"Same same, but different,” is an expression that circulates in large parts of South East Asia as a fun element of communication between locals and foreigners. It has a touristy and silly connotation, yet there is a profound and undeniable truth to it, if you apply it to people. After all, we are indeed exactly the same same humans, but entirely different persons. We experience the same human condition, and still every culture, region, socio-economic layer of society, and ultimately every single life is unlike any other. This collection is a blender, so watch out that you don’t end up in it one day.
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a glimpse
glimpse: 4714 MONKEY | And just like the drizzle, oozing from the February mist, the people kept pouring in to flood the Great Wall. They had come to welcome the New Year – 4714, year of the monkey – but they had arrived without haste, elbows or stormy moods. The lack of space merely fostered solidarity and left no room for stampedes.
glimpse: BLACK NAZARENE CELEBRATION IN MANILA | During the annual celebration of the Black Nazarene (a black Christ statue) up to one million people flood the streets of Manila. The capital of the Philippines then becomes an ocean of hued dots, in some places so viscous that it feels impermeable. The procession takes place on the 9th of January and starts at Quiapo Church in the heart of Manila. I was lucky enough to get a shot from an overpass, just before the police told us to get going.
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gallery
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