Shrouded in Smog, a photo from Manila, NCR

Photographer's Note

I was going home from my friend's place in Antipolo, just outside of Manila and saw this view of the city skyline. It was late afternoon and dusk was encroaching on the scene. The humidity was high, it was still typhoon season and the heavy air was holding the pollution down to street level. I often got what I called a "pollution headache" on the ride in and out of Manila from Clark, 90 kilometers to the north.

This photo is not showing great beauty, but it does show daily life in Manila. On a clear day it is a completely different feeling, but those days are not so frequent. There is work to do to clean up the atmosphere and while restricting the number of cars that are allowed to ply the city streets with odd even license plate numbers were executed years ago, there is still work to be done to improve this situation. Of all the photos I shot during my 2.5 years in this incredible place, this one is the only one that shows the pollution situation on some days.

I sharpened the photo, but can't figure out how to get rid of the smudge marks on the top right-hand side of the photo.

MLINES, pablominto, banyanman ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

hadi1121 (0) 2006-02-10 20:27

Hi there Fran,
Nice not and such reasonable title. Today's dilemma isn't really the pollution itself but the manner in which people over the wrld are turning a blind eye to it. Your shot depictes it all.
We have the capacity to develop but are losing the capacity to live. Cheers. Hadi

RADEEH (2802) 2006-02-10 21:45

Its an eye opener, people should have a concern for the nature I like the documentary picture and the note

SamB (1948) 2006-02-10 23:04

It depicts an ugly situation, but you've managed to keep it from being an ugly picture. Nice use of planes, the depth created by the receding planes emphasizes the nature of the smog and adds interest.

Nice work!
sam

jbweasle (9393) 2006-02-11 3:18

Hi Fran, I like the layered effect in this picture and the subtle colours. It's amazing how even a smoggy city can almost look attractive.

MLINES (12516) 2006-02-11 4:10

There are many places around the region including China with this sort of challenge. This is a result of many things but improving car exhaust emissions is one of the keys. LA cleaned up their cars several decades ago to reduce the impact, so it can be done. Your capture is very realistic and your message clear.

pablominto (53746) 2006-02-11 12:11

Hello Fran...
An awesome shot! The different layers in the smog is beautiful to look at but not so pleasant to breathe in...
A capture to be proud of!
Regards,
Pablo -

banyanman (7797) 2006-02-12 8:37

Hi Fran. I like the three layers in this composition which gives it a lot of depth. I've done a workshop removing most of the smudge with the PS healing brush, but it was difficult to remove it around the building and the ridge of the mountains with this small jpeg file (if I had the original it would be easier to remove all of it). However, what is left now looks like smoke rather than a smudge. I've made a few other enhancements that I hope you will like. It's good to see photographs like this on TE that show us the real world and not just the 'pretty places'. Cheers . . . David

[workshop] [compare] +

bend1k (934) 2006-03-16 5:45

NIce shot. I passed by this place also last weekend and saw the same smog. That could be the reason why my tonsils are hurting more often now. I think your sensor needs some cleaning