In Memory of Neil

Our lives touched one brief moment of time. Seven days to be exact. He joined the Palawan Youth Build my friend Davy and I organized in 2004. One week. That was it. After that we never really got together again, except during accidental meetings exchanging simple hi’s and hello’s–that sort of thing. 

Last Saturday morning, Davy gave me a call. “Neil is dead,” he said. He died of leukemia. Wow. And I didn’t even know he was sick. I guess we weren’t close enough to know the details of each other’s lives. Regardless of that one little detail, it still felt weird hearing that someone so young and so vibrant has died. He was full of the vigor of young manhood during our Youth Build days.

Davy asked me if I would attend his funeral today. I told him I can’t since I have an appointment and Neil’s place in Quezon Province is too far away. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve gone even if I didn’t have my appointment at UPFI this afternoon. It’s not that I don’t want to pay my last respects. It’s that I just don’t want to see him in that lifeless state. I have the photos we took during our Palawan trip. I think I prefer to remember him that way–young, energetic, naughty but nice–alive. 

Goodbye, Neil. See you when Jesus comes again . . . .

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Cropped To Its Doom!

Part of the final requirement for our FPPF Basic Photography Workshop was to submit an environmental portrait. The photo below was what I had intended to submit. However, since the required size is 8″ x 10″, my photo had to be cropped to the lower photo below, completely destroying the framing effect I made with the tree and just making it a distracting piece of stump. (Arrgh. That was so frustrating.)I guess the next thing I’ve got to learn is to get used to manually adjusting my framing–before I take my shots, making room for the cropping that an 8″ x 10″ photo gets.
I couldn’t get too close to the subjects–flying debris kept hitting me and it hurt! Plus the place was quite muddy too.