Happy Captures: “A Time to Remember”

It’s been quite a while since my last “Happy Captures” feature. So here I am yet again to give you another dose from the cream of the crop, amongst my big box of photographs. I have here what I can consider as one of my most treasured pieces, for your viewing eyes only!

Where: Can you guess where this shot was taken? Well, I don’t think you can. Haha! It was taken within the comforts of our room on the 16th floor of the now foreclosed Grand Boulevard Hotel (formerly known as Silahis Hotel), located along the bay side strip of Roxas Boulevard, Manila, Philippines. The colorful circles on the background were blurs of the dazzling lights lining the bay walk.

When: The photo’s already nine months old as of this writing. It was taken ’round midnight on the 12th of April, year twenty-oh-eight, when we were in the heat of our summer nursing affiliation days–shuttling to-and-fro between tertiary hospitals namely, the Lung Center of the Philippines, the Philippine Orthopedic Hospital, the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, and the National Center for Mental Health.

How: Since it was a weekend, meaning we’ve got time off from all the paperwork, I just got so bored and decided to sit by the glass window to have some quiet time for myself, and meditate a little. While at it, I was enamored…er, fancied by the bay walk lights that I decided to play with my camera and capture the view on film.

At first, what I got was this…

Seeing that it turned out as overexposed, I tweaked the settings and got this…

Turning out as underexposed this time around,
I played with the settings again and got this…

I followed that pattern and captured the scene shot after shot, that I looked just like a fuzzy monkey who doesn’t know what he’s doing. So after what, like ten tries, I was still dissatisfied with the outcome and felt like there’s something lacking. I then tried holding an object in front of the lens, using the view as the backdrop–so that I could at least get a single subject to focus on. Lo and behold, after tinkering with the camera’s settings, it was then that I discovered how to pull off a BOKEH!

For the objects that I used as the subject of photography: first off, I drew a coin out of my pocket and held it with my free hand in front of the lens; and then I got to the crazy idea of using my finger instead; after which, I got my rosary out and shot its beads (wanting the bay walk’s lights to look like they’re part of the rosary beads); and then, I finally got to using the crucifix.

But wait, it didn’t stop there. I found my rosary’s crucifix to be too “plastic” (by literal means). I wanted something made of metal…something that will look classic on photo, so I borrowed one from my roommates. After clicking away like a bajillion times as illustrated below, it was then that I finally got just the right blend of light and color (as shown at the center).

And it was also then that I truly felt and experienced firsthand what most photographers mean when they say, “one shot is not enough.” So yeah, it was pretty tiring; but once you get it right, it all becomes very rewarding. (Although I’d have to say that the top left portion came out to be a bit overexposed due to the flash. Heh.)

Why: Setting the technicalities aside, what I got out of the photo was the message of giving HIM time. Actually, the first title that I thought of was “Just an Hour” for obvious reasons of allotting even just an hour off of our busy lives to have a heart-to-heart talk with Him. But then this title came to mind…”A Time to Remember”…rooted from the thought of not putting any limits or whatsoever to time, so that we could connect to him as freely, and as willingly; or at least, be reminded of his presence and remember Him at any time of the day, or at any point in our lives.

I just realized how we are so full of our worldly occupations, being so busy with our day-to-day lives, that we come to take Him for granted most of the time. But when we want something, or when something bad happens (knock on wood), we drop on our knees and ask Him to provide us this-and-that, with matching teary eyes for a dramatic effect.

I saw the “bay walk backdrop” as a symbol of those worldly occupations…the distractions, the temptations, the obstacles–basically everything that hinders us from being with Him–that we need to “blur” out from our respective systems. And that by making God the “focus” and center of our lives, by letting Him into our hearts and minds, only then can we find true solace and peace.

So I guess we’d all have to take it from here. Let’s not remember Him only when we need his help. Let’s give Him time.

“You can do more than pray after you have prayed;
but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed.”
-A.J. Gordon

Well I hope, yet again, that my message got across in this third issue of “Happy Captures”. See you on the fourth! God bless.