Moment 36 - Mother and Child

I chanced upon this scene when we had our stopover somewhere in Benguet coming from  Bontoc and going to Baguio. We were spared some time to find the best bargain, mostly of vegetables, which we should be able to bring home to Manila. Immediately, several of my colleagues rushed to several stalls and bought fresh mountain vegetable produce.

The moment I stepped out of the bus, the picture of a woman carrying a child on her back caught my attention. Actually, I wanted to buy some lettuce and other stuff because the prices of vegetables were as low as five pesos. But since this picture of woman and child appeared before me, I immediately pursue them over the low-priced vegies. 

I tried to pursue them but due to their nature of being aloof to strangers, I found it hard to make a decent shot. The woman was very particular with my camera and that she would shy away from me whenever I point my camera at them.

I went over to talk to her for a possible shot but she cannot understand Tagalog nor English. Luckily, her fellow vendors became my instant translators and she was hesitant at first. I told her that I will buy some of her stuff after our shoot, only then she granted my request.

I knew that she was very particular about time and for every bus that came along would mean an income on her part. I, too, was particular with the time because we were only given a small amount of time to find our best buys and we still had several hours to cover before reaching Baguio City.

Since time was so precious and we cannot understand each other, I had to make gestures to guide her where to stand. I cannot guide her about the kind of pose I wanted and the kind of background I would prefer due to language barrier and time constraint. I had to make the most of what I had that time.

After several shots, I thanked her a lot and I ended handing her some amount which I promised earlier . But I did not take any of her items since I don't have a spare bag to put them in nor I wanted to carry extra kilos upon returning to Manila.

Up to this time, how I wish I can chance again this kind of opportunity to capture a moment like this and make a good composition out of it. The portrait of a woman and a child really etched some kind of feeling that move me every time I look at it.