"Money Shot"

I have gone back and forth over this photo for a while now; sometimes I'm in awe about it and other times I'm sick of looking at it. Late last year I entered this photo into an auction to support monsoon stricken Philippines, thinking it would fetch a fairly good price and donation. However, it didn't sell. I just wrote it off as the photo being better suited for a journal or news item; "who would want this photo on their walls?" is what I kept telling myself. I soon started to criticize every aspect of the photo and grew to hate it.

I gave this photo another shot and entered it into the 2010 University of Calgary International Photo Contest that took place 2 weeks ago. I was nervous when I saw some of the other photos for the contest; there were a lot of good shots. But, my photo prevailed and it won "Best People"! Needless to say, I love the photo again and I'll put it on my own wall to remind me of my first contest and first prize winning photo.

I just want to emphasize that I have no intention of exploiting these boys in order to make money from the photo. All I want is to tell a story about how beautiful the people are in the Philippines. It's easy to get caught up in how unsafe and poor the country is. We soon forget that they are people who laugh, cry and dream just as we do. This photo is a testament to the amazing spirit that the Filipino encompasses and it is about time that it deserves some recognition. This photo says to me "don't take life for granted because everyday is a beautiful gift" and I hope that you too can find some inspiration from these boys.

Loves,

stv