One Day I Dream

20 years ago today.  But it still feels like it’s only yesterday since I felt your gentle, loving touch.  And it feels like it’s only been this morning when I kissed your cheek as I left home for school.  It wasn’t seem that long when I felt bad and I needed someone to cry to, and you were always there to comfort me and make me feel better.  It’s been two decades since you left, but you remained in our hearts forever.  

Remember when I was just a kid and I told you “Ma, I don’t want to see you getting old, please stay young forever so you don’t die”.   I never really understood what life is all about during those times, but my brothers and I were overwhelmed by your unconditional love and made life worth living for each moment.  It’s been a great 12 years spending it with you, ma.  I could only wish we had more time together.  You have always been the best person in this world, and we thank you for that with all our hearts. 

I miss you everyday.

Himaya, Hinigaran
Negros Occidental
2005©Larry Monserate Piojo 
(Nikon Coolpix E3200) 

Mt. Batulao, Philippines

It’s More Fun To Experiment

Just few days after fireworks, noise, and smog settled down during the celebration of the New Year 2012; Department of Tourism (DOT) gave another reason for Filipinos to make noise, but not exactly the kind that excites and pleases everybody.   “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” —- a new tourism campaign slogan from the DOT which once again became an instant controversy and gained both positive and negative reactions from Filipinos.   What bothers everyone is that the new slogan is claimed to be an exact rip-off from the 1950 Switzerland’s campaign “It’s More Fun in Switzerland”.  This tourism slogan turmoil reminds me of the importance of becoming an honest photographer and not a copycat.

As an artist, we give importance to creativity, to vision, and passion.  But before we understand these three elements in my opinion, we are bound to go through three basic phases of learning:  Admiring, copying, and experimenting.    Many of us begin by admiring the works of other photographers before us.  Their artworks enable us to be creative, to be imaginative, and to be motivated.  We idolized them, we applause their work, and we usually wish we can do the same with our craft.   Other artists inspire us to do better with our chosen field, they’re the ones that fuel our passion.

But before we lead ourselves into experimentation and find our niche later on, first we look deeper into another artist’s work, we study them and we decipher their workflows and techniques.   Which in most cases allow ourselves to try their system, replicate their methods, and eventually copy the exact feel of their artworks.   I say it’s fine, there’s exactly nothing wrong with being curious or trying to know how another artist expresses his craft.  It’s part of the learning process.  That’s why we attend workshops or lectures to gain more information and knowledge on diverse methods and techniques of different artists and apply them for the improvement of our own craft.   But what’s not okay and should not be tolerated is to stick to the idea of copying and replicating other works and forget about experimentation and developing an own style.  And worst, steal other artworks and claim them as yours.  I’ve read, heard, and seen different accusations of plagiarism, some of them are proven true and some of them are plainly just brought by envy or just for the sake of having to say something to gain attention.  This is common not only in photography but in other art forms as well.  So, would you be willing to share an original photo of another artist and claim it as your own, and make people believe that you’ve envisioned and created it?  Isn’t that a very good illustration of being dishonest?

That’s why the last and most important phase is experimentation.  After learning various proven and tested methods, we can start to develop our own style taking into account all the things that we’ve learned from others.  It gives us idea of what’s going to work and what’s not.  Experiment, create your own character.  Your own style distinguishes you from others, it what makes you who you are, it what makes you unique, then others should be able to identify you through your own work and not through the work of others.   Again, it’s a learning process.  Learn to understand different methods and techniques then don’t be afraid to experiment and start to create your own identity.

So you decide whether it’s fun copying another artist’s work and claim ownership, or if it’s really More Fun in the Philippines (or rather having our own identity?). :P 

Concepcion, Palawan. 2011

Passion In Your Soul
 

Over the weekend, I have been thinking whether this thing, this so called passion would last a lifetime or if one day I’ll just find myself blowing dusts off my gear.  Have you ever felt getting off track, as if you no longer know what excites you to do the very thing that makes you happy?  Or too preoccupied with a more important responsibility that losses your chance to keep the passion burning and to keep you on the loop?  What if suddenly you lose your desire to take one more photograph?  What happens next?  It may be a normal thing for most artists to forget about their beloved craft, but it’s a pretty scary thought, isn’t it?   I believe though that true passion, no matter how you lose it, comes back to you before you even realize it’s back. It’s just temporary and it never leaves your very soul. 

The Little Guardian
Babadac, Mt. Pulag
Benguet, Philippines

Let Your Photograph Speak Your Name

As photographers and artists, we take pleasure looking at the most striking and compelling photographs.  Photographs that convey powerful stories that prick our souls and inspire us in many ways we can imagine.  These are photographs made and shot from the heart, photographs that are carefully composed, details and colors blended beautifully, and stories delicately told. 

But what bothers me sometimes is that instead of looking at the whole scene in a photograph, or instead of admiring the gorgeous sky and dazzling seascapes of a place you can only imagine exists, and worst, instead of establishing a connection to a portrait of a stranger and deliberately understanding the story behind those eyes, you can’t help yourself but stare back at the photos’ huge watermark.  Yes, those gigantic-colorful-shocking watermarks that take at least 10% or more of the entire picture.

As you grow in this craft, you’ll eventually learn the basics of composition and the importance of elements that you include in taking pictures.  Normally, if you’re shooting a scene and you find some distracting elements, you tend to remove them out of the frame because they are distracting and they don’t contribute to your story.  So why would you do that and later stamp your photo with not-so-eye-friendly watermark, anyway? It’s all the same. It is distracting.

The reason why I wanted to be a photographer is because I wanted to share to others what I see through my very own eyes.  To record and capture compelling stories and messages taking place around me, as artistic as possible through the images that I capture.   But not really to tell everyone that I am a photographer through my watermark.  Why become a photographer in the first place and share photos if the viewers are actually seeing bold texts with distracting colors instead of the photo itself?  

We put watermarks on our photos commonly for security.  To give us at least something to hold on to in case our photos are stolen, a peace of mind, or at least a warning to others that this photo belongs to you.  But as a photographer and if you consider yourself a true artist, you know the drill… respect copyrights and never steal artworks of other artists!  Therefore, it is okay to put watermarks on your photos; I do this in every photo I post online and sometimes in prints.  But please KNOW that YOU ARE SHARING PHOTOGRAPHS AND NOT WATERMARKS! Create your personal style so that when a viewer sees your photo he’ll be able to identify that it’s your work because of your style, your approach, your identity.  Don’t let viewers identify your photographs through your watermarks; let your photograph speak your name.

The Relief
Cadiz City, Negros Occidental  

Black and White vs. Color

This particular photograph has been sitting in my hard drive for over a year now, until last night when I saw it while browsing for images I plan to submit for selection in an exhibit.  And the only reason why I didn’t really put so much attention to it is because I’ve already chosen what I think was the best amongst a series of shots of the same subject I made during that day.  And that chosen one is located right here.  

Another major reason is that, I had this photo originally rendered in color, and I thought I’d like it better that way.  But I really never posted it anywhere except in Flickr which actually is set to private (I think), as I only use Flickr for cross-posting to other websites.  Though in fact, I’ve had a hard time deciding on whether I should convert it to black and white or retain its color.  It was, for me, an agonizing decision, I find it so difficult that it really took me over a year before I went back to it and finally decide what suits my taste best —- of course, I ended up converting it to black and white or to the tone I am most comfortable with over the years.  

The dilemma of choosing over black and white and color still haunts me from time to time.  We all know that not all photographs are best conveyed in colors and not all photographs are better in black and whites.  A photographer will have to understand what he really wants to express in the first place, and decide if having colors in his photograph would represent his message clearly, or would it be more convincing if it’s in black and white.  It may sound simple, but really, it’s pretty tricky.  But whichever one chooses, one must adhere to the very reason why he opted for such tone, as it is how he thinks is more appropriate for the image.  Or it is how he wants to be recognized.  Ultimately, it boils down to individual preferences.  Again, it’s all subjective.  

Overtime, it has become easier to identify if a photo should be in color or black and white, but still, it’s not that easy and it will take a while to train a pair of eyes in seeing both.  Seeing colors is not much of a problem as our world revolves with colors and that the planet is colorful by nature.  But it takes keen eyes to genuinely appreciate colors.  So learn to appreciate colors first.   Seeing in black and white, on the other hand, needs extensive training (unless your eyes are set to see black and white).  Train your eyes by learning to see contrast and shadows around you, as you know, contrast and shadows play very important roles for effective black and white photographs.  Another trick is to study other black and white photographs and understand how it should have been if it was in color, observe the lighting conditions around you, examine each element that you see and try to imagine how it would look if it’s black and white… and the list goes on and on. Do this until such time when you look at a scene, you’d know instantly it’s a black and white scene.  

But then again, it is your choice, it is your preference, it is your art, it is your idea; and most importantly, it is your story to tell and it is up to you on how you present the story to your viewers. It is all subjective.

SKY IS FALLING
The Metropolitan Chronicles 2011

Shooting the Streets with Pedring

After hearing the announcement that all offices have been suspended on Tuesday as TYPHOON PEDRING battered the Metro and the rest of Luzon, I didn’t have second thoughts.  Somehow my journalistic instinct kicked in instantly.  I have to see what’s going on outside and document it as much as I can.  If not anywhere on the real battlefield, at least I need to be somewhere in the streets.  So I hurriedly picked up my coat and ran down to EDSA and started taking pictures.  

The street was full of people, most of them commuters battling their way to work against Pedring’s strong wind, many are getting off and on the buses as quick as they could, some struggled to keep their umbrellas intact, while others ironically acted normal as if they were invincible.

While on the street, I noticed how some of the buses have interesting moist on their windows, and I know right away that somewhere later I’ll find someone that’s going to wipe off the moist and peek outside.  It took me several hours waiting, before I decided to go back to the apartment to upload some photos taken that morning.  In the afternoon, I went back to the streets and waited again for that scene I’ve envisioned.  Soon enough, few feet away, a bus stopped and I saw this girl peeking out the window, with moist just as big as her head has been wiped off. I ran as fast as I could and framed the shot, then started to take about three frames before the bus ran away. 

I have been saying how vision, patience, and instinct go together, and how they influence your photograph.  This is maybe just one of the many instances out there, so better work on those three as soon as you can. 

2011 © Larry Monserate Piojo

REMEMBERING THE WORST TROPICAL TYPHOON.

On the eve of September 25, 2009 heavy rain falls shrouded the entire metro. The following day, on September 26 (Saturday), unimaginable amount of rainfall was recorded, dumped more rains than Katrina and brought enormous flooding in different parts of Luzon. Ondoy (International name Ketsana), the worst tropical storm in Philippine history left almost 500 people dead, damaging about USD140 million in agriculture, and USD93 million in infrastructure.

Tropical Typhoon Ondoy brought damages beyond belief to the country, but it also brought inspiration and something that any Filipinos and even other countries can be proud of. It is when true Filipino heroes where reborn, true Filipino spirits are re-awakened. It was the time of friendship, of love, and of giving hope

Click image for more photos of the aftermath.

2009 © Larry Monserate Piojo
Marikina City, Philippines

Alfon The Guardian
Mt. Pulag, Philippines 

The Photographer, The Snap shooter, and The Collector

This has been going on my mind for quite a while, most especially if I see people almost anywhere with cameras hanging on their necks like a bunch of 800 gram neckties.  True enough, DSLR nowadays have become fashion accessories – not against the idea as I too take pleasure from the ever evolving fashion in this world.   But at some point it is a little bit upsetting especially if you consider yourself a true artist. 

Over a year ago, I wrote about my own perception regarding the importance of Stories over Gear; that I’d prefer having the simplest tool and able to tell stories that inspire others rather than having the best one in the world but produces crappy pictures.  It is more about storytelling and less about technicalities, that having the best camera does not make you create the best photographs.

People who shoot less and care less of what photography is all about, who rather enjoy more on the beauty of a camera and how it performs, are the people who consider themselves a Collector.  They collect from the oldest, to newest, and to the most unique models they could find.  Some chooses to collect photographs in print and have them displayed in their personal galleries, offices, or homes.  They don’t take photographs as much, and they brag of the most advanced gear they’ve just acquired, or the most vintage ones they won in an auction.  Collectors can be former photographers who find collecting stuff more pleasurable to them than taking photographs.  But, I know people who are very good at taking pictures who consider themselves true artists but at the same time die-hard collectors of different kinds of camera.  

Someone who goes out with a camera and click away crazily without considering what he includes in his frame and does not think about storytelling is a Snap shooter.  A common misconception for a lot of people who thought buying the best tool makes them the best, so they thought a simple click on a shutter button will give them amazing pictures instantly. Shooting rapidly at anywhere at all times eats too much space in your disk, you save hundreds and thousands of photos… useless photos.  That’s mediocrity.  Though surprisingly, most photographers have gone through with this stage one way or another.  Buying a new toy makes you excited, thus makes you go out and shoot just about anywhere aiming and clicking at anything your camera focuses on.  Eventually, you turn into a hobbyist who gives little bit of importance to a story in a photograph.  That’s why we see a lot photos taken in the streets with captions like “cruel world” or “hope for a child” because you associate your thoughts to a photograph in order to send out a message or tell a story.

To become a good photographer, in my opinion, is not about getting the most expensive and the most advanced gear.  Instead, you have to have a very good vision. You have to learn to visualize and incorporate this vision in your photograph to represent and create a very compelling story.  Be responsible and try to understand that whatever you put in your frame is a crucial part of the message you are sending.  If a writer is being careful in choosing a word to produce an interesting line, you as a photographer have to be careful of what you include and exclude in your frame for an interesting photograph.  Set aside gear, visualize, adapt, be responsible, and be a storyteller.  That makes you a Photographer.

Mt. Pulag
Kabayan, Benguet
Philippines

Children of Palansa Elementary School in Benguet receives crayons and pencils from the Black Pencil Project.  

The Black Pencil Project (BPP) drives to promote education to children in remote and indigenous communities in the country. It also aims to inspire individuals and groups to start a cause through the simplest ways, to make a big change for the society.

“We would like to think that the campaign is really all about inspiring people; to start their own cause no matter how small it is” —- Black Pencil Project

Learn more about the Black Pencil Project.

Thanks to BPP’s founding members Mon Corpuz , Zer Cabatuan , and @Edwin Karganilla for the opportunity to capture, witness and observe the Black Pencil Project in Bokod, Benguet last August 21, 2011. It is an honor to be a part of such great cause.

Fishing Cycle
The Metropolitan Chronicles 2010

Quest for Timeless Photographs

Few days ago, I’ve been reading about images being ‘timeless’.  Many regard timeless as being from such period when the photograph was taken, then made its way to this ‘changing world’.  I read somewhere that someone has commented on a photo wherein the place looked so much like those places from the history books, but the subject is wearing modern fashion which in turn made the him out of place, or maybe he would’ve been a good subject after all if he was in a much modern place.  Fact is, the world is relentlessly changing, everything change, and photographs witness and record this rapid change.  But you can’t go back to the past to capture timeless moment and yet everything around us is already a story to tell, a timeless masterpiece taking place.

So what exactly makes a photo timeless… it’s not the place nor the way the subjects are dressed, though true enough, the photograph becomes more interesting and appealing if the subject and the place are both in character.   But if you’re in a place where traditional costumes are no longer worn at all times —- such as the Philippines, then it doesn’t mean you cannot take timeless images anymore.  Timeless images are images with timeless stories told in it. And it is created the moment you intensely understand your subject, then passionately compose and capture the story in your frame; it doesn’t really matter which era you’re from.  It doesn’t even matter what clothes your subjects are wearing, and the place doesn’t matter at all.  Although I must add, it’s not you who can tell instantly that you just shot a timeless image.  It’s not you who can decide that your photograph is timeless.  It is those who’ve seen the image, absorbed the relevance of the story you’ve captured, and will remember it despite of the changing world, simply because it inspires them.  Then that’s timeless.