Watersheds: Sheltering Life is Finalist in the 30th National Book Awards

Watersheds: Sheltering Life is Finalist in the 30^th National Book Awards

By Raneil Antonio Ibay

“Watersheds: Sheltering Life” a coffeetable book that Jon P. Ave and I shot for Wide Angle Media, Inc. is a finalist in two categories of the 30^th National Book Awards.

The book designed by Jon P. Ave and was a finalist for the Design Category in the Literary Division and was also a finalist for the Science Category in Non-Literary Division with Grace Roxas as Writer and Edited by Ces Rodriguez for Wide Angle Media, Inc.

Winners will be announced on Nov.12, 2011 during the awarding ceremony at the National Museum.

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.

Simplicty Captured in Beauty

Simplicty Captured in Beauty

By Yugel Losorata

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK

John Paul Relativo

There’s beauty in simplicity. This holds true for John Paul “Jhigz” Relativo as he captures simple things and transform them into splendid images.

He even brings along his camera to shoot nightscapes. There's something about the earth under the moon that he sees worth freezing into lovely pictures of mystery and majesty.

"I love capturing landscape/nightscape because of the visualization perspective in relation to designs," he told Picture Perfect, then elaborated on why he prefers night over day in an almost jocular tone. "I love the feeling and excitement when shooting nightscape because here in Manila it's always ‘bawal dyan sir.’ During nighttime I can take photograph of these ‘bawal’ areas."

He added, "One tip when shooting nightscape is you have to wear black or dark shirt so the guards can't see you." That's a nice shot!

For him, shooting makes him feel inspired and happy. Every shot becomes a "paborito" in its own right and he feels energized in the process. When the right angle and right color combination mix up, a good picture is delivered and his portfolio piles up.

A member of Framed Shots Camera Club (FSCC) since 2009, Jhigz has his share of surprising wins as participant in photo contests. In just his third month as a member of the club, he already won 3rd place in the Photo World Cup inter-club photo competition with the theme "Gloomy

and Gray – Pollution." He also won fifth place in the Aliwan Festival 2011 photo competition. Using his 70-200mm Canon lens, he was chosen as one of the best from the more than 800 entries with his "Festive Warrior" subject.

"I appreciate colored photographs because they’re lively and colorful,” he said, providing another tip, this time as a “day- tripper.” "I like using off -camera flash when I take pictures during daytime because it gives a feeling of warm and natural look on the subject."

Jhigz’s elder brother influenced him a lot in photography, having joined company workshops that shared some basic knowledge about the craft.

Not long after he decided to buy a DSLR camera in 2008 and enrolled at the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) which immediately taught him basic photography.

This Architectural/Interior designer by day becomes a lensman by night.

As a lensman, he likewise loves taking still-life photos because these give him more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition.

It is in still life that he finds himself creating pictures and not just clicking the shutter.

On the other side, he's also into wedding photography joining Chito Cleofas in some of the latter's coverage. Like all good shooters, he believes there is a story behind every photograph once emotions, feelings, wonder, and beauty come together.

"Becoming a photographer, whether as an amateur or for a living, can be

extremely pleasant," he shared. "It is one of those things where you're in a position to make something and have a record of it for as long as you want to. There are many beneficial aspects to it as a profession and as a hobby.

You can make money out of it and at the same time enjoying yourself while doing it."

In November 2009, Jhigz finally won first place in a Canon-sponsored photo contest with the theme "Architectural Perspective." Two entries he submitted to promote the beautiful Hamilo Coast ended up posted for attraction. That is very much in line with his vision to spend a long life of artistic contribution.

The owner of a StopNshoot photo booth business, Jhigz sees photography as a way of life or to be more poetic about it, “simplicity captured in beauty.”

In Search of Birds

In Search Of Birds

By Raneil Antonio Ibay

After watching a late night tele-magazine show about migratory birds in the town of San Nicolas, Batangas, my wife Rosy and I decided to see and shoot them for ourselves. The bird experts interviewed said that these migratory birds are roosting in San Nicolas. This probably was the reason why the birds at Candaba, Pampanga are getting fewer. Gathering a few Framed Shots Camera Club members Chito Cleofas, Lea Ricolcol, and Roselyn Roldan, we set off for San Nicolas to search for the birds.

But heavy traffic along SLEX has a way of spoiling plans and arrived in Tagaytay at around 8AM where we stopped for a car trunk, standing room only breakfast of pan de sal and cream cheese. Breakfast and restroom breaks done and we’re off again, this time we have to meet fellow FS member Melvin Castrence in the town of Taal.

About an hour or so later we arrive at Taal town and meet up with Melvin where he shows us his beautiful sunrise shots of fishermen doing their morning chores that we missed as we were stuck in traffic at SLEX at the time. Lucky bastard.

Bird activity is usually in the early morning and late in the afternoon just before the sun went down. Not to be discouraged, we drove on towards San Nicolas, hoping that the birds would still be there.

We at last come to the town of San Nicolas but somehow didn’t meet anyone who could point us in the right direction off the birds. Even the local tricycle driver doesn’t have a clue and so we drove on, searching until we reach Barangay Manalao where Mang Peddy and his wife entertained us on their porch. We had an early lunch of pork adobo that Rosy prepared earlier, rice wrapped in banana leaves, salted eggs with diced tomatoes, Coke and bananas for dessert.

Around 1PM Mang Peddy and his other fisherman neighbors took us out to the lake where the fish pens are, its time to feed the fish. They say the fish are fed twice a day, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. With a view of the majestic and very active Taal Volcano, they took us by twos on small boats without outriggers so it’s a bit wobbly. You really have to be careful about your movements or you’ll be down in the lake with the fishes instead of shooting the birds.

At around 3:20 PM we head back to shore for some

merienda of Coke and pan de sal with cream cheese and checked out our shots via our camera’s LCDs. My shots weren’t that great as there weren’t enough birds to shoot, it’s not the same as we saw on TV. But I fairly have an idea why. Going back to shore we noticed the mountainside was burned down, trees, vegetation and all.

We packed up and passed by the Coast Guard only to be told that they were the ones who took around the TV crew and that we were shooting in the wrong place. They gave us the number of a Municipal employee who knows where and how to get to the birds. We even met a Barangay Chairman who owns a boat and says he can take us around next time.

Our last stop over was in Tagaytay’s Tower Bulalo. We had dinner of Tagaytay’s famous bulalo, tawilis and sizzling sisig and had a last glimpse of the Taal Volcano as it disappears in the fading twilight as we plan our trip back o San Nicolas in search of the elusive birds.

Houses Revisited

Houses Revisited

By Raneil Antonio Ibay

The bahay kubo is a square-shaped hut found throughout the Philippines.

Its enduring charm and practicality has enabled it to be a distinct feature in Philippine architecture.

During the Spanish era, a new design in architecture focused on Fil-Hispanic baroque was introduced by the Spaniards as an adaptation to their needs. The bahay kubo was

reinforced and enlarged with stonewalls and floors and a tile roof. Then more rooms and ornaments were added and thus the 19^th century bahay na bato was born along with a new affluent lifestyle of the era.

Last April 10, 2011 the Intramuros Administration opened a special painting and paintography exhibit as part of the Intramuros Arts Festival to celebrate its 32^nd founding anniversary.

The exhibit titled “Bahay Kubo and Philippine Traditional Houses: Revisited” features selected artworks of well-known Filipino international artist Rosalinda Roman and noted Filipino international painter and photographer Victor Sison.

Roman shows different variations of the bahay kubo from various regions of the Philippines as part of a project for the Department of Tourism.

Sison on the other hand depicts the ancestral houses from Vigan, Ilocos Sur in his distinct style of combining photography and painting known as paintography.

The exhibit runs from April 10 to 17, 2011. Display hours are from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Ms. Raquel Flores, Public Relations Officer of Intramuros Administration and OIC of the Intramuros Visitor’s Center will be there to personally show you around the exhibit.

Tikim, Takam, Tsalap

Tikim, Takam, Tsalap

By Raneil Antonio Ibay

The month of March brings in the summer wind, cool beaches and delicious food. Not just any kind of food but Filipino food we’ve all come to love throughout our rich history and culture.

And this month, Framed Shots Camera Club authors the second theme for the FPPF’s Photocup 2011 titled “Tikim, Takam, Tsalap”. This theme among others was suggested by FSCC member Nick Olayao and made it to the official themes for 2011.

In line with this, FSCC conducted a Food Photography workshop last March 19, 2011 at Carlo Zamora’s Sampaloc, Manila residence. Nick Olayao shared his food styling techniques while Carlo Zamora, Rico Gutierrez and I shared lighting techniques to club members. The morning session consisted of PowerPoint presentations while the practical application was conducted in the afternoon session.

Also present for the hands-on lessons was Carlo’s brother and photographer/businessman Chie Zamora. Chie gamely assisted members and gave practical advice on how to light food.

A day of sharing, shooting, eating and drinking beer. What more can you ask for? Bon appétit.

Pepper Santiago's Great Capture

Pepper Santiago's Great Capture

This week's featured Photographer of the Week for Manila Bulletin's Picture Perfect section is no other than Framed Shots Camera Club's 2010 Rookie of the Year Pepper Santiago. Article written by Yugel Losorata.

Zab Coloma's Delightful Outdoor Experience

Framed Shots Camera Club member Zab Coloma is the featured Photographer of the Week for Manila Bulletin's Picture Perfect for February 08, 2011. Article written by Yugel Losorata.

Ino Inocencio In Control

Framed Shots Camera Club member Ino Inocencio is the featured Photographer of the Week for Manila Bulletin's Picture Perfect for February 01, 2011. Article written by Yugel Losorata.

Carlo Zamora Lands Finalist Award In Oakwood's Trust Is Photography Competition

Framed Shots Camera Club member Carlo Zamora wins as a Finalist in Oakwood's Trust Is Photography Competition.