Boracay is an island 5 miles long by 1 mile wide which presents as a pacific paradise but embodies the threat of tourism to the beauty of nature.
What struck me when I was there was that the beaches were postcard perfect but the sheer amount of commerce and infrastructure in the centre of the island was more reminiscent of the intense hustle and bustle of Filipino cities; the dirt, the noise, the density of man.
Boracay is probably one of the most beautiful islands I’ll ever visit but it creaked under the weight of the people who wanted to be there and those that feed from it.
If I’d been trying to make that point maybe I’d have taken pictures of the less idyllic parts of the island… As it was I was just as enchanted by the colour of sand, sea and sunsets as everybody else.
These photos aren’t too cohesive as a set. I quite like them individually. My childhood didn’t consist of diving off pontoons or working on my dad’s boat, so I guess I find those shots interesting. Alternative ways of life.
Full Photo Gallery
Footnote:
I learned that, in 2018, two years after I visited, Boracay had its doors closed by the government in controversial fashion to give it a chance to rehabilitate.