Asia’s City of Love
The Philippines will always feel like home to me. This series was captured in 2018, marking my first voluntary trip there as an adult. My previous visit was in 2009, when I spent most of my time staring at a computer screen in a hotel lobby. I had just bought my first camera then, and returned with only a handful of photographs.
As a Filipino-American, I realize that many of us, myself included, unconsciously overlook our own culture. I came to understand how much of a stranger I had become to my parents, and how little I knew about their lives before they moved to America. I wanted to learn more, to connect, and to photograph every part of that journey.
Two weeks flew by, and I returned with not only beautiful photographs but also a deeper love for the city my mom calls home. Even as an outsider, I was met with warmth and kindness from the locals. The views were breathtaking, but more than anything, I treasured the time spent with my family. Toward the end of my trip, a local told me that Iloilo is known as Asia’s City of Love. I now understand where my mom’s loving nature comes from.
Because of that trip, I now visit the Philippines regularly.
Featured on: The Photographic Journal
The Philippines will always feel like home to me. This series was captured in 2018, marking my first voluntary trip there as an adult. My previous visit was in 2009, when I spent most of my time staring at a computer screen in a hotel lobby. I had just bought my first camera then, and returned with only a handful of photographs.
As a Filipino-American, I realize that many of us, myself included, unconsciously overlook our own culture. I came to understand how much of a stranger I had become to my parents, and how little I knew about their lives before they moved to America. I wanted to learn more, to connect, and to photograph every part of that journey.
Two weeks flew by, and I returned with not only beautiful photographs but also a deeper love for the city my mom calls home. Even as an outsider, I was met with warmth and kindness from the locals. The views were breathtaking, but more than anything, I treasured the time spent with my family. Toward the end of my trip, a local told me that Iloilo is known as Asia’s City of Love. I now understand where my mom’s loving nature comes from.
Because of that trip, I now visit the Philippines regularly.
Featured on: The Photographic Journal