Photography and Me

I was once asked what Photography means to me? I replied, "Photography is a powerful medium that compels you to appreciate and see the beauty in everything around us; from a speck of dust to what our naked eyes normally see. It allows you to share a piece of yourself to others by giving them that opportunity to look at things the way you see them."

Eversince i was a little kid, i have always been in love with arts. i remember browsing the volumes of enclopedia at home just looking at the pictures of artworks from the great masters. at a very young age, i met picasso, da vinci, michaelangelo, van gogh among others. It inspired me to paint but it only caused me frustrations. I have the vision, yet my hands can’t translate such vision on canvass. I remember going home depressed from my art classes coz my works usually get low grades. Until one day, I just gave up and accepted the fact that painting is really not for me.

However, I was thankful though that my appreciation for the arts remained in me. I would still visit museum and exhibits and marvel at the paintings of juan luna, fernando amorsolo, felix hidalgo, among others (when i get filthy rich, i promise to buy one of those luna’s paintings. argh!!!). And in one of those visits, there it was, a collection of beautiful photographs. I remember being so excited jumping from one photograph to another. It sent chills to my body. And at the end of the last frame, it occured to me, I could still be an artist after all. It took years though before i was finally able to get a hold of a camera. At 17 years old when digital photography was not yet that popular, when your idea of photography is having your own darkroom and those big cameras, I thought photography is only for grown ups and those who have money.

The Old Lady of Ivana (Won in various online portait category contest)

It was through Justin that finally made me decide to take pictures. I was envious of the photographs he was taking. So I bought a camera and started taking my own pictures. I started with Point and Shoot and then a year after, with a DLSR. However, I think I pressured myself too much to come up with beautiful pictures that most of the time, I'd end up not satisfied and frustrated with what I would produce. Till I can't take the pressure anymore and decided to give it a break. And it's been 2 years now since then. I don't know when my muse will return to me. Anyway, shown here are some of my published work.

Infanticipation (My pregnant friend, Maan)The Boy Behind the Door CassandraThe Diva (My friend Charles. Post processing also done by me)Flaming Sky (Won First Place in a Photography Magazine Contest)SL 101 (Won in an online contest Still Life category)Stripes (Bought by PAL for their calendar)The Golden Gate