I shot three different walls of great graffiti pieces here in the Philippines on Oct. 23 and 24, 2015. 9 years. That’s how many years have passed since I shot my first photo of graffiti. From then on, I’ve tried to document every piece of graffiti and street art I encounter in my daily life.
I didn’t get to shoot a lot of good street art from the Philippines when I first started documenting them in 2006. Most of my early collection came from Taiwan. Around 2008 though, I noticed that there was an increasing number of good pieces in the Philippines. Before that time, it was mostly tags of names, political rants, and curses.
2007, Quezon City, Philippines
(This is a photo-heavy post, please be patient and wait for them to load. It will be worth it.)
Last week, I drove past Kalentong St. in Manila, and I saw a very long wall of great graffiti encompassing two streets. I was in a hurry at the time and didn’t bring my camera with me, so I went back a few days after to shoot it.
-
- wall #1 along Kalentong St., Manila, Philippines
-
- wall #2 (around the corner of the first wall above along Kalentong St., Manila, Philippines)
detailed view of wall #1
the corner leading to the next set
detailed view of wall #2
The next day, I had my camera with me because my friend told me that this wall on Ortigas Ave. corner Santolan Street I photographed back in 2008 had new street art on it.
-
- 2015
-
- Ortigas Ave. corner Santolan St. back in 2008
-
- Ortigas Ave. corner Santolan St. back in 2008
-
- Ortigas Ave. corner Santolan St. as of Oct. 2015
As I was going home after having photographed on Ortigas Ave., I saw this great piece on a long trailer on Doña Hemady Street (near the corner of Gilmore St.). This was a bit tough to shoot because I had to stand in the middle of the street for everything to fit in my camera.
-
- graffiti on a trailer on Hemady St.
-
- profile view of the graffiti on Hemady St
-
- close- up of the piece on the cart.
I love that I was able to shoot three great sets in two consecutive days. I love it when I see Philippine street art leveling up in just a few short years.