HA-LA-MA-NAN!

I've seen a lot of photos, heard a lot of stories about Guiguinto's Halamanan Festival before, so I really wanted to shoot it. Unfortunately for me, I always got the news late, like a day or two AFTER the festival. So this year, I made sure not to miss it. Given a choice of shooting Malolos City's Fiesta Republica (which I totally liked last year), or going for the first time to Halamanan, the choice was easy. Much as I loved to shoot in Malolos again, my schedule permitted me only 1 shooting day for the week, so I went with the latter.

The whole experience tells me I made the right decision. First, I'm astounded at the support for Halamanan Festival : from the local government, the residents, and the participants. The event was well-attended, well-organized, and it's evident that this was a big deal to the municipality. The streets were jampacked and abuzz about the floats and street performers, eyes were glued to the parade. Second, the sun cooperated and the weather couldn't be better. It was cool, the air was dry, no danger of sunburn at all. It felt like Guiguinto offered a million eggs to a certain saint. Lastly, I loved the vibrance of the event. The energy was high, the colors were vivid, and it was just a whole lot of fun for everyone.

My feet hurt because of the long walk. That's the only thing I didn't like. As for shooting the event, I couldn't really complain about anything.

Here are my captures from Halamanan Festival 2014 :

Some of the judges viewing the contestants from the roofdeck of a building

A big THANK YOU for the Municipality of Guiguinto for allowing our group, Focus Bulacan, to shoot the event. We really appreciate the media passes. Till next year!

Here's our group shot (without me, the shooter) :

Congratulations to the winners of best float and best in street dance. And congratulations to the town of Guiguinto for a wonderful festival. Keep it going! :)