Out of us all
That make rhymes,
Will you choose
Sometimes –
As the winds use
A crack in the wall
Or a drain,
Their joy or their pain
To whistle through –
Choose me,
You English words?
Edward Thomas, Words
The opening verse of a favourite poem by one of my favourite poets. Edward Thomas (who died young at the Battle of Arras in 1917) implores Words to choose him to bring them to life in a poem. You could say that is a form of false modesty; he suggests that he didn’t write his moving and powerful poems through any talent of his own but through the agency of these words which just ‘come to him’. But I see this more as a celebration of the wonders of words and of the English language in particular.
Choosing this poem to open this month’s Pick a Word challenge from Paula, I found myself wondering whether images ‘choose’ photographers. I think in a way they do, in the sense that any keen photographer will put themselves in the best position for potential pictures to choose them. They know where to go, where (and importantly) how to look. Just as Thomas knew where and how to find the right words, we practice how and where to find photographs.
Paula certainly knows how to find good words! This month she has given us an eclectic mix, some more easy to illustrate than others. I decided to choose images from my recent trip to the Philippines which I think meet her brief.
DENSE

A tangle of wires above the streets of Manila.
ILLUSION

The illusion of a brightly painted wall in the church of La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria in Baclayon on Bohol Island, created by sunlight through a stained glass window.
DUSK

El Nido on Palawan Island, just after sunset.
AUTHENTIC

Weaving the traditional abel cloth in Vigan on Luzon Island; these 100 year old looms have been used by four generations of family weavers.
BLOOMING

The Philippines are blessed with so many flowers, but from the many photos I took I’ve selected these frangipani flowers in the gardens of Bohol Beach Club, where we stayed while visiting the tarsiers.
I visited the Philippines in February & March 2025
43 Comments
grandmisadventures
I love the mix of colors for illusion! 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
I was so happy to see those colours splashed across the old wall like that!
Annie Berger
You did a masterful job associating photos with the given words, Sarah. The mass of overhead wires perfectly captured the ‘dense’ category. However, I preferred the shot of the fourth generation woman weaving abel cloth in Vigan, because of the humanity and the carrying on if tradition through the generations.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Annie 😊 I really enjoyed visiting that weaving ‘factory’ and meeting her. She let me have a go – I used to do weaving as a hobby many years ago (although never on a loom that big or that old!) and I was pleased I could still manage the techniqe 😀
Forestwood
Were they noisy?
Sarah Wilkie
I think if the whole room of looms had been in use, quite likely. But it was a Sunday so there was just this lady demonstrating for us 🙂
Forestwood
I had read that weavers in olden times were made deaf from the racket. I gave loom weaving a go once wirh a portable loom. My husband commented on the noise it made from the neighbouring room!
Forestwood
100 year old looms! Amazing.
Sarah Wilkie
And still working perfectly well 🙂 I even had a go!
Forestwood
That must have been fun?
Paula
And you, dear Sarah, know how to write and how to photograph. These are sensational, with illusion and dense being the most catchy to my eye. Thank you for such a deep introduction into the post. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much Paula 😊 I’m always reminded of that poem when I do this challenge so it seemed high time that I shared it in a post!
equinoxio21
Excellent choice. The wires in Manilla could be in Mexico… LOL
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 And yes, or anywhere in much of Asia!
Sue
Great set of images, Sarah! As ever you have shown that you definitely get yourself in the right position to choose your images.
Sarah Wilkie
Aw thank you Sue – I do try 😀
Sue
😄😄
Steve Hyde
Great images. The image of the workman and wires is something else. That would give the ‘Remove wires and cables’ option in the PS Content Aware Tool a run for its money 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Haha yes 😆 Maybe I’ll try it one day with Luminar Neo which has a specific ‘remove powerlines’ option (not always successful however!)
Marie
Those wires. What is amazing is that they appear to be able to identify where each one goes. I’ve see other wires like that but not so many in India, Vietnam, and other counties. Dusk is so serene.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, that amazes me too! We’ve seen similar wiring elsewhere, like you, but I’ve never seen anyone trying to work with them!
bushboy
A good collection for Paulas words Sarah. I wonder what the “electrician” up the ladder was thinking 🤔
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brian 🙂 I can’t begin to understand how he would be able to identify where a problem was among so many wires!
bushboy
“Let me know if the lights go off when I tug this wire. If not we’ll just keep trying” 😂
Sarah Wilkie
🤣🤣🤣
Anne Sandler
Wow Sarah, amazing images. Dense is a frightening sight, and the rest capture life as lived in the Philippines.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Anne 😊 I guess you get used to seeing wires tangled like that in many Asian countries, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be up that ladder!
Alison
Love your opening paragraphs Sarah and great choice of photos. I found dense and authentic to be the difficult ones
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alison 😊 I didn’t struggle with dense (this photo was an obvious choice) and authentic wasn’t too hard for me – it was illusion I puzzled over the most!
Alison
I actually searched with the word dense from my archives and my mum came up, so a nice memory too
Sarah Wilkie
🤗
thehungrytravellers.blog
Familiar sights! Great shot of El Nido, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Phil 🙂 That shot of El Nido was taken from the roof terrace of AP Kala – did you ever get there during your stay?
thehungrytravellers.blog
Nope….we wandered past in the afternoon and it looked very nice. Went back a bit later and the music was several decibels above ear bleed level. Didn’t go in!
Sarah Wilkie
We found the music tolerable up on the roof terrace but wouldn’t have wanted to be inside!
restlessjo
I thought Portuguese wiring left a lot to be desired, Sarah, but these surpass any I’ve ever seen. The sunset is sublime and I love the weaving scene xx
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Jo 😊 As I said to Rose, we’ve seen wires tangled like that in lots of countries but this has to be one of the more extreme examples!
Rose
You definitely have a talent for putting yourself in a position for photos to ‘choose’ you. Yikes, that image for ‘dense’ is something. ‘Illusion’ and ‘dusk’ are so pretty with their soft pink/blue/purples.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Rose 🙂 I guess if you put yourself in as many different places/positions as I do, you are bound to find photo opps! Glad you like those colours, and yes, that ‘dense’ image is quite something! I’ve seen wires tangled like that in lots of countries but to see a man up there trying to sort out a problem made me wonder how they manage to work with so many!
Monkey's Tale
Great picture-word selection. Dense made me giggle, Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Glad you enjoyed them and got a giggle too Maggie 😀
margaret21
Oh perfect! You and the Philippines made an excellent team here!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret 😊