EVEN IN CEMETERIES.....

Former club president John F. has this ability to get assignments for the club. He was responsible for the tie-up that the club has with Repertory Philippines. The guy has a "black book" of contacts that makes it possible for him to drop his name or the club in general to these people looking for photographs needed for whatever purpose they have in mind, even if these people have not realized this need yet! A real marketer's dream!

So it was not news to us when he announced that our services as a group was needed by his client. The reason behind was the enormous job requirement that needs to be accomplished, to take pictures of not one, nor two but four locations that his client owns. Yep! We were tasked to photograph cemeteries! Now how do we do that? What kind of photos does his client require? What do they like us to show? Show the beauty of the place? Show how expansive it looks? Show the clientele that they have
by focusing on the various family mausoleums and tombs?

I have never attempted to shoot in a cemetery out of a whim during one of my street photography pursuits. But I do have experiences in shooting an actual burial of a dead person, mostly my close relatives. And that is the only time when I get to shoot in a cemetery, on the day of their burial. And thinking about my plan of action is rather screwing up my mind and confusing me even more as I try to figure out what to do for the shoot.

We came, we saw, we shot! We organized ourselves and decided to go visit two locations in a day and do it in separate dates. We were armed with a memorandum coming from the CEO of the company, giving us the freedom to go to these locations and have the authority to shoot under the security guards' noses!

Pardon me as I digress! I have a bone to pick against security guards who are drunk with power. Even if you ask them nicely, most of them treat photographers like a pesky fly! "Mamang guard, pwede po bang kumuha ng picture dito?" He asks you what the pictures are for, "Para saan yang litrato?" You reply that its just for your folio, "Pang personal lang po." He then asks the photographer for a permit to shoot, "May permit ka?" The photog answers in the negative, "Wala eh." Answers back in a raised tone of voice, "Hindi pwede! Bawal eh." You then ask back to clarify the reason, "Ano po ang rason at bawal?" He finally loses his patience and answers back, "Sinabi ng bawal eh! Hindi ka ba marunong umintindi?" Such a remark could make you lose your composure and get into an argument with the freaking guard! How I would love to show the permit to a guard who asks me for it and sees that the order to allow people to shoot came from the company head honcho! "Ay ma'am/sir, bisita pala kayo ni bossing! Sana mag-enjoy kayo sa pagkuha ng litrato dito!" And the guard starts to be friendly and smiles back at you, his way of covering his slip!

In the end, I am happy with the photos I took. I can only post my pics that were turned down. But I do have a set of photos that the client bought as stock photos. And those are the ones I can't show. Which reminds me, I better ask John if he has seen all the club's photographs that were bought by his client and perhaps tell us how the lot was used. Wouldn't you want to find out too?