MANILA, Philippines?At three in the morning, after Session Road?s tenth anniversary gig at Route 196 in Katipunan, 49 people boarded a bus at the Victory Liner station in Cubao.

We were a good mix of musicians, artists, photographers, lomographers, writers and students (and in most cases a combination of two or three) and we were all headed for Baguio. The bus was loaded with trip necessities?musical instruments, lomo and toy cameras, film, hoodies and scarves, iPods, PSPs and other forms of entertainment. But the most important of the loot was under seat number 14?a bag of 720 lomographs that the members of Lomomanila would use to build the Lomo Elemento wall at Vocas at La Azotea Building in Session Road.

Earth, wind, fire, water

This lomowall started as a dream, one that comedian slash musician slash lomographer Tuesday Vargas made sure would turn into reality. For days, while Tuesday ironed out the logistics (the bus tickets, the schedule, the sleeping quarters), lomographers signed up to participate. Around 40 lomographers submitted photos of earth, wind, fire and water and the best ones were chosen to become a part of the wall.

That Saturday afternoon, after brunch at Café by the Ruins and power naps, members of Lomomanila invaded Vocas, the art space run by artist and filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik and his family. Packages of blutac were ripped open and lomographs were spread on the floor, ready to form Lomomanila?s newest lomowall. We spent a good few hours rolling bluetac into little balls and sticking lomograph after lomograph on the plain white wall that had been installed at the venue?s second floor. Soon, the wall was covered with vivid images of trees, beaches, mountains, people, animals and other interpretations of the themes earth, wind, fire and water shot with the LC-A+, Supersampler, Fisheye and other toy cameras.

Guests started to trickle in, shooting the yet unfinished wall, but no one minded. For Lomomanila, the installation itself is part of the magic?one that can be shared with others.

When the wall was finished, Vocas? vegetarian café Oh My Gulay! served dinner. Then the bands took the stage. It was time to celebrate.

Jumping and dancing

The members of Lomomanila partied with people from Baguio including Kawayan and Kabunyan, sons of Kidlat Tahimik who are also artists. There was a lot of jumping and dancing, especially when bands Top Junk and The Space Flower Show took the stage.

While The Space Flower Show was playing and the crowd was cheering like crazy, Tuesday walked up to the front and, using chalk, she wrote ?LOMOMANILA!? in block letters on the side of the stage.

She said, ?I believe it?s about time we showcased our lomographs to the people and artists of the north. More than just a light-hearted approach to photography, we have elevated this craft towards the next level. The Lomo Elemento event in Baguio brought us closer to other photo enthusiasts in the highlands. It became a candid chronicle of our lives under the lomo lens. I hope this is just the first of many exhibits outside Manila. I can?t wait to lomo the world.?

What did Lomomanila do last weekend? We put up a wall. And it?s a good kind of wall?the kind that is the result of hard work and good intentions, the kind that is a venue for creative expression, the kind that makes the world just a little bit more colorful, the kind that works more like a bridge and brings people together.

The Lomo Elemento exhibit will run until June 30 at Vocas (La Azotea Building Session Road, Baguio City). Visit www.lomomanila.ph.