Through the lens of storytellers

Picture this: Downtown Manila’s streets, sweltering under the punishing glare of the high noon sun, narrow and bustling streets made even tighter by a seemingly endless tumble of street vendors and pedestrians lining either side. Amidst the constant noise and chaos of colors, a man in a dark shirt walks with purposeful steps, a large camera in hand. Not far behind are four men, filming the photographer’s every move.

The photographer stops, takes a moment, and considers a woman who, by the sheer outrageousness of her outfit and makeup, distinguishes herself from the crowd. He asks her consent for a photo and she wordlessly obliges, calmly rising to her feet and squaring her shoulders. Her steady countenance is a stark contrast to the thick, white geisha-like makeup that buries her face. He clicks away and thanks her politely.

The photographer leaves with more than just a photograph. He has, in his camera, the story of a woman who earns her keep by setting up a makeshift table and a stool alongside a row of other fortune-tellers in one of the city’s most densely populated districts, where many of the faithful come to pray and seek comfort from the Catholic divinity and then, perhaps for added measure, promptly shop for amulets (from earnest medallions and stampitas to outright kitsch) and more reassurance from palm-readers outside the cathedral.

The woman looks shrunken by age, and in her steady gaze there appears to be a certain shadow cast by a life of struggle. It’s hard to guess where she comes from or what she’s been through, and there is something in her air of confidence that shames you away from indulging in easy stereotypes about hardscrabble lives in a city full of grit. There is also an intriguing elegance about her best appreciated when seen than just read about. She is one story out of many, one that the photographer, in his quest to reacquaint himself with the city, has chosen to tell.

Photography With Soul

Guerrero at work.

The photographer is Paco Guerrero, and the men that follow his every move are the men behind the new TV show, Two Stops Over. Two Stops Over, which airs every Sunday from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.on Second Avenue, is a photography and travel show with an added element that is perhaps its defining factor, that often overlooked layer that adds a distinct sheen: content to chew on.

The brainchild of Troy Bernardo, the show’s writer, story editor and overall creative force, and Monet Silerio, whose business brain keeps the material architecture in place, Two Stops Over follows a photographer as he takes images of various subjects in different places.

Towards the end of the show, the photos are shown in what Bernardo calls “the big reveal.” What he shoots and where, how he shoots them and why, and what the images reveal about a gallery of interesting subjects make the show equal parts entertaining, instructive, and enriching. 

Two Stops Over is easy on the eyes — shot entirely using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a Canon 7D, the footage is crisp and clear, the kind that carries an almost artsy palette and keeps you mesmerized. Dial down the volume and at the very least, you’ll get eye candy. Dial it back up and you get a unique show that takes through the creative process of photography with soul.

Guerrero, the show’s articulate host, dishes out advice that ranges from chasing the light and other shooting techniques, to handling hardware — in the show you’ll see him lugging around a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III and switching among the following Canon EF lenses: an 8mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.5 and a 17-40mm f/4L. Guerrero’s impressive portfolio includes work done for international magazines (such as Condé Nast Traveler and AFAR) known for outstanding photography in urban capitals of the world and exotic locales.

But the show, at least for the pilot and the first season, is built on a more personal premise. Guerrero, whose father is Spanish and whose mother is Filipina, left the Philippines for Spain in 1987 and, two decades later, has returned to anchor his career as a photographer in the country he once called home. The first episode showed him reacquainting himself with Manila’s streets and its colorful characters (including the elegant elderly palm-reader), finding the city’s pulse, and reconnecting with the collective vibe.

This is where most of the show’s real insights — on photography, and on the bigger issues of place and identity, among others that will emerge as the rest of the season unfolds — really kick in. When Guerrero says, “I don’t think you choose your subjects, your subjects choose you. When the light is right and the moment is right, you just have to be ready for it,” you get the sense it’s not just picture taking he’s talking about.

The Elements Of Circumstance

The journey of Two Stops Over is an interesting story in itself, one that best illustrates the organic thread tying in all the elements running through every episode.

When Bernardo and Silerio bumped into each other at a neighborhood Starbucks in mid-2009, the moment was ripe for such a meeting. For many years, since resolutely leaving life in the corporate treadmill and committing to more passionate pursuits, Bernardo had been traveling and writing, more than just vaguely mindful that he was it was exactly the kind of life he wanted. “I quit the life that people expected me to live,” he says. “And I quit that so I could do what I want to in life: travel and write.”

He has found himself so far off the beaten track that the only way to get around was on camelback, without an actual track. And writing? Over the years, Bernardo’s writings have settled into a shape of enviable range — from corporate literature to magazine feature articles to movie scripts. He had been toying with the idea for a travel show that, to some measure, synthesized all these interests.

Silerio had been running a production house for advertising called A Different Story along with business partner Mac Dones. “I was looking to do a TV show,” says Silerio, adding that he had been looking to develop original content. “In fact I had tried doing one, a very technical photography show because I had just gotten into photography myself. I wasn’t too happy with the way it turned out and it got shelved. Two years later, here comes Troy.”

From that chance meeting during which a plan was hatched, and the idea drew onto itself all that it needed to fly, a.k.a. other talented and similarly motivated friends. Bernardo called on another old friend, Paco Guerrero, with whom he had worked many years ago for a travel magazine. Next came Dondi Narciso, the show’s cinematographer, and another friend of Bernardo’s from college. Bernardo, Guerrero and Narciso — all freelancers— had never worked in TV before, but together they formed the creative team that clicked with the Silerio and Dones tandem.

The original music is provided by bands from Toti Dalmacion’s label Terno Recordings. The show’s post-production is done by Aids Tecson’s Underground Logic.

The show’s format originally did not require a host, but when Guerrero started his hosting spiel while shooting the trailer, Bernardo and Guerrero saw that he was a natural. They took on Two Stops Over, Guerrero’s preferred style of shooting images a little overexposed two notches up, as the show’s title. 

In September, Canon signed on as a major sponsor, and developments just happened in warp speed. “You have one thought, and it draws what it needs to make it work,” Bernardo says, summing up the amazing journey of one idea. “And everything just falls into place.”

Fresh Perspectives

I always want to do stuff that are relevant,” says Bernardo of the show’s content. “It started as a magazine style format but we decided to think out of the box and instead make something relevant and insightful, not your typical technical photography show.” The idea, Bernardo continues, is “to showcase the best of the Philippines, stuff that you see every day but that you overlook. It’s about changing perspectives by bringing into mainstream television stuff that usually don’t get too much press.”

In every episode, Guerrero delves into a variety of subjects in different places following Bernardo’s skeletal script. Pre-determined subjects are chosen on the overriding criteria of relevance — what they contribute to the community, to the collective consciousness of the country.

“One episode features beauty queens of all ages, shapes, sizes and gender,” says Bernardo. “This is to explore the idea of beauty in billboards against the reality. Other episodes feature Ballet Philippines and the life of dancers. There’s also one that shows types of spiritual paths being pursued in our time and place.”

Tonight’s episode will feature the bands of Terno Recordings, as well as a double-dose of advocacy. “We want to showcase Pinoy bands that are raising the bar and defining the scene with original music,” explains Bernardo. “And we shot the episode in heritage buildings in the city to promote the cause of conservation.”

Silerio adds that the show has “graduated from being a technical one to something that is largely concept-driven. A lot of people are too caught up with the hardware and the technique; those are important and so the show includes a bit of how-to, but what we want to promote is the idea of looking for the story. After all, what makes a photograph is not how technically advanced your equipment is, but how you are able to capture the story and deliver it to the audience.”

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Two Stops Over Season 1 airs on Second Avenue every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. until Jan. 13, 2011, with reruns every following Saturday at 10:30 p.m.