Auntie Naty

Filed under : Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 08-01-2013

When I married my wife, I married into a family with a rich heritage in tribal tradition and history. You see, Kirin is Igorota, a term that loosely describes several tribes of people who are indigenous to the Philippine Islands. I’m woefully ignorant of much of Filipino history as it is, and I knew even less of her indigenous peoples. There is so much to say about this, more than what I’m willing to discuss here at the moment.

Below are a series of quick portraits we did of Kirin’s Auntie Naty, who was visiting from the Philippines. Naty is member of the Kalinga tribe of the Philippines, and she is currently a Provincial Officer of National Commission of Indigenous Peoples there. (Kirin is part Kalinga on her mother’s side. Her father is from the Bontoc tribe.) The beads and tattoos that Auntie Naty wears have specific cultural significance and meaning. The tattoos, in particular, are only worn by those who have earned them, either by birthright or by deed–not as a statement of fashion.

Auntie Naty was only in town for a short time, so we didn’t have time to set up a proper place to shoot the photos. But we couldn’t pass up this chance to create images of these important cultural artifacts.

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Angelo and Arlene’s Beautiful Family

Filed under : Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 30-12-2012

I went a little crazy here and uploaded a boat-load of photos… I couldn’t help it: there are just so many here I’m proud of! It’s hard to take a bad photo of this bunch. They all seem to be naturals in front of the camera–especially Angelo, the dad! Ha! Enjoy.

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Sabrena and Nick and Khalil and Leland

Filed under : Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 13-12-2012

This is Sabrena and Nick.

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They’re a great couple: down to earth, genuine, completely in love with each other and their family.

This is Sabrena a couple of years ago when we shot her maternity session.

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She was pregnant here with her young boy Leland, whom she gave birth to the very next day–no joke. Although Leland came a little early, he was ok and is now an active, extroverted, delightful little boy, just like his handsome older brother Khalil.

We spent some time with them all a few weeks ago at the beach and shot these photos. Enjoy!

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