Labels: emotive portrait, people, sarah

Posted by sarah at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

this is my goddaughter, Star. ain't she so cute? she's gonna be a supermodel someday... i can see it now...

taken during our family reunion on Christmas 2005

Labels: emotive portrait, kids, people

Posted by sarah at 2:39 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

wheee~ that there is Noah. a 3-year-old bundle of energy. this kid is so fun to take pictures of! on the day we went to Intramuros, i was practically following him around. i've got a dozen of pitcures of him, and they make me smile everytime i look at them. i had wanted to upload a series, but... i dunno. maybe later.

here here's following Rizal's footsteps. I mean, he followed the footsteps from the jail cell to the entrance of Fort Santiago to...well... until they disappeared. it was so cute how focused he was on doing it, he didn't seem to notice me clicking away from different angles. hehehe.

(if you're not Filipino, or if you've never been to Intramuros, then you probably didn't understand a thing in the last paragraph. go research on Intramuros, Fort Santiago or Jose Rizal if you wanna know what I'm talking about)

photo taken in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines

Labels: emotive portrait, kids, people, street

Posted by sarah at 2:35 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

yey. it's me and my equally crazy cousins (plus my aunt).

ahahaha. i still wore glasses here. and lookit my oh-so-long hair! O_o. makes me want to grow my hair long again... or not. whatever.

New Year's Day 2005 @ Sabang, Baliwag, Bulacan

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 2:30 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

my brother, Jules Angelo V. Cada, was born on November 26, 1977. this is one of my birthday gifts to him.

ahehe. oddly, though, i'm not in the mood to write right now. here a simple, brash, on-the-spot version of what i wish to write.

Kuya Ace is the original clown of the family, and the master of poses. i think Kuya Tim takes on after him. he's also talented with the arts: he finished Advertising Arts in UST, and he's the one who is continuously showing me the wonders of Photoshop. a~nd he (like most of us in the family) is a musician. the difference is: he's getting famous. he's the writer/vocalist for Bagetsafonik, a band rising to fame in the Philippine indie music scene.

But despite the clown and the rocker, there's a serious guy hidden deep (VERY deep) inside him, who only wishes to sit, and to bask in the light of the sunset.

Happy birthday, kuya.

Photo taken at a beach...somewhere...in Davao, Philippines

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 2:26 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I still can't get over how comfortable that wooden bench is. Actually, I still can't get over how comfortable the wooden benches AND the wooden beds (yes, beds. without the mattresses) in that place is. It's hard, I know (it's wood, ain't it?!) but when you sit or lie down, it's just... uwaaaaaaa~n... i dunno how to describe it. Just see how comfy my dad is on there, and you can imagine.

i was waiting for someone to sit down so i could take an emotive shot, maybe. i didn't expect it to be my dad, much less for him to actually fall asleep there. :XD: he looks so cute, doesn't he?

Sonya's Garden, Tagaytay, Philippines

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 2:11 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

No, she is NOT my sister. Although we really get that all the time.

I don't think any description I can make will do justice to her, but I'm going to write this, anyways.

If you'd ask me to say one word in an attempt to box my mother, I'd say irreplacable. She's thoughtful: she remembers everyone's birthdays and never fails to do something for them. She's creative: she thinks of ways to make people happy, and notes little details that no one ever thinks about. She's a magician in the kitchen: not only can she cook several cuisines, but the way she thinks of experiments to cook that actually end up tasting FAR better than any restaurant I can think of is just mind-blowing. She's hospitable: our home is always open to friends, and she makes it that our friends want to stay in our home forever. She's a writer: she used to write, too, when she was younger. She's an artist: she puts beauty in everything; from her room to little gifts to the presentation of our everyday food. She's wise, clever, and talented. She's immensely patient with her four crazy kids. She's selfless beyond comprehension.

She's my mother. And I love her.

It's her birthday today (October 5). And I maintain that she looks WAY younger than she really is.

And, one last thing: isn't my mom just so beautiful?

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 2:05 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

My older brother, Tim, is a man of many talents. He's a musician: he plays the guitars, piano, percussions, and the koto, among other things. He's an athlete: he swims, he plays soccer, volleyball, and he can sports climb. He's an artist, a photographer... and he can be a complete clown.

I remember my first year in college. Whenever I went home on the weekends, he never fails to go to my room and bug me. Like, he would crack the corniest jokes, he would whip out his newest clown act, and he would dance around like an idiot. Or he would just lie down on my bed, pretending to be asleep, so that I won't be able to take a rest, myself. Kuya Tim isn't really an emotional, verbally expressive guy, but I know that this is his way of saying that he missed me. It was nice.

Every year on September 4th, I declare that he's my twin. That is, until his birthday on the 17th. That's tomorrow. The day when he gets promoted back to being my older brother. Hehe.

Tim is one of the coolest guys I know, and I'm really blessed to have him... even if he bugs me all the time.

Photo taken at his natural habitat :XD: Avilon Zoo, Montalban

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

i guess you can never be too young to be looking out the window and being sentimental about life.

Labels: emotive portrait, kids, people

Posted by sarah at 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

we had a medical mission in June. there were a LOT of kids there, whom we kept busy while the doctors examined their parents. most of the kids followed me around because of my handy-dandy camera, getting as much into the photos as they can.

these two girls, though, were at the back of the pack, and they just followed me quietly, waiting to catch my eye, and then smiling oh-so-demurely. they never really asked for me to take their picture, but they just smiled there, in case i decided to take a shot. and so i did.

it's just so endearing to see them. the older sister ALWAYS had her little sister under her arm: i can imagine that their mom told her to take care of the little one. and the younger sister, in turn, always followed without protest, the sparkle in her eyes never disappearing.

it's just WAY too cute.

Bagong Silang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines

Labels: emotive portrait, kids, people

Posted by sarah at 1:59 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

we had a medical mission in June. there were a LOT of kids there, whom we kept busy while the doctors examined their parents. most of the kids followed me around because of my handy-dandy camera, but these three boys are my loyal followers. i mean they trailed behind me wherever i go, and, at the slightest hint that i was going to take a picture, they bolt into the camera's view and pose like crazy.

clean them up and polish their act, i'm sure these kids are gonna make it into the modelling industry before long.

Bagong Silang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines

Labels: emotive portrait, kids, people

Posted by sarah at 1:56 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The first word that would pop in my head when you say the name "Nekoda" would be "balance". Seriously. He behaved when necessary, yet he's active like the 8-year-old kid that he is whenever he can. He's a pretty silent worker, but he always did his best behind the scenes. He took care of his sisters even if he wasn't the eldest. He had the capacity to determine when it was time to just smile quietly or laugh like there was no tomorrow. He could content himself with waiting and standing by his parents and wait until he could run around to his heart's content.

For me, Nekoda represents balance.
But, more than that, he represents a kid really livin' the life.



For Nekoda Holeman
October 22, 1997 - September 6, 2005
We'll miss you, kid. See ya on the other side.

Labels: kids, people

Posted by sarah at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

This picture was originally just for documentation, but I love how it turned out to be more than that. This photo now makes me wanna cry. It's very symbolic for me: there's Russ running towards the Philippine flag, and Nekoda following after him.

Russ and his wife Kelly are missionaries here in the Philippines. Their children Kaylee (10), Nekoda (8) and Janaya (6) came with them. To me, it was cool enough that Russ and Kelly chose to work here in the uber-humid Philippines over anywhere else (like, Japan, maybe, where the weather is close to where they originally lived. But, no. Russ and Kelly came here, and they love the people, the culture, and they're practically one of us.

And Nekoda, being the kid that he is, followed. He has Filipino friends, he didn't complain about the cultural differences, and he was even supposed to study the Language! Nekoda went where his father was.

This picture lets us take a glimpse of how beautiful this simple obedience is. I wish every father and son would be that way, too.

Photo taken in the University of the Philippines, Diliman campus.

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 12:44 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I just HAD to take this picture.

I first met Sara on my first day in high school. First, we were just classmates. We became good acquaintances. Then we were seatmates. Then we became friends. We perfected the art of simultaneously turning our heads whenever someone called Sara/h. We transformed into a pair of crazy girls who tapped on our glasses and singsonged senseless syllables that we actually understand but cannot explain. It was funny, but it was immensely comforting.

One of the things about Sara that I love best it that she's appreciative. She gives a generous amount of attention to life's simple pleasures. She can get excited over the smallest things. She points out the tiniest interesting details. Actually, sometimes she reminds me of a child looking at the world for the first time. She may not know it, but she constantly reminds me that, at times when I'm terribly busy doing the things I do, I should take at least a few seconds to pause and be a kid.

Happy birthday, ame! Keep being a kid, even as you grow everyday. Luv ya!



Photo taken in Chocolate Kiss, UP Diliman. Sept 6, 2005

Labels: emotive portrait, people

Posted by sarah at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post