Igorot People of the Mountain Province of the Philippines

anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
edited August 8, 2012 in People
We had the pleasure of encountering Igorot people in their traditional dress, well somewhat, while driving through Banaue, which is in the mountains in the northern part of Luzon Island; the island where Manila is located. Igorot is the collective name given to all natives of the Philippine islands.

I was very stoked to have been able to take these photographs:

1 - A nice Igorot man. Notice how is mouth is red; they chew beetle nut which stains their teeth and mouth. I think it also really does major damage to teeth because most of the people that I saw chewing, had really bad decay.

1156921299_phhUt-X2.jpg

2 - The same man and two women. I believe the woman in the middle is the other woman's mother. I'm not sure if the man is her husband.

1156920303_VAMtw-X2.jpg

3 - And a B&W of the gentleman for good measure:

1157003626_gQpaK-X2.jpg

Thanks for looking.
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  • jirojiro Registered Users Posts: 1,865 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2011
    anonymouscuban wrote: »
    We had the pleasure of encountering Igorot people in their traditional dress, well somewhat, while driving through Banaue, which is in the mountains in the northern part of Luzon Island; the island where Manila is located. Igorot is the collective name given to all natives of the Philippine islands.

    I was very stoked to have been able to take these photographs:

    Thanks for looking.

    Nice shots, Sir. That new wide angle lens of yours is really great, specially with your new Nikon D700. On the side, I have to say... "Not all native people of the Philippines are called 'igorots'." Igorots are a very distinct native tribe that can only be found in the northern provinces of the Philippine Islands. To be more definite, only in the provinces of the Cordillera region of the Philippines. If you go to the central and southern provinces there are other ethnic groups out there and certainly they won't appreciate being called Igorots in that region. I just felt the need to clarify that. I hope you understand. Thanks. thumb.gif
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  • PattiPatti Registered Users Posts: 1,576 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2011
    Very nice. I love the colour of the textiles, the expressive faces against the countryside in #2. The b&w in #3 works well too - the textures really jump out. Must have been a great trip.
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  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2011
    jiro wrote: »
    Nice shots, Sir. That new wide angle lens of yours is really great, specially with your new Nikon D700. On the side, I have to say... "Not all native people of the Philippines are called 'igorots'." Igorots are a very distinct native tribe that can only be found in the northern provinces of the Philippine Islands. To be more definite, only in the provinces of the Cordillera region of the Philippines. If you go to the central and southern provinces there are other ethnic groups out there and certainly they won't appreciate being called Igorots in that region. I just felt the need to clarify that. I hope you understand. Thanks. thumb.gif

    Jiro...

    I stand corrected. My father-in-law gave me a brief history lesson of the Igorots and I now recall him saying that they are only in Northern Mountain Province of Luzon. What confused me is that he said that there are a number of tribes that make up the Igorots and said name is just to describe the people of the region collectively.

    And yes... he did warn me that calling someone an Igorot who is not one, can be very offensive.
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  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2011
    I really like your decision to make the B&W because of the way the man's blanket echoes the terraces on the hills behind him, and the same goes for how his headdress echoes the trees on the hills. Maybe that's intentional on their part?
  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2011
    colourbox wrote: »
    I really like your decision to make the B&W because of the way the man's blanket echoes the terraces on the hills behind him, and the same goes for how his headdress echoes the trees on the hills. Maybe that's intentional on their part?

    Thanks. Not sure what the colors and feathers signify for them. My decision to do B&W was solely based on some amazing B&W photographs that were displayed in a small restaurant we at at in the tiny town of Segada. They were taken in the 40 & 50s and were of the Igorot tribes men and women in and around an Igorot village. They depicted scenes from their daily lives. Pretty amazing stuff. I wrote down the photographers name but I haven't been able to find the napkin I scribbled it on and I don't remember it. I wanted to research him to see if he is just some dude that spent time there or a well known photographer.
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  • sweet carolinesweet caroline Registered Users Posts: 1,589 Major grins
    edited January 17, 2011
    Fabulous!
  • JonnyyayaJonnyyaya Registered Users Posts: 181 Major grins
    edited January 17, 2011
    Nice work on all love the wide angle with all the landscape.

    Thanks for sharing =]
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  • nburbanksnburbanks Registered Users Posts: 35 Big grins
    edited January 17, 2011
    which lense have you used? i really love the colors and the contrast: red / green
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  • zoomerzoomer Registered Users Posts: 3,688 Major grins
    edited January 17, 2011
    1 could be straight out of National Geographic.
    Very nice work.
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  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 17, 2011
    Thanks all. I felt very lucky to have photographed these folks and am really happy the way they turned out. I don't know if I'd ever get the chance again.

    @nburbanks...

    I shot all of these with my Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 on a D700 body. It's a crop body sensor so I have to keep the lens at 16mm or I will get vignetting around the edges on the full frame of the D700. No biggie since I rarely shot anything with this lens the shorter end when I used it on my D300. The funny thing is that I thought I would have to sell this lens when I upgraded to FF but it's turned out to be a nice combo.
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  • justin24justin24 Registered Users Posts: 402 Major grins
    edited January 17, 2011
    I love their expressions. Beautiful People.
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  • HackboneHackbone Registered Users Posts: 4,027 Major grins
    edited January 18, 2011
    Some of these are crying for and HDR effect. Great shots. Love the clarity and color.
    Charles
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  • amoncuramoncur Registered Users Posts: 12 Big grins
    edited January 18, 2011
    Really cool shots. Neat to see how people are living on the other side of the world!
    Aaron
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  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    OK... here are a few more I took of the Igorot people while up in the mountains. We stopped at this little settlement along the road to check out some of the trinkets being sold and to stretch out. So I grab my camera and take a stroll down the road a ways, see what I can find to shoot. The plan was that the rest of the group would come down the road and pick me up once they were done. I was gone maybe 15 minutes so I decide to start walking back up since they still hadn't come down. All of sudden I see some kids coming down the road on what look like bikes so I stop and take aim/compose, quickly adjust so I can get a slow enough shutter for some motion blur and start firing. These kids come zooming by on the craziest bikes I had ever seen. Then the little ones run bye at amazing speed for being in flip-flops. Here is the series of shots I captured:

    1156914898_8bX4q-X2.jpg

    1156914980_hpmnn-X2.jpg

    1156917190_UVQn9-X2.jpg

    1156917628_CRvui-X2.jpg

    After I was done shooting, I got up and ran after them because they just kept going. Eventually they slowed down and I caught up. I talked to them a bit and then showed them the photos. They all crowded around me to see the LCD. They were so excited and full of laughter. It was probably one of the most memorable experiences of the whole trip.

    One of the old boys posed for a picture. Can you tell how proud he is of his bike:

    1156149015_sP4su-X2.jpg

    My family eventually made it down in the car. I grabbed a few coins from my bag and handed them out to each kid. They didn't seem to impress so I looked in the car to see what else I could give them and decided to let them have my two can of Pringle potato chips. They went bananas over them. They were so happy. Unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to grab photos of them with the chips... I now wish I had.
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  • reyvee61reyvee61 Registered Users Posts: 1,877 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Wow...gems...real gems!
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  • HackboneHackbone Registered Users Posts: 4,027 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Great photographs. Why do these kids seem soooo much more content than ours? I'm totally mesmorized by the adults and the topography.
    Charles
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  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Charles,

    You know, my wife and I have had the pleasure of traveling to several countries around the world and have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of wonderful people. One thing I have noticed is that although many have a lot less than we do, they seem so happy. I've come to realize that Americans don't have as much "figured out" as we think we do. It also has convinced my wife and I that we will end up retiring in another country. Someplace where life is a lot slower and the simple things is what brings you joy.

    BTW, there are no people in this next one but I thought I would give you a better view of what's behind them:

    1154700783_pDYcw-X2.jpg
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  • clickin girlclickin girl Registered Users Posts: 278 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    I really like the black and white one! Beautiful contrast and texture. Great job!
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  • Awais YaqubAwais Yaqub Registered Users Posts: 10,572 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Awesome man, loving these.
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  • HackboneHackbone Registered Users Posts: 4,027 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Just imagine terracing those mountains by hand! Something that you had to do just to acquire you meals for the rest of your life. Absolutely mind boggling. I could view these all day.
    Charles
    www.cameraone.biz
  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Fantastic, Alex. I've been dipping into this series of yours when I can, but have been on the road myself and so have fallen way behind. Glad I caught up with these though - they're stunning! That first one in particular is an exceptional shot. thumb.gif
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  • ripbobripbob Registered Users Posts: 41 Big grins
    edited January 22, 2011
    Thanks for sharing your adventures. The shots are breathtaking to say the least.
  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    Charles... yes, it was quite amazing to witness. There are so many terraces all along the mountains and like you said, these were all done by the Igorot people, by hand, many years ago. Simply amazing.

    Diva and ripbob... thank you for taking the time to look and comment. It's always nice to hear that others enjoy my photos.
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  • JonoBJonoB Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
    edited January 24, 2011
    All of these photos are amazing. It makes me want to travel there and hang out with these kids. Those bikes look intense!
  • QarikQarik Registered Users Posts: 4,959 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    Alex, I also wnated to thank you for finally changing your avatat pic..haha! no more naked man pics!
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  • jdryan3jdryan3 Registered Users Posts: 1,353 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    I love the second one of the race down the hill. The motion blur as he exists the frame, the one boy off the ground running with joy and the other one trying to holdup his pants as he bolts down the road. truly great.
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  • reyvee61reyvee61 Registered Users Posts: 1,877 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    Hackbone wrote: »
    Great photographs. Why do these kids seem soooo much more content than ours? I'm totally mesmorized by the adults and the topography.


    This is closer to what we had as kids...long before cell phones, mp3 players and video games....
    Yo soy Reynaldo
  • reyvee61reyvee61 Registered Users Posts: 1,877 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    Qarik wrote: »
    Alex, I also wnated to thank you for finally changing your avatat pic..haha! no more naked man pics!

    Laughing.gif
    I think my wife liked the other avatar better wings.gif
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  • anonymouscubananonymouscuban Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    Qarik wrote: »
    Alex, I also wnated to thank you for finally changing your avatat pic..haha! no more naked man pics!

    HAHA... I wasn't naked. I had pants on.

    AND you're welcome.
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  • QarikQarik Registered Users Posts: 4,959 Major grins
    edited January 24, 2011
    reyvee61 wrote: »
    Laughing.gif
    I think my wife liked the other avatar better wings.gif

    wait a sec..I thought you were a chick!ne_nau.gif
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