QC Memorial Circle (Shoot Specs)

Quezon City Memorial Circle
Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(Google Map Here)

This was for my Miyazono Kaori shoot from Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (The Lie you told in April), and as my fourth or so time shooting here I had always thought that the entire park was accessible for everyone.

And by accessible, I thought this was photography friendly all the way but as we approached a place called the “Flower Garden”, one of the prettier spots of the park we were approached by a guard who asked us to go to the Admin Building before commencing with the shoot. While I was a little bit irked, as I was seeing other people strike poses and do photos (although not in a wig and costume) they were still taking photos. But anyway, we followed suit and found out objective.

We were given a map, as you can see above that had pink highlights. These pink highlights served as places that SHOULD NOT BE PHOTOGRAPHED. Now, this perplexed me, so looking at this NO ONE was supposed to shoot there. But we were the only ones halted by the guard. 

Processing and color treatment was decided by the Photographer

I don’t mind rules, it’s just rules that are not properly upheld that annoy me. The shoot still went on, and at the end of it there were two little girls who brightened my day a bit. 

One of the two little girls was screaming and giggling while the other one was shyly smiling as their dad asked me for a photo with them. She was starstruck, and acted like it, I sort of wondered what they even saw or what they thought of the weird little lady with the violin and blonde wig.

Kaori Miyazono Cosplay one of the unused shots

Quezon City Memorial Circle costs around 25 pesos more or less to park in (There's also a free parking) and the entire park is free. There are restaurants and smaller self owned stores in some of the smaller pockets of the park. This is not for the feint of heart, but if you keep hanging on to the conviction that you'd still want to go through with the shoot then more or less you'd get something for your efforts.