31911 2nd Photographer's Meet Review

So last month, we had our 2nd Saipan Photographer's Meet. The new location wasn't anything new to me, but to others in the group, it's been years for them since they last step foot on the old abandoned mall.

La Fiesta used to be a really lively area in Saipan. The heart of a very well designed tourist spot. It was the biggest and only outdoor mall we had on island, and people would actually drive from all over the island to get to this one spot on every major holiday to celebrate.

The center stage used to fill up with people. During Christmas, snow would be flown in from Japan for a snowman building contest. Ice sculptures would be made as well. On Halloween, the place would get transformed top to bottom in spirit, and they had one of the best haunted houses to visit.

Now the place looks really haunted. It's completely destroyed, broken into and neglected.

While everyone else took shots of the models present, I decided to choose a different route.



I wanted to capture what was left of the place that I used to visit constantly. It was one of the first places I visited when I first got here and a very place that holds so many memories.



As we walked around, I could easily name every spot I checked out when it was alive. I remember the arcade, the beautiful Korean restaurant my mom used to work for, the old Tony Romas and Capricciosa my best friend would take me to for lunch and the small spots I took pictures at with my family.



Now everything is slowly taken in by nature itself and to the hands of vandals. Windows shattered, doors forced open, items left behind stolen or thrown everywhere. It was just something you really couldn't believe.



But as I mentioned on my last post about the shoot I helped in on the same location,
what may look like an eyesore to many, is an art piece to another.



The eerie look and feel of the place shows a history that makes you wonder deeply, why was something so beautiful left like this. And to capture that emotion, is something not easily explainable.



-Nix



2nd Saipan's Photographer's Meet Review by Myrene Nikko Evangelista is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.