd...

If you're thinking bout my baby, it don't matter if you're black or white. Spaceship 6 July 2007 My parents' house, Jeddah That's me playing with angles and B&W. *** Miss Behaved 12 July 2007 Roshan Mall, Jeddah (Model: Sharifa and Fayiz) That's me playing with B&W settings. I remember this day. We met up with Mokhtar at Second Cup, and he gave me tips on black and white photography. I also got a nice lecture about not having a proper bag for my camera. *** I Shop. I Read. I Coffee. 12 July 2007 Roshan Mall, Jeddah (Model: Nadia) The nice thing about having friends is that you also have free models.

( Click image for bigger view ) Dear Reader, Thank you for looking at my pictures. I appreciate criticism. Not for who I am, please, but for my pictures and what I do to take them. My settings, perhaps. My composition. My angles. My equipment. My editing, or lack thereof. I'd like to be a photographer. A good one. A better one. Love, xx *** "The Bar" 5 July 2007 Applebee's, Jeddah "WadhHa" 5 July 2007 Applebee's, Jeddah *** "Cheese" 28 June 2007 Jeddah My cousin's daughter. Her nickname is Cheese. She loves the camera.

So what happens is this. I collect depressing thoughts and moments. I stack them up neatly. I put them aside. Once a month, I reach for this pile, and I dump it onto my laptop. After a lot of editing, I decide it goes to the blogger. A very simple process. *** I AM NOT FILIPINO. No, this is NOT hypocrisy. This is a fact. FILIPINO does not tell you what country I am from, or what my nationality is. It does not tell you what culture I was raised in, or where my patriotism lies. What is Filipino in this place? It is a LABEL. A name used to identify a person who is underpaid, overworked, used and abused. A person NO ONE would pay thousands of riyals to teach them anything. A person NO ONE listens to, who has no influence on anyone. A person who talks funny, who is only capable of doing your dirty work, who is short, straight-haired, who takes all kinds of shit from anyone and everyone. A person you can make fun of. A person you can kick to the curb, because no one cares enough about them t...

To raise a geek, you start them young. The Alphabet: X is for Xenops and Xiaosaurus V is for Velociraptor and Vulture ... eventually, they grow up to be this person: Original image/comic HERE (the first two pictures are actual hand-outs I took photos of from our "Teaching the Alphabet" archives at work!)

(Click image for larger view. This time for real.) So Jeddah, right. So much has been said about Jeddah, how it's good but it's bad, it's hot but it's cold, it's awesome but it's not, it's open but not quite, blah blah blah. Well, Jeddah IS all of that, and all at the same time. That's why it's so awesome. For instance, this graffiti competition from a couple years ago. Who'd have thought it would be possible to organize an event where not only was vandalism encouraged, but also GASP THE MIXING OF THE YOUTHFUL SEXES. The truth is, it was all very regulated. There were some areas where some of the youth were asked to un-mingle. If all you need was one more reason to convince yourself to get a DSLR, let it be this reason: A FREE PASS IN EVENTS. I took several pictures, and I got to talk to a lot of people because I had the DSLR. Fine, I also cheated and didn't say no when they thought I was an official photographer for an obscure publication (m...

(Click on images for bigger view) I'd thought of editing these pictures before posting them, just little tweaks here and there, some auto-tuning or cropping or straightening, but I thought it best to leave them in the settings I shot them with. When I take pictures, before I even look through the viewfinder, I always see how the picture would turn out, and it's always beautiful in my mind. As soon as I shoot, though, I'd be disappointed that it looked so ordinary. This was one of those shots: "Ribbon" 13 June 2007 My father gave me a crash course on angles and composition shortly afterwards, and he dumbed it down significantly for me. This is how I interpreted his advice: "the rule of triangles". One should be able to draw an imaginary triangle in the picture. Sometimes it works for me. Other times, it doesn't. *** "Shazu" 16 June 2007 model: Shaza Babies and little kids are so much fun to take pictures of, mainly because they remain adorab...

Senses is such a pretty restaurant. We used to go there a lot because it could accommodate our abnormally massive group. 15 people was always a minimum, and it would go up to about 45 people. Good times. We had a nice mob; the typical Jeddah circle who knew everyone through a friend of a friend of a friend. At this point, I was still trying to understand the ISO. I didn't bother to read up on it, and instead opted to try it out and play it by ear. I'd always gauge it by checking the grainy quality of my pictures. In my photography, the grainier the photo, the wronger the ISO. I itched to hike it up to the highest - 1600, just because it was so defiant, and I would do so every chance I got. I had also, at the time, made fast friends with Suhail, who had the same model Nikon as I did ("Minus the X!" he used to say. "The only difference is a couple hundred dollars!! Thieves!!"). Suhail has moved on to other DSLRs, and his awesome photos may be found here . I ha...

Allow me a little sentimentality. I bought my Nikon d40x 2 years ago this month, June 2007. Almost a year before my purchase, I had been spending a lot of time in the company of 2 guys and 2 girls, all of whom liked to, as a pastime, drag me with them to early morning breakfasts at Casper & Gambini's in Jeddah while they spent hours boring me with endless talk of photography. They would brainstorm ideas for photoshoots, talk about photo editing and software, and discuss where they could drag me some more for some possible photography in the land of OH, HELL NO YOU'RE NOT TAKING PHOTOS HERE YOU INFIDELS. I had always felt a little bit left out, as photography was really the only thing I couldn't even stand-up-comedy about. As soon as we settled down with our cups of coffee, they would start blabbing about things I didn't know about. I kept myself entertained with thoughts of gaining back their attention when they drifted away into that elusive, exclusive, bullet-proo...

This photo may be found here We've all heard about how Dave Chappelle walked out of his show after he was offered that $50 million dollar deal. Some years back, he talked to TIME about the reasons behind this .  Its common practice for artists of all kinds to feel the need to step back from the limelight that they so desired in the beginning. This fame is usually what motivated them to work harder, to produce better work, to improve themselves in their craft, to begin with. The thought that they may be acknowledged for their work finally, that they be credited for this sheer genius that no one seems to be noticing, this becomes the main goal. That goal is mine, too. I write to be noticed. I write for all that attention. Any comment, any activity on my website, is welcome. I write and re-write, I draft, I try out jokes on my friends, I take creative writing exercises to earn more readers.  However, it is common practice for me as well to retreat after a certain number of people read...

Whoa-ho-ho-ho. Who here doesn't like to hear the latest gossip? Okay, yeah, stop lying, get outta here. EVERYONE loves gossip. We only realize how bad it is when WE are the subjects. Come on, they've made movies about this; tons and tons of money on the basic premise of gossip. But here's a fun experiment: for once, try not to be involved in it. Try to sit back, get a cup of coffee, and just watch Gossip work it's way around your circle. It's the most interesting thing. I realize that it's more difficult to try and avoid taking part in it, especially when you are surrounded by a bunch of women, but it is so worth all that restraint and hard work. Gossip distorts the face of all women. You get to see so many facial expressions in a very short time span. Guilt ("Oh my god, I started this one.). Horror ("Oh my god, that snitch!). Hurt ("She fucking SAID THAT ABOUT ME?"). Revenge ("I'll show her."). Indifference ("So what if sh...