Street Shooter

Street Shooter

By YUGEL LOSORATA

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK

Mary Joy Loyola Ganitano

It may not be that often but we do hear photographers bragging about their big-name subjects, ranging from the upstart showbiz personalities to the holder of the highest of electoral posts.

On the other hand, there are those like Mary Joy "MJ" Ganitano who would rather name-drop the nameless for the very same reason that they are, well, as important as the rich and famous.

MJ, a nephew of highly recognized lensman Edwin Loyola, has picked one

Mr. Lorenzo as a subject to remember. This Lorenzo is no business tycoon, nor someone who has gotten fame by virtue of overnight exposure via some reality-TV competition. He is

virtually a "nowhere man in his nowhere land," or as that famed early Beatles classic outside of romantic love has defined the homeless man on the street.

The beggar turned out to be a subject that made MJ to assess photography as beyond capturing scenes, or it is one way of freezing emotions.

“In 2009,” she recalled, “I joined the basic and advanced photography sponsored by the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF). I had my pristine experience joining a street photowalk called 'One Camera, One Lens, One Day, One Street.’ It was through my shot of a street beggar named Mr. Lorenzo wherein I realized that in photography, you are not just capturing a significant moment. The real goal is you must have a conveyance of the subject’s innermost feelings.” Street photography is one of MJ’s favorite kinds of shoot, equally important as portraiture, still life, and landscape.

Capturing the emotions of people from different walks of life is always a good catch for this lady behind the camera who credits most to her multi-awarded mentor and uncle.

With such focus, high-profile targets are not required for MJ. Her eyes see no reason to discriminate the powerless. The poor and the jobless can be as interesting as the privileged. That partly explains why she bothered addressing a beggar as Mr. Lorenzo. Her shots put out that invisible red carpet for people deprived of their voice. More often, these street people finally get heard through the powerful silence her pictures project.

In the name of artistically moving images, there’s more sense clicking the shutter to get that sincere struggling look in a rag-clothed fellow than take a picture of a well-dressed man faking his smile.

“My candid shots try to reflect that honest and unprejudiced image and possibly remain distinct from one another," she humbly explained. “The mood of my shots is always simple, bare of complexity."

MJ, currently affiliated with Framed Shots Camera Club, has her share of recognition even if it meant that as of yet she’s still a mere shadow of her more llustrious uncle. She earned 2nd place spot for a contest that searched for the “Photographer of the Year Best in People Category.” Once she had likewise made the Photoworld Cup Top 30 cut.

Having developed a natural concern for society, it’s logical she finds the underprivileged truly worthy as subject. To take the matter deeper, she is serious about a personal goal of staging a photo exhibit for the benefit of a foundation calling itself Mission Save Kids with Cancer. She reiterated, “In photography, you have to pour your emotions and express what you feel. You must give life to your subject because it is the reflection of your heart and mind.

Photography as an art is conception, execution, and accomplishment in creating a significant and meaningful image.” Apart from Framed Shots, MJ is also linked up with bytephoto.com, Digital Image Café, and One Daily Shot. For her, mood plays a vital role in her shoots. “A very potent and effective photograph can be seen on how and why the images were conceived and produced. One’s works emulate the passion and emotion inside him or her,” she ended.