When I moved in a block away from this courtyard in one of the many blue collar districts of Mactan Island in the Philippines, the first thing I thought was how cool would it be to snap a fashion shoot here. The thought stayed with me until it materialised thanks to quick thinking and intuition of stylist Sophia Anastasiou and model/actress Henrietta Moore. Yet, it almost didn't happen as my Panasonic Lumix GH1 I had since 2009 decided to finally conk just minutes before the shoot. So, Soph gave me her sis' Nikon D80, a camera I had never used before. In the end it was a blessing in disguise as the Nikon camera produces far superior RAW images. Though we didn't discuss the theme it organically evolved into this Spanish Siesta motif given the nature of the clothing apparel. Once stylist and model agreed on the clothing, I decided to shoot this a stone throw away from my home. The long red flowing dress immediately made me think of the battle of Lapu Lapu that took place in 1521, a kilometer away from this location. A battle where the Spanish army lost their general Magellan killied by the spear of the local indigenous tribes. Red blood dripping in the light of the bright yellow sun of the East. This is what was twirling in my head whilst snapping away. In post, I treated the pictures thinking of my Mum's 80's Vogue collection. All smooth, glossy colours and stark contrasts.