picture essay tagalog

• #WalangPasok
• Breaking News
• Photography
• ALS Exam Results
• Aeronautical Engineering Board Exam Result
• Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering Board Exam Result
• Agriculturist Board Exam Result
• Architecture Exam Results
• BAR Exam Results
• CPA Exam Results
• Certified Plant Mechanic Exam Result
• Chemical Engineering Exam Results
• Chemical Technician Exam Result
• Chemist Licensure Exam Result
• Civil Engineering Exam Results
• Civil Service Exam Results
• Criminology Exam Results
• Customs Broker Exam Result
• Dental Hygienist Board Exam Result
• Dental Technologist Board Exam Result
• Dentist Licensure Exam Result
• ECE Exam Results
• ECT Board Exam Result
• Environmental Planner Exam Result
• Featured Exam Results
• Fisheries Professional Exam Result
• Geodetic Engineering Board Exam Result
• Guidance Counselor Board Exam Result
• Interior Design Board Exam Result
• LET Exam Results
• Landscape Architect Board Exam Result
• Librarian Exam Result
• Master Plumber Exam Result
• Mechanical Engineering Exam Results
• MedTech Exam Results
• Metallurgical Engineering Board Exam Result
• Midwives Board Exam Result
• Mining Engineering Board Exam Result
• NAPOLCOM Exam Results
• Naval Architect and Marine Engineer Board Exam Result
• Nursing Exam Results
• Nutritionist Dietitian Board Exam Result
• Occupational Therapist Board Exam Result
• Ocular Pharmacologist Exam Result
• Optometrist Board Exam Result
• Pharmacist Licensure Exam Result
• Physical Therapist Board Exam
• Physician Exam Results
• Principal Exam Results
• Professional Forester Exam Result
• Psychologist Board Exam Result
• Psychometrician Board Exam Result
• REE Board Exam Result
• RME Board Exam Result
• Radiologic Technology Board Exam Result
• Real Estate Appraiser Exam Result
• Real Estate Broker Exam Result
• Real Estate Consultant Exam Result
• Respiratory Therapist Board Exam Result 
• Sanitary Engineering Board Exam Result 
• Social Worker Exam Result
• UPCAT Exam Results
• Upcoming Exam Result
• Veterinarian Licensure Exam Result 
• X-Ray Technologist Exam Result
• Programming
• Smartphones
• Web Hosting
• Social Media
• SWERTRES RESULT
• EZ2 RESULT TODAY
• STL RESULT TODAY
• 6/58 LOTTO RESULT
• 6/55 LOTTO RESULT
• 6/49 LOTTO RESULT
• 6/45 LOTTO RESULT
• 6/42 LOTTO RESULT
• 6-Digit Lotto Result
• 4-Digit Lotto Result
• 3D RESULT TODAY
• 2D Lotto Result
• English to Tagalog
• English-Tagalog Translate
• Maikling Kwento
• EUR to PHP Today
• Pounds to Peso
• Binibining Pilipinas
• Miss Universe
• Family (Pamilya)
• Life (Buhay)
• Love (Pag-ibig)
• School (Eskwela)
• Work (Trabaho)
• Pinoy Jokes
• Tagalog Jokes
• Referral Letters
• Student Letters
• Employee Letters
• Business Letters
• Pag-IBIG Fund
• Home Credit Cash Loan
• Pick Up Lines Tagalog
• Pork Dishes
• Lotto Result Today
• Viral Videos

Katangian Ng Larawang Sanaysay – Kahulugan At Halimbawa Nito

Ano ang mga katangian ng larawang sanaysay (sagot).

LARAWANG SANAYSAY – Sa paksang ito, ating aalamin kung ano nga ba ang mga katangian ng isang larawang sanaysay at ang mga halimbawa nito.

Maraming halimbawa ng sanaysay. Depende sa iyong mga talento, estilo ng pagsulat, o pagpapahayay, may iba’t-ibang uri ng sanaysay na maaari mong gamitin. Isa sa mga halimbawa nito ay ang larawang sanaysay.

Ang mga larawang sanaysay ay matatawag rin na photo essay sa Ingles. Ito ay isang pagsasama na sining ng potograpiya at wika. Ang mga ito ay grupo ng mga laraway na isinasaayos ng magkakasunod para maipakita ang pangyayari, damdamin, o konsepto ng paksang tinatalakay.

Ito’y isang halimbawa ng sining na nagpapakita ng emosyong gamit ang  paghahanay ng mga larawan . Lahat ng mga larawan ay may maiikling o deskripsyon. Samantala ang  picture story  ay nakaayos ayon sa pagkakasunod-sunod ng mga pangyayari upang magsalaysay o magkwento.

Heto ang mga katangian:

• Malinaw na Paksa
• Orihinalidad
• Lohikal na Estruktura
• Komposisyon
• Mahusay na Paggamit ng Wika

Salamat sa inyong maiiging pagbabasa. Aming sinisiguro ang pagserbisyo ng bago at pinaka-tinatangkilik na balita. Hanggang sa susunod na mga bagong balita mula dito lamang sa Philnews.

BASAHIN DIN: Paano Ginagamit Ang Modal Sa Mga Pangungusap? (Sagot)

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

E-Portfolio (Pagsulat sa Filipino (Akademik))

Sunday, october 14, 2018, photo essay.

No comments:

Post a comment.

Pictures That Tell Stories: Photo Essay Examples

Like any other type of artist, a photographer’s job is to tell a story through their pictures. While some of the most creative among us can invoke emotion or convey a thought with one single photo, the rest of us will rely on a photo essay.

In the following article, we’ll go into detail about what a photo essay is and how to craft one while providing some detailed photo essay examples.

What is a Photo Essay? 

A photo essay is a series of photographs that, when assembled in a particular order, tell a unique and compelling story. While some photographers choose only to use pictures in their presentations, others will incorporate captions, comments, or even full paragraphs of text to provide more exposition for the scene they are unfolding.

A photo essay is a well-established part of photojournalism and have been used for decades to present a variety of information to the reader. Some of the most famous photo essayists include Ansel Adams , W. Eugene Smith, and James Nachtwey. Of course, there are thousands of photo essay examples out there from which you can draw inspiration.

Why Consider Creating a Photo Essay?

As the old saying goes, “a picture is worth 1000 words.” This adage is, for many photographers, reason enough to hold a photo essay in particularly high regard.

For others, a photo essay allow them to take pictures that are already interesting and construct intricate, emotionally-charged tales out of them. For all photographers, it is yet another skill they can master to become better at their craft.

As you might expect, the photo essay have had a long history of being associated with photojournalism. From the Great Depression to Civil Rights Marches and beyond, many compelling stories have been told through a combination of images and text, or photos alone. A photo essay often evokes an intense reaction, whether artistic in nature or designed to prove a socio-political point.

Below, we’ll list some famous photo essay samples to further illustrate the subject.

Become the photographer you were born to be.

Join Cole’s Classroom

Famous Photo Essays

“The Great Depression” by Dorothea Lange – Shot and arranged in the 1930s, this famous photo essay still serves as a stark reminder of The Great Depression and Dust Bowl America . Beautifully photographed, the black and white images offer a bleak insight to one of the country’s most difficult times.

“The Vietnam War” by Philip Jones Griffiths – Many artists consider the Griffiths’ photo essay works to be some of the most important records of the war in Vietnam. His photographs and great photo essays are particularly well-remembered for going against public opinion and showing the suffering of the “other side,” a novel concept when it came to war photography.

Various American Natural Sites by Ansel Adams – Adams bought the beauty of nature home to millions, photographing the American Southwest and places like Yosemite National Park in a way that made the photos seem huge, imposing, and beautiful.

“Everyday” by Noah Kalina – Is a series of photographs arranged into a video. This photo essay features daily photographs of the artist himself, who began taking capturing the images when he was 19 and continued to do so for six years.

“Signed, X” by Kate Ryan – This is a powerful photo essay put together to show the long-term effects of sexual violence and assault. This photo essay is special in that it remains ongoing, with more subjects being added every year.

Common Types of Photo Essays

While a photo essay do not have to conform to any specific format or design, there are two “umbrella terms” under which almost all genres of photo essays tend to fall. A photo essay is thematic and narrative. In the following section, we’ll give some details about the differences between the two types, and then cover some common genres used by many artists.

⬥ Thematic 

A thematic photo essay speak on a specific subject. For instance, numerous photo essays were put together in the 1930s to capture the ruin of The Great Depression. Though some of these presentations followed specific people or families, they mostly told the “story” of the entire event. There is much more freedom with a thematic photo essay, and you can utilize numerous locations and subjects. Text is less common with these types of presentations.

⬥ Narrative 

A narrative photo essay is much more specific than thematic essays, and they tend to tell a much more direct story. For instance, rather than show a number of scenes from a Great Depression Era town, the photographer might show the daily life of a person living in Dust Bowl America. There are few rules about how broad or narrow the scope needs to be, so photographers have endless creative freedom. These types of works frequently utilize text.

Common Photo Essay Genres

Walk a City – This photo essay is when you schedule a time to walk around a city, neighborhood, or natural site with the sole goal of taking photos. Usually thematic in nature, this type of photo essay allows you to capture a specific place, it’s energy, and its moods and then pass them along to others.

The Relationship Photo Essay – The interaction between families and loved ones if often a fascinating topic for a photo essay. This photo essay genre, in particular, gives photographers an excellent opportunity to capture complex emotions like love and abstract concepts like friendship. When paired with introspective text, the results can be quite stunning. 

The Timelapse Transformation Photo Essay – The goal of a transformation photo essay is to capture the way a subject changes over time. Some people take years or even decades putting together a transformation photo essay, with subjects ranging from people to buildings to trees to particular areas of a city.

Going Behind The Scenes Photo Essay – Many people are fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes of big events. Providing the photographer can get access; to an education photo essay can tell a very unique and compelling story to their viewers with this photo essay.

Photo Essay of a Special Event – There are always events and occasions going on that would make an interesting subject for a photo essay. Ideas for this photo essay include concerts, block parties, graduations, marches, and protests. Images from some of the latter were integral to the popularity of great photo essays.

The Daily Life Photo Essay – This type of photo essay often focus on a single subject and attempt to show “a day in the life” of that person or object through the photographs. This type of photo essay can be quite powerful depending on the subject matter and invoke many feelings in the people who view them.

Become the photographer of your dreams with Cole’s Classroom.

Start Free Trial

Photo Essay Ideas and Examples

One of the best ways to gain a better understanding of photo essays is to view some photo essay samples. If you take the time to study these executions in detail, you’ll see just how photo essays can make you a better photographer and offer you a better “voice” with which to speak to your audience.

Some of these photo essay ideas we’ve already touched on briefly, while others will be completely new to you. 

Cover a Protest or March  

Some of the best photo essay examples come from marches, protests, and other events associated with movements or socio-political statements. Such events allow you to take pictures of angry, happy, or otherwise empowered individuals in high-energy settings. The photo essay narrative can also be further enhanced by arriving early or staying long after the protest has ended to catch contrasting images. 

Photograph a Local Event  

Whether you know it or not, countless unique and interesting events are happening in and around your town this year. Such events provide photographers new opportunities to put together a compelling photo essay. From ethnic festivals to historical events to food and beverage celebrations, there are many different ways to capture and celebrate local life.

Visit an Abandoned Site or Building  

Old homes and historical sites are rich with detail and can sometimes appear dilapidated, overgrown by weeds, or broken down by time. These qualities make them a dynamic and exciting subject. Many great photo essay works of abandoned homes use a mix of far-away shots, close-ups, weird angles, and unique lighting. Such techniques help set a mood that the audience can feel through the photographic essay.

Chronicle a Pregnancy

Few photo essay topics could be more personal than telling the story of a pregnancy. Though this photo essay example can require some preparation and will take a lot of time, the results of a photographic essay like this are usually extremely emotionally-charged and touching. In some cases, photographers will continue the photo essay project as the child grows as well.

Photograph Unique Lifestyles  

People all over the world are embracing society’s changes in different ways. People live in vans or in “tiny houses,” living in the woods miles away from everyone else, and others are growing food on self-sustaining farms. Some of the best photo essay works have been born out of these new, inspiring movements.

Photograph Animals or Pets  

If you have a favorite animal (or one that you know very little about), you might want to arrange a way to see it up close and tell its story through images. You can take photos like this in a zoo or the animal’s natural habitat, depending on the type of animal you choose. Pets are another great topic for a photo essay and are among the most popular subjects for many photographers.

Show Body Positive Themes  

So much of modern photography is about showing the best looking, prettiest, or sexiest people at all times. Choosing a photo essay theme like body positivity, however, allows you to film a wide range of interesting-looking people from all walks of life.

Such a photo essay theme doesn’t just apply to women, as beauty can be found everywhere. As a photo essay photographer, it’s your job to find it!

Bring Social Issues to Life  

Some of the most impactful social photo essay examples are those where the photographer focuses on social issues. From discrimination to domestic violence to the injustices of the prison system, there are many ways that a creative photographer can highlight what’s wrong with the world. This type of photo essay can be incredibly powerful when paired with compelling subjects and some basic text.

Photograph Style and Fashion

If you live in or know of a particularly stylish locale or area, you can put together an excellent thematic photo essay by capturing impromptu shots of well-dressed people as they pass by. As with culture, style is easily identifiable and is as unifying as it is divisive. Great photo essay examples include people who’ve covered fashion sub-genres from all over the world, like urban hip hop or Japanese Visual Kei. 

Photograph Native Cultures and Traditions  

If you’ve ever opened up a copy of National Geographic, you’ve probably seen photo essay photos that fit this category. To many, the traditions, dress, religious ceremonies, and celebrations of native peoples and foreign cultures can be utterly captivating. For travel photographers, this photo essay is considered one of the best ways to tell a story with or without text.

Capture Seasonal Or Time Changes In A Landmark Photo Essay

Time-lapse photography is very compelling to most viewers. What they do in a few hours, however, others are doing over months, years, and even decades. If you know of an exciting landscape or scene, you can try to capture the same image in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, and put that all together into one landmark photo essay.

Alternatively, you can photograph something being lost or ravaged by time or weather. The subject of your landmark photo essay can be as simple as the wall of an old building or as complex as an old house in the woods being taken over by nature. As always, there are countless transformation-based landmark photo essay works from which you can draw inspiration.

Photograph Humanitarian Efforts or Charity  

Humanitarian efforts by groups like Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, and Doctors Without Borders can invoke a powerful response through even the simplest of photos. While it can be hard to put yourself in a position to get the images, there are countless photo essay examples to serve as inspiration for your photo essay project.

How to Create a Photo Essay

There is no singular way to create a photo essay. As it is, ultimately, and artistic expression of the photographer, there is no right, wrong, good, or bad. However, like all stories, some tell them well and those who do not. Luckily, as with all things, practice does make perfect. Below, we’ve listed some basic steps outlining how to create a photo essay

Steps To Create A Photo Essay

Choose Your Topic – While some photo essayists will be able to “happen upon” a photo story and turn it into something compelling, most will want to choose their photo essay topics ahead of time. While the genres listed above should provide a great starting place, it’s essential to understand that photo essay topics can cover any event or occasion and any span of time

Do Some Research – The next step to creating a photo essay is to do some basic research. Examples could include learning the history of the area you’re shooting or the background of the person you photograph. If you’re photographing a new event, consider learning the story behind it. Doing so will give you ideas on what to look for when you’re shooting.  

Make a Storyboard – Storyboards are incredibly useful tools when you’re still in the process of deciding what photo story you want to tell. By laying out your ideas shot by shot, or even doing rough illustrations of what you’re trying to capture, you can prepare your photo story before you head out to take your photos.

This process is especially important if you have little to no control over your chosen subject. People who are participating in a march or protest, for instance, aren’t going to wait for you to get in position before offering up the perfect shot. You need to know what you’re looking for and be prepared to get it.

Get the Right Images – If you have a shot list or storyboard, you’ll be well-prepared to take on your photo essay. Make sure you give yourself enough time (where applicable) and take plenty of photos, so you have a lot from which to choose. It would also be a good idea to explore the area, show up early, and stay late. You never know when an idea might strike you.

Assemble Your Story – Once you develop or organize your photos on your computer, you need to choose the pictures that tell the most compelling photo story or stories. You might also find some great images that don’t fit your photo story These can still find a place in your portfolio, however, or perhaps a completely different photo essay you create later.

Depending on the type of photographer you are, you might choose to crop or digitally edit some of your photos to enhance the emotions they invoke. Doing so is completely at your discretion, but worth considering if you feel you can improve upon the naked image.

Ready to take your photography to the next level?

Join Cole’s Classroom today! »

Best Photo Essays Tips And Tricks

Before you approach the art of photo essaying for the first time, you might want to consider with these photo essay examples some techniques, tips, and tricks that can make your session more fun and your final results more interesting. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best advice we could find on the subject of photo essays. 

⬥ Experiment All You Want 

You can, and should, plan your topic and your theme with as much attention to detail as possible. That said, some of the best photo essay examples come to us from photographers that got caught up in the moment and decided to experiment in different ways. Ideas for experimentation include the following: 

Angles – Citizen Kane is still revered today for the unique, dramatic angles used in the film. Though that was a motion picture and not photography, the same basic principles still apply. Don’t be afraid to photograph some different angles to see how they bring your subject to life in different ways.

Color – Some images have more gravitas in black in white or sepia tone. You can say the same for images that use color in an engaging, dynamic way. You always have room to experiment with color, both before and after the shoot.

Contrast – Dark and light, happy and sad, rich and poor – contrast is an instantly recognizable form of tension that you can easily include in your photo essay. In some cases, you can plan for dramatic contrasts. In other cases, you simply need to keep your eyes open.

Exposure Settings – You can play with light in terms of exposure as well, setting a number of different moods in the resulting photos. Some photographers even do random double exposures to create a photo essay that’s original.

Filters – There are endless post-production options available to photographers, particularly if they use digital cameras. Using different programs and apps, you can completely alter the look and feel of your image, changing it from warm to cool or altering dozens of different settings.

Want to never run out of natural & authentic poses? You need this ⬇️ 

Click here & get it today for a huge discount., ⬥ take more photos than you need .

If you’re using traditional film instead of a digital camera, you’re going to want to stock up. Getting the right shots for a photo essay usually involves taking hundreds of images that will end up in the rubbish bin. Taking extra pictures you won’t use is just the nature of the photography process. Luckily, there’s nothing better than coming home to realize that you managed to capture that one, perfect photograph. 

⬥ Set the Scene 

You’re not just telling a story to your audience – you’re writing it as well. If the scene you want to capture doesn’t have the look you want, don’t be afraid to move things around until it does. While this doesn’t often apply to photographing events that you have no control over, you shouldn’t be afraid to take a second to make an OK shot a great shot. 

⬥ Capture Now, Edit Later 

Editing, cropping, and digital effects can add a lot of drama and artistic flair to your photos. That said, you shouldn’t waste time on a shoot, thinking about how you can edit it later. Instead, make sure you’re capturing everything that you want and not missing out on any unique pictures. If you need to make changes later, you’ll have plenty of time! 

⬥ Make It Fun 

As photographers, we know that taking pictures is part art, part skill, and part performance. If you want to take the best photo essays, you need to loosen up and have fun. Again, you’ll want to plan for your topic as best as you can, but don’t be afraid to lose yourself in the experience. Once you let yourself relax, both the ideas and the opportunities will manifest.

⬥ It’s All in The Details 

When someone puts out a photographic essay for an audience, that work usually gets analyzed with great attention to detail. You need to apply this same level of scrutiny to the shots you choose to include in your photo essay. If something is out of place or (in the case of historical work) out of time, you can bet the audience will notice.

⬥ Consider Adding Text

While it isn’t necessary, a photographic essay can be more powerful by the addition of text. This is especially true of images with an interesting background story that can’t be conveyed through the image alone. If you don’t feel up to the task of writing content, consider partnering with another artist and allowing them tor bring your work to life.

Final Thoughts 

The world is waiting to tell us story after story. Through the best photo essays, we can capture the elements of those stories and create a photo essay that can invoke a variety of emotions in our audience.

No matter the type of cameras we choose, the techniques we embrace, or the topics we select, what really matters is that the photos say something about the people, objects, and events that make our world wonderful.

Dream of Being a Pro Photographer?

Join Cole’s Classroom today to make it a reality.

Similar Posts

Time-Lapse Photography: Photography Life in the fast lane

Time-Lapse Photography – Hit the gas and speed up life with some visual trickery! If you’re a nature nerd like me, you are no stranger to time-lapse photography.  This technique is a favorite on nature documentaries like Planet Earth or Frozen Planet to show the passage of time on the environment and make it fit…

How to Create Shaped Bokeh: a Festive Guide for Photographers

Have you always admired those neat shots that usually appear at the holidays that give the pretty out of focus lights, referred to as BOKEH, fun shapes? If you have, I have a great, EASY tutorial for you that will send you on your way experimenting in no time! If you’ve wondered how to create shaped…

Photography Tips to Make Ugly Locations Look Amazing!

Stuck with the muck? Here are some photography tips for making ugly locations look amazing! One of the most iconic images from my home state of Wyoming is the T.A. Moulton Barn. If you’re a fan of landscape photography, I’m sure you’ve seen an image of it. There are about 8.98 million images of it…

7 Simple Tips to Dramatically Improve Your Photos TODAY

If you are anything like me, you are probably always looking for ways to improve your photos… searching to find ways to take them to the next level. Sound familiar? We jump along from webinar to webinar, blog post to blog post, in search of that perfect answer to the question we find ourselves asking:…

iPhone Photography Tips and Tricks

iPhones have wonderful cameras built into them. It’s now so easy to capture and share images with our phones, that printed snapshots have become a distant memory. With the right tools and knowledge, many iPhone photos can look like professional snapshots. 5 Quick iPhone Photography Tips Camera Settings and Options – Adjusting exposure, VSCO, and other…

Easier Than You Think: How to Print Your Pictures on Metal

If you’re looking for a unique and head-turning way to display your photos or artwork, metal printing is one of the best options available. Metal prints are a relatively new printing method, and it offers plenty of advantages over traditional printing.  This method allows you to display your metal photos or art with incredible clarity,…

• High contrast
• OUR REPRESENTATIVE
• WORK FOR UNICEF
• NATIONAL AMBASSADORS
• PRESS CENTRE

Search UNICEF

Sa akong paglantaw: a photo essay, surigao city through the eyes of young people.

Youth animators play an important role in supporting the needs and recovery of children affected by Typhoon Odette in Surigao. They volunteer their time in UNICEF-supported Child-Friendly Spaces , where they lead children in play, musical and sports activities.  

Child-friendly spaces provide a safe supervised space where children can play and receive psychosocial support. More than just fun and games, these spaces aim to meet the unique psychosocial needs of children who may not respond to traditional therapy after a traumatic event like a super typhoon. 

To mark World Children's Day in 2022, UNICEF conducted a basic mobile photography workshop for Youth Animators from Siargao, Surigao City and Dinagat Islands. Under the mentorship and guidance of photographer Larry Monserate Piojo, 10 Youth Animators learned photography basics, including composition, photojournalism, street photography, editing and enhancement, and how to be a responsible photographer. To apply what they learned, they took photographs in several sites in Surigao City, documenting life there almost one year after Super Typhoon Odette.

These photographs tell the stories of children and people in this community, as seen through the eyes of young people.

The photographers

Blink Kian C. Avila, 14 Elaiza Mae Bersabal, 15 Charisse Curro, 16 Abdul Durail, 28 Misdari Jelbani, 17 Romy Lanuevo, 24 Cesar B. Magalona, 19 Cristine Mae Navarro, 14 Shawn Daniel Rondina, 16 Aldrin Sapayani, 16 Ma. Eva Tanghap, 16

Related topics

More to explore.

Young people in the Philippines are leading the fight against climate change

DOH, NYC, UNICEF, and Y-PEER celebrate youth-led solutions on COVID-19 vaccination

Children and young people want a society that leaves no one behind

Collaborative storytelling through photography

Young people show Mindanao in a new light

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

• Our Board of Trustees
• Books & Videos

Enduring the current — a photo essay

BY BERNADETTE UY

Inclusive development has always been the outcry of the Filipino people but these calls usually fall onto the deaf ears of the government. Uy’s photo essay features Eduardo, a fisherman in Manila Bay, whose livelihood is just one of those that are in danger as the development plan in the bay is being pushed for implementation.

Early in the morning, the coastal community of Navotas is abuzz with small fishing boats unloading their catch. But Eduardo Dabandan, 49, lugs behind him several slabs of polystyrene foam held together by wooden sticks. For the past 10 years, this contraption has served as his main source of livelihood.

Eduardo grew up in Daram, Samar Province foraging for seashells. When he became a teenager, he went with older fisherfolk to the sea. He moved with his family to Navotas in 1997 and stayed there until 2010, when they were relocated to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan after a fire razed their house.

Like a fish taken out of water, Eduardo found few opportunities for him in Bulacan. He offered his services as a sweeper at the relocation office. At first, the family was able to make ends meet with his P200 weekly salary. After a month, he realized it was not enough and opted to move back to Navotas to resume fishing.

Whatever money he saved, he sent to his family in Bulacan to pay for their house and other needs. His wife Maricris Dela Cruz, 45, and one of his sons later followed him to Navotas to help him earn money, while four other children stayed in Bulacan.

“Ayokong mawala yung bahay namin sa Bulacan, sayang naman. Para sa mga anak ko iyon, kaya heto tiis muna dito, nakakauwi na lang kami kapag may sobrang perang pamasahe (I don’t want to lose our home in Bulacan. It’s for my children, that’s why we persevere. We go home when there’s extra money for the fare),” Eduardo said.

He’s worried about the children, knowing that it’s different without parents around them.

When he got back to fishing in Navotas, Eduardo found a sidewalk where he could hang a hammock to rest on. Later, he and Maricris built a makeshift structure that became their temporary home. He’s worried they would be asked to move again to Bulacan with the implementation of the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan (MBSDMP), which involves reclamation. Their shack is just meters away from a backhoe being used for a reclamation project on the coast.

Eduardo is among the many fisherfolk relying on Manila Bay for their day-to-day subsistence, struggling amid the blooming commercial developments around them.

They are almost invisible to the rest of Metro Manila, whose collective memory of Manila Bay usually includes the scenic sunset, people strolling or jogging on the bay walk, and sailing boats at the yacht club. This is just a portion of the key harbor that spans eight provinces. Manila Bay is a strategic location for trade, livelihood, and other non-formal economic activities.

In 2017, the National Economic and Development Authority released the Manila Bay master plan and identified projects, programs and activities for the rehabilitation and development of the bay.

It has four “pillars”: Intercoastal Zone Management Framework, Priority Measures, Enabling Environments, and Optimizing Stakeholder Engagement. According to Rex Victor Cruz, leader of the team of experts in the Manila Bay Task Force, the master plan will fail without any one of the four pillars.

Cruz however clarified that the MBSDMP was not a “complete” plan. It provides guidance to local government units, national government agencies, and other stakeholders in charge of its implementation.

Devralin Lagos, a community worker who attended two meetings to craft strategies for the master plan in 2018, said fisherfolk needed to be consulted as their livelihoods would be affected by reclamation and other projects at Manila Bay.

“Based on my experience in Cavite and Bulacan, people are unaware of the master plan,” Lagos said. “[They should be consulted] if the project really aspires to reflect the concerns of stakeholders, not only of the development designers and government.”

Cruz said the master plan was not set in stone and could still be revised in three to five years. The Manila Bay Task Force is working on three scoping studies focused on liquid and solid waste management and preventing flooding. 

Eduardo is hopeful after buying a new outrigger that finally replaced his makeshift boat. The money came from life savings. For him and other fisherfolk in Navotas, every day is a challenge to protect and sustain their livelihoods. Rather than sink them, the master plan, Eduardo said, should help keep them afloat.

Navotas City’s coastal villages are part of the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan. Some 4,000 households depend on fishing.

Eduardo Dabandan, 49, has lived in Navotas since 1997, but had to relocate to Bulacan after a fire that razed their house in 2010. The lack of livelihood for fisherfolk in Bulacan forced him to return to Navotas. For more than a decade, Eduardo has used a makeshift boat made of polystyrene foam and sticks for fishing. It does not provide any kind of protection, but Eduardo knows how to swim and observe the environment and weather before going to the sea. 

Eduardo carries his makeshift boat as he goes out fishing with his new outrigger. Eduardo and his son Edwin will have to travel more than 30 minutes to reach their fishing spot, where they will stay overnight hoping to catch enough fish to eat and to sell. Pollution and competition with bigger vessels have made it harder to catch fish in recent years.

After 10 years of saving money, Eduardo has bought a new boat, named after his youngest son “Marby.” The maiden voyage of "Marby" the boat brings a subtle smile to Eddie's eyes. Eddie is proud to have made both ends meet and save enough to buy a new outrigger.

Eduardo earns between P300 to P500 daily from his catch, but on a bad day, this could go down to zero. His wife Maricris Dela Cruz makes sure there’s enough money to buy food, while saving whatever they can to send to their children in Bulacan. If anything, they do not have to worry about their daily meals, because they can get what they need from the sea.

Eduardo and his family eat lunch inside their makeshift tent. In between cooking and preparing for his fishing trip later that day, what worries him is how his four children in Bulacan are coping without their parents. He smiles as he recalls how happy they were during meal time.

A backhoe used for reclamation sits idle on top of dirt. In this area alone, there are 10 families taking shelter in makeshift tents, all of them fisherfolk who depend on the sea for daily subsistence. Some families staying here are also from the relocation site in Bulacan like Eduardo’s. What they earned at the relocation site was not enough to make ends meet.

People forage for shellfish as water gets shallow during low tide along the coast of Barangay Tangos South in Navotas City. In the background, a backhoe is parked on a reclamation site. People there have been told they would need to relocate soon to give way to the development of the coast.

Fisherfolk gather krill as the sun sets. Others harvest what they can as they expect lean days ahead. According to a longtime resident, thousands of birds may be quite a sight, but is actually a bad omen to fisherfolk. The presence of these birds signifies that there will be no fish for the next couple of days. Birds flock near the shore to eat krill and fish that have surfaced because of pollution.

This story is one of the twelve photo essays produced under the Capturing Human Rights fellowship program, a seminar and mentoring project

organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the Photojournalists' Center of the Philippines. 

Check the other photo essays here.

Larry Monserate Piojo – "Terminal: The constant agony of commuting amid the pandemic"

Orange Omengan – "Filipinos face the mental toll of the Covid-19 pandemic"

Lauren Alimondo – "In loving memory"

Gerimara Manuel – "Pinagtatagpi-tagpi: Mother, daughter struggle between making a living and modular learning"

Pau Villanueva – "Hinubog ng panata: The vanishing spiritual traditions of Aetas of Capas, Tarlac"

Bernice Beltran – "Women's 'invisible work'"

Dada Grifon – "From the cause"

Bernadette Uy – "Enduring the current"

Mark Saludes – "Mission in peril"

EC Toledo – "From sea to shelf: The story before a can is sealed"

Ria Torrente – "HIV positive mother struggles through the Covid-19 pandemic"

Sharlene Festin – "Paradise lost"

PCIJ's investigative reports

THE SHRINKING GODS OF PADRE FAURA | READ .

7 MILLION HECTARES OF PHILIPPINE LAND IS FORESTED – AND THAT'S BAD NEWS | READ   

FOLLOWING THE MONEY: PH MEDIA LESSONS FOR THE 2022 POLL | READ

DIGGING FOR PROFITS: WHO OWNS PH MINES? | READ

THE BULACAN TOWN WHERE CHICKENS ARE SLAUGHTERED AND THE RIVER IS DEAD | READ  

The Eclipse That Ended a War and Shook the Gods Forever

Thales, a Greek philosopher 2,600 years ago, is celebrated for predicting a famous solar eclipse and founding what came to be known as science.

Credit... John P. Dessereau

Supported by

• Share full article

By William J. Broad

William J. Broad studied the history of science in graduate school and still follows it for the light it casts on modern developments. This article is part of The Times’s coverage of the April 8 eclipse , the last time a total solar eclipse will be visible in most of North America for 20 years.

• Published April 6, 2024 Updated April 7, 2024

In the spring of 585 B.C. in the Eastern Mediterranean, the moon came out of nowhere to hide the face of the sun, turning day into night.

Back then, solar eclipses were cloaked in scary uncertainty. But a Greek philosopher was said to have predicted the sun’s disappearance. His name was Thales. He lived on the Anatolian coast — now in Turkey but then a cradle of early Greek civilization — and was said to have acquired his unusual power by abandoning the gods.

The eclipse had an immediate worldly impact. The kingdoms of the Medes and Lydian had waged a brutal war for years. But the eclipse was interpreted as a very bad omen, and the armies quickly laid down their arms. The terms of peace included the marriage of the daughter of the king of Lydia to the son of the Median king.

The impiety of Thales had a more enduring impact, his reputation soaring over the ages. Herodotus told of his foretelling. Aristotle called Thales the first person to fathom nature. The classical age of Greece honored him as the foremost of its seven wise men.

Today, the tale illustrates the awe of the ancients at the sun’s disappearance and their great surprise that a philosopher knew it beforehand.

The episode also marks a turning point. For ages, eclipses of the sun were feared as portents of calamity. Kings trembled. Then, roughly 2,600 years ago, Thales led a philosophical charge that replaced superstition with rational eclipse prediction.

Today astronomers can determine — to the second — when the sun on April 8 will disappear across North America. Weather permitting, it’s expected to be the most-viewed astronomical event in American history, astonishing millions of sky watchers.

“Everywhere you look, from modern times back, everyone wanted predictions” of what the heavens would hold, said Mathieu Ossendrijver , an Assyriologist at the Free University of Berlin. He said Babylonian kings “were scared to death by eclipses.” In response, the rulers scanned the sky in efforts to anticipate bad omens, placate the gods and “strengthen their legitimacy.”

By all accounts, Thales initiated the rationalist view. He’s often considered the world’s first scientist — the founder of a radical new way of thinking.

Patricia F. O’Grady, in her 2002 book on the Greek philosopher, called Thales “brilliant, veracious, and courageously speculative.” She described his great accomplishment as seeing that the fraught world of human experience results not from the whims of the gods but “nature itself,” initiating civilization’s hunt for its secrets.

Long before Thales, the ancient landscape bore hints of successful eclipse prediction. Modern experts say that Stonehenge — one of the world’s most famous prehistoric sites, its construction begun some 5,000 years ago — may have been able to warn of lunar and solar eclipses.

While the ancient Chinese and Mayans noted the dates of eclipses, few early cultures learned how to predict the disappearances.

The first clear evidence of success comes from Babylonia — an empire of ancient Mesopotamia in which court astronomers made nightly observations of the moon and planets, typically in relation to gods and magic, astrology and number mysticism.

Starting around 750 B.C. , Babylonian clay tablets bear eclipse reports. From ages of eclipse tallies, the Babylonians were able to discern patterns of heavenly cycles and eclipse seasons. Court officials could then warn of godly displeasure and try to avoid the punishments, such as a king’s fall.

The most extreme measure was to employ a scapegoat. The substitute king performed all the usual rites and duties — including those of marriage. The substitute king and queen were then killed as a sacrifice to the gods, the true king having been hidden until the danger passed.

Initially, the Babylonians focused on recording and predicting eclipses of the moon, not the sun. The different sizes of eclipse shadows let them observe a greater number of lunar disappearances.

The Earth’s shadow is so large that, during a lunar eclipse, it blocks sunlight from an immense region of outer space, making the moon’s disappearance and reappearance visible to everyone on the planet’s night side. The size difference is reversed in a solar eclipse. The moon’s relatively small shadow makes observation of the totality — the sun’s complete vanishing — quite limited in geographic scope. In April, the totality path over North America will vary in width between 108 and 122 miles.

Ages ago, the same geometry ruled. So the Babylonians, by reason of opportunity, focused on the moon. Eventually, they noticed that lunar eclipses tend to repeat themselves every 6,585 days — or roughly every 18 years. That led to breakthroughs in foreseeing lunar eclipse probabilities despite their knowing little of the cosmic realities behind the disappearances.

“They could predict them very well,” said John M. Steele , a historian of ancient sciences at Brown University and a contributor to a recent book , “Eclipse and Revelation.”

This was the world into which Thales was born. He grew up in Miletus, a Greek city on Anatolia’s west coast. It was a sea power . The city’s fleets established wide trade routes and a large number of colonies that paid tribute, making Miletus wealthy and a star of early Greek civilization before Athens rose to prominence.

Thales was said to have come from one of the distinguished families of Miletus, to have traveled to Egypt and possibly Babylonia , and to have studied the stars. Plato told how Thales had once tumbled down a well while examining the night sky. A maidservant, he reported, teased the thinker for being so eager to know the heavens that he ignored what lay at his feet.

It was Herodotus who, in “The Histories,” told of Thales’s predicting the solar eclipse that ended the war. He said the ancient philosopher had anticipated the date of the sun’s disappearance to “within the year” of the actual event — a far cry from today’s precision.

Modern experts, starting in 1864, nonetheless cast doubt on the ancient claim. Many saw it as apocryphal. In 1957, Otto Neugebauer, a historian of science, called it “very doubtful.”

In recent years, the claim has received new support. The updates rest on knowledge of the kind of observational cycles that Babylon pioneered. The patterns are seen as letting Thales make solar predictions that — if not a sure thing — could nevertheless succeed from time to time.

If Stonehenge might do it occasionally, why not Thales?

Mark Littmann, an astronomer, and Fred Espenak , a retired NASA astrophysicist who specializes in eclipses, argue in their book , “Totality,” that the date of the war eclipse was relatively easy to predict, but not its exact location. As a result, they write , Thales “could have warned of the possibility of a solar eclipse.”

Leo Dubal, a retired Swiss physicist who studies artifacts from the ancient past and recently wrote about Thales, agreed. The Greek philosopher could have known the date with great certainty while being unsure about the places where the eclipse might be visible, such as at the war’s front lines.

In an interview and a recent essay , Dr. Dubal argued that generations of historians have confused the philosopher’s informed hunch with the precision of a modern prediction. He said Thales had gotten it exactly right — just as the ancient Greeks declared.

“He was lucky,” Dr. Dubal said, calling such happenstance a regular part of the discovery process in scientific investigation.

Over the ages, Greek astronomers learned more about the Babylonian cycles and used that knowledge as a basis for advancing their own work. What was marginal in the days of Thales became more reliable — including foreknowledge of solar eclipses.

The Antikythera mechanism, a stunningly complex mechanical device, is a testament to the Greek progress. It was made four centuries after Thales, in the second century B.C., and was found off a Greek isle in 1900. Its dozens of gears and dials let it predict many cosmic events, including solar eclipse dates — though not, as usual, their narrow totality paths.

For ages, even into the Renaissance, astronomers kept upgrading their eclipse predictions based on what the Babylonians had pioneered. The 18-year cycle, Dr. Steele of Brown University said, “had a really long history because it worked.”

Then came a revolution. In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus put the sun — not Earth — at the center of planetary motions. His breakthrough in cosmic geometry led to detailed studies of eclipse mechanics.

The superstar was Isaac Newton — the towering genius who in 1687 unlocked the universe with his law of gravitational attraction. His breakthrough made it possible to predict the exact paths of not only comets and planets but the sun, the moon and the Earth. As a result, eclipse forecasts soared in precision.

Newton’s good friend, Edmond Halley, who lent his name to a bright comet, put the new powers on public display. In 1714, he published a map showing the predicted path of a solar eclipse across England in the next year.

Halley asked observers to determine the totality’s actual scope. Scholars call it history’s first wide study of a solar eclipse. In accuracy, his predictions outdid those of the Astronomer Royal, who advised Britain’s monarch y on astronomical matters.

Today’s specialists, using Newton’s laws and banks of powerful computers, can predict the movements of stars for millions of years in advance.

But closer to home, they have difficulty making eclipse predictions over such long periods of time. That’s because the Earth, the moon and the sun lie in relative proximity and thus exert comparatively strong gravitational tugs on one another that change subtly in strength over the eons, slightly altering planetary spins and positions.

Despite such complications, “it’s possible to predict eclipse dates more than 10,000 years into the future,” Dr. Espenak, the former NASA expert, said in an interview.

He created the space agency’s web pages that list solar eclipses to come — including some nearly four millenniums from now.

So, if you’re enthusiastic about the April 8 totality, you might consider what’s in store for whoever is living in what we today call Madagascar on Aug. 12, 5814. According to Dr. Espenak, that date will feature the phenomenon of day turning into night and back again into day — a spectacle of nature, not of malevolent gods.

Perhaps it’s worth a moment of contemplation because, if for no other reason, it represents yet another testament to the wisdom of Thales.

William J. Broad is a science journalist and senior writer. He joined The Times in 1983, and has shared two Pulitzer Prizes with his colleagues, as well as an Emmy Award and a DuPont Award. More about William J. Broad

Advertisement

• How it Works
• Top Writers

Customer Reviews

Diane M. Omalley

Sophia Melo Gomes

Cookies! We use them. Om Nom Nom ...