Backfie: Shooting Men in Uniform from Behind

De-focused. Out of Frame. Photo bombed by law enforcers.

This is what I got when I was previewing my shots of the Kadayawan street dancing competition. I knew it. The way we (photographers) were treated by these haughty crowd controllers who are disdainfully proud of what they were doing. Blocking. Shooing off. Shouting at.  ( Aba, anong bisa ng sticker passes na binigay ng CIO? Laro laro lang?) Ghost month indeed for some photogs.

Kadayawan- The festival of festivals. Sounds big! Too big that I could not hold my excitement whenever I have to flip the calendar to the month of August because Kadayawan sa Dabaw breaks the cold Ghost Month superstitious belief.

As a photographer, travel blogger, filmmaker and a full blooded Dabawenyo, every year the fun in this festival is worth the effort. Worth the sacrifice. Worth dying for. Wow ha, sabagay, 6am to 6pm nasa kalsada ka eh pero hindi ka napapagod sa kakapitik ng camera. Worth my time because as an artist, it gives me an immeasurable happiness when people recognize your work, like your posts, read your blog and  watch my video blogs on youtube. This is my share in promoting my dear Dabaw.  ( Libre po ito…)

Every Wednesday, I have a regular program on PTS ( The longest running Pinoy radio station 

in Hongkong ( Live via phone or podcast) . I promised them to share photos of Kadayawan

highlights because a lot of Dabawenyos are working in Hongkong. Ano ang e share ko? balikat ng

mga marshals?  

Men in Uniform

While I understand that they were doing their job in maintaining the safety for both ‘indakers’ and spectators, it is not an excuse to intentionally block our lenses from the perfect view for us maniniyots.

With my colleague, we sat down in a spot in San Pedro showdown area because we wanted the spectators behind us to let them see the show also, despite of the fact that we were authorized by a specialized sticker pass. The men in light blue tapped our shoulder and ordered us to get lost. To go with the crowd. ( Kung gagawin namin yun, the full-house crowd will surely get mad at us.Aatras kami,tatamaan ang nasa likod namin, so alangan namang kami ang pupunta sa likuran?)

“ We cannot shoot in that situation and as you can see with the previous performer, everything was fine.” I said. Ang layo po namin. Ang laki ng easement between performers and us.In fact, authorized po kami dito na side. Hayan po stickers namin” I murmured. They kept on pushing us. Mga bongol.

In dismay, I transferred to the other showdown area – Bonifacio Street. For 3 consecutive performances, I was able to sit on the edge. ( Kaya lang, yung na pikturan ko sa San Pedro na contingents, sila lang din ang nandoon, haist!)

There were bunch of media and hobbyists that time. I had fun. Suddenly, this traffic enforcer, the man in black, arrived. His eyes were following the performers.Amused. I requested him to be on the other side where people were pushing each other because that was his job. It seemed that he was not doing his task. He was enjoying the performances while blocking us. Worst, he sat down in front of me and in silence, I said PUTANG INA! ( Sorry for the word, I didn’t mean it…No, I mean it..ahmm ambot!) Dinedma ang mga lente namin.

He became a spectator ignoring me at his back. “Kuya, excuse me we are shooting” He just stared at me. Deadma!

I had to stop recording. I was filming that time but his presence really ruined our coverage. I had to kneel so I could find clear view while framing some exciting subjects but he bumped his cap against my lens whenever his head moves. Nakiki-audience? Part ng trabaho nila noh?Good!

I felt so small like ‘hipon’ (shrimp). He was not listening. He was arrogant. What happened was like a marshal law. For seven years straight, my experience in this year’s indak indak was painful and disappointing, losing my Kadayawan toothsomeness in one second.

Maniniyots, photojournalists and hobbyists are partners of tourism. Taking photos in such event is not a hobby anymore. It is more of responsibility, craftsmanship, and passion. Remember, not all dabawenyos could take the heat and join with the crowd but everyone has a social media account. Here,in social media, photobloggers and hobbyists sometime get first the recognition than the other medium. Remember,some incident reports land first on social networking site before it get published. 

Bloggers have their own followers around the globe. Photobloggers can raise massive engagement of audience through LIKES and SHARES. How much more kung nasa mainstream MEDIA ka. 

My suggestions ( Hoping they will listen)

Bring back the platform at the main event area but not as high as the previous ones. This gives everyone several good vantage points. In this area, give it to the media personnel. To avoid congestion of photographers, photogs with media stickers should only be allowed in this area.

Performances of street dancers in Roxas, Bonifacio and Rizal are just the same. I don't get the idea why all photogs should transfer from one area to another. Sabagay, kanyang kanyang diskarte yan. So, I suggest give Roxas and Bonifacio to hobbyists. at respetuin nawa ng mga silop ang mga lente ng bawat isa. Mga mamahaling lente yan na pag natamaan ng batuta eh, tyak akong lulubog sa utang kung sino ka mang marshal ka. 

Davao photographers are courteous. Most of the maniniyots consider spectators. That is why most of the time we sit down. Ang init ng aspalto ha!  I again suggest that organizers might as well have a restricted platform for photogs area only. We know how to adjust with one another but not with the crowd. Ang hirap mag tuwad tuwad makalusot lang ang lens.

Finally, organizers should TEACH their marshals to be courteous.To be true with what they are called for. Hindi yung pagsabihan kami na "uso na kaya ang zoom lens, doon kaya dapat sa malayo!" Aba hindi lang ito polis, photography expert na rin. Maka attend nga ng workshop nya.

Vice Mayor Pulong Duterte, my idol, said 'Magpatawaran nalang muna tayo and move on'. I have forgiven them. It is just that we need to loose from the feelings of frustrations inside us by voicing it out. It was a serious butt-kicking experience. 

Pramis, I took a very long time in my PC deleting all those #Backfies. Shooting men in uniform from behind is more annoying than the viral #Hipon flood posts on facebook.  

To end this piece, let me reiterate what Sunstar Davao Editorial Title says " Let's not move on until we resolve this ".   

 #Backfies

Nevertheless, I still managed to capture some scenes that are worth sharing. You can see my PHOTOS of this year's Indak Indak here on my photo blog CLICK ME

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? Leave your message below!