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When Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines in September 2009, 24-year-old Buck Pago faced a dilemma.
He wanted to get outside in the capital Manila to photograph the devastation, in which hundreds died and thousands were made homeless.
But he was also a victim and his instinct was to look after himself and his family.
"On the day of the typhoon, I was in our house processing some film when the heavy rain came and lasted for hours,” recalls Buck.
"The water level started to rise - it was the first time that our house had been flooded. I started to put our belongings in a safe place as much as I could but I wanted to go out and photograph our neighborhood and some low-lying places whilst the storm was at its height. After an hour shooting outside, I decided to go back to our house and secure my family.”
Buck has been a freelance photographer since 2006 and joined
AKP Images in 2008. His work has been published in a number of Philippine newspapers.
"It was very hard for me not being able to be outside taking photographs,” continues Buck.
"After a sleepless night worrying and looking out for my family’s security, I started to clean the mud out of our place, fix furniture and dry clothes and books. Some of my darkroom equipment was broken, papers were soaked and film archives ruined.
I decided to document the typhoon’s aftermath as I was also a victim. Another typhoon, Parma, brought even more devastation to the country a week later.
I operate with a compact camera with basic controls (shutter speed and aperture). It allows me to work without intimidating my subjects,” concludes Buck.
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