A GOOD DIGITAL CAMERA

Good Friday (Biyernes Santo), a public holiday in the Philippines, is commemorated with solemn street processions, the Way of the Cross, the commemoration of Jesus' Seven last words and a Passion play called the Senakulo. In some communities the processions include devotees who self-flagellate and sometimes even have themselves nailed to crosses as expressions of penance or in fulfillment of a vow accomplished in thanksgiving or exchange for a granted request or prayer. After three o'clock in the afternoon of Good Friday (the time at which Jesus is traditionally believed to have died), noise is discouraged, bathing is proscribed and the faithful are urged to keep a solemn and prayerful disposition. Towards late afternoon and evening there is the procession of the dead Christ. The figure of the corpse of Jesus is taken in solemn procession and borne on a decorated hearse, after which it is venerated by the faithful. Some even accord the image with the proper funeral rites such as laying the body in state or, in some instances, by smoking the seated corpse of Jesus over a fire in accordance with local, pre-hispanic funerary customs. Such a procession may involve a various number of other saints, and tradition dictates that the last image in the line is the Sorrowful Virgin.

In fact, the great sorrow that is attributed to this day gave rise to the Tagalog idiom "Mukha kang Biyernes Santo", which could literally be translated into English as "You look like Good Friday". This means that the person looks so sad that he resembles the sorrows of Jesus Christ on His passion day.

I splurged and spent $10 on a mini digital camera at Walgreen's the other day. Just a few test shots to see how it worked. Of course I have a willing model all ready to be photographed. Still working out the composition and the viewfinder. Still, I am pleased with the shot - not too shabby. And sadly, better quality than what I'm getting from my current cell phone (although that's not the primary purpose of my phone).