In Profile: Carlo Soliven (Part 2)

Part 2 - Behind the lens

I had the privilege and pleasure of having fellow photographer, Carlo Soliven, sit for me in a turning-tables sort of portrait session while he was home a few months back. You can view my post and the pictures from that shoot here.

This post is a feature of the beautiful pictures that Kaloy, as I fondly call him, makes with his camera.

As he is currently working in Singapore, let's start off with his classic shot of the iconic Merlion.

Carlo is currently making his way into fashion photography. He also utilizes an off-camera flash or two when he shoots, but is equally comfortable in natural light. Here are some of my  favorites from his more current fashion-inspired shoots.

I love how he integrates strong elements of composition into his portraits, especially the lines in both images above.

Being a strobist disciple himself, I also admire his restraint when using light. We seem to agree that drama is best created when one doesn't light everything in the frame, which he does superbly in the image above.

However, at the end of the day, when Kaloy would like to take a more deliberate pace. He goes back to shooting landscapes, which I believe he is equally good at. A zen-like exercise that I can definitely relate to.

The above shot is an HDR image of a bridge at the Punggol Promenade. To be honest, I'm not really a fan of HDR, but I definitely like the way he processes this image, still showing restraint without going overboard on all that dynamic range goodness.

Whether shooting landscapes or models, Carlo seems to have both skills in the bag.

*All pictures in this post are copyrighted to Carlo Soliven and used with his expressed written permission.

Land(e)scapist

I would like to think that I know enough about photography to make a decent portrait of a person. Well at the very least, I know which end of the camera should point at my subject. The past few years of my pursuit of the secrets of this craft have been directed towards making memorable pictures of people. However, I often have the opportunity to travel, during which I am presented with someplace new to put in front of my lens.

I am not a landscape guy. But, I do appreciate the world-melting-away moment that one experiences while carefully framing and making the shot of a still scene. There is a sense of fulfillment to be had when I see the shot I visualized minutes before appear on the camera's LCD screen. I won't pretend to know half of what a landscape photographer worth his salt knows, but I find that this therapeutic exercise actively engages my composition skills and forces me to think.

I have also come to realize that in many ways shooting landscapes isn't that much different from shooting people. Allow me to elaborate on that with a few examples.

Example no. 1 - Identify your subject's strong features and highlight them.

There was nothing interesting happening in both the sky and the water. However, I had this concrete pier creating a strong line leading into the horizon, so I chose to use it as the focal point of the image above.

Example no. 2 - Use light to flatter your subject.

Used to working with off-camera flash, I would readily take one out of the bag if I were shooting under the lighting conditions of the scene above. Having not quite yet reached the point where I can 'paint' a landscape with flash successfully, I opted to use a tripod instead. A slower shutter speed allowed me to scrounge for available light and bring out the colors and features of the landscape. I would like to think that save for the inside of a whale at the bottom of the ocean on a moonless night that there is always light to be found — one just has to know how to look for it.

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed shooting landscapes. It definitely helped that I rise early to catch daybreak and wait out sunsets until the sky turns black. However, I will always find my home in shooting pictures of people, but I don't see why I can't mix the two together and see what comes out.

In Profile: Carlo Soliven (Part 1)

Part 1 - In front of the lens

There is always a ton of some trepidation when one is asked to make a portrait of another photographer. It isn't just because one runs the risk of looking like a complete idiot in front of someone who could very well know what you're trying to achieve and realizes, before you do, that you're failing miserably. It's also because most photographers are a lot more comfortable behind the lens rather than in front of it. As such, there's a lot of fidgeting and wrangling before you finally get one to relax long enough just so you can shoot a picture of them blinking.

I had such a challenge an opportunity when I had my cousin, Carlo, sit for me. We started out with a standard head-shot-type image. Three lights in total --- one key, two rims --- with the subject on a black background.

You might think that Mr. Soliven doesn't smile all that much, but we actually went through a LOT of shots just to get to this one, since we were laughing most of the time. In fact, we were laughing so much that we actually had to shoot one in profile just so we wouldn't have to make eye contact, which always led to us chuckling in a second or two.

It was unexpectedly one of my favorites from the set. Plus, I actually managed to get a sharp enough picture as I actually stopped suppressing a laugh long enough to press the shutter.

I was pleased with the shots I got so far, but I also wanted to throw in a picture that told the viewer that he is looking at a photographer. I wanted to achieve this without bringing in the oft-used camera into the frame because that has been done by nearly every photographer who has ever shot a photographer. I decided to bring in a ring flash adapter into the picture to not just add an interesting element into the frame, but also to show that this is someone who shoots using off-camera flash.

Carlo actually bought and liked this idea and the resulting image. However, I thought that the ring flash adapter might compete for attention with the subject since it was the brightest element in the picture, so I decided to shoot one where I could exploit the aforementioned quality by using it as a framing device.

I rendered the resulting image in black and white, which in my opinion made it a lot more interesting. However, it doesn't really matter what I think looks interesting because at the end of the session it's all up to the subject to decide whether I made the whole awkward experience pay off.

I hope I did.

Note: 'Part 2 - Behind the lens' will feature Carlo's more recent work and will be posted soon.

Watching the World Go By

Adversity

Looking Back

Quite a number of people who both know me and my brother, Jonas, well often make observations about how different we are. In many ways, there is truth in their comments. As children, I would sit happily with very few friends (or even a book at times) while he would be off 'directing' most of the neighborhood kids as to what game they should play for that afternoon. My yaya, at some point, may have contemplated putting a bell around my neck just so she could tell if I was in her vicinity, while my brother's minder may have thought about plugging her ears with cotton. I was quite the young diplomat but ended up in a lot of fights with my brother because he somehow dragged me into the ones that he had already unintentionally started. Good times.

Now that we're both into our 30's, I have come to realize with each passing year how much alike we are. We both like to be among our closest friends, although their numbers may differ. We both speak up to make a point, although the volume of our words may vary. We both stand up for what we believe is right, although we've given up the use of our fists to do so.

My brother and I will always have our differences and similarities. But for me, what's important is the realization that we have shared such a wonderful relationship despite them.

Happy birthday, Jon.

Sasha — Bohemian at Busay

Carlo and I got to shoot Sasha again the last time he was home from Singapore. We initially planned for a hippie/Bohemian-themed shoot, but decided to deviate from that eventually to make use of what the location had to offer since it was quite a long way from the city. It was a warm and windy day, which did not only feel odd, but left us parched at the end. We were holding on to our lighting equipment the whole time because there was no picking it up from the foot of the mountain on the other side. All in all, it was a typical sojourn into a faraway place just to make pictures.

*You can view and comment on each picture in this set by viewing the album here.

Watching the World Go By

Getting Away. I know that the world is not bound by the divisions of my office cubicle, but the stress of the job can often make it seem that way. It often feels like places like these are too many miles away, but I have realized that they will remain that way unless I take the first step. And that the world is too beautiful and diverse a place to leave unexplored.

Speaking Up

What kind of pictures would you like to shoot?

Is the first question, I believe, that one should answer before embarking on the pursuit of photography. In fact, it should even come before deciding on what camera to get. Although I arrived at my answer to that question by trial (and a lot of ) error, I gather that I have found my place in the vast of sea of pictures that make up an ever-changing photographic tapestry.

I will reiterate that my passion and greater interest has always been shooting pictures of people, and telling their stories in the process. However, I have come to realize that if I am to sustain myself in the business of photography, then I have to exhibit some degree of versatility when it comes to the work that I can produce.

Allow me then to present a sample of how I shoot (and in most cases, light) the following subjects:

*Click on any of the images to view it larger in a light box.

Furniture

Food

Flowers

Fashion

But at end of the day, I find my home in making pictures of people where... well, allow me to quote a touching testimonial from one of my favorite subjects and best friend, Maricel —

"I can testify that you have a way of capturing images of people not in their 'usual self', but in 'what they are capable of'."

With that being said, allow me to present one of the ways by which I make pictures of

People

I am Joel. I am a photographer. 

What kind of pictures would you like me to shoot for you?

__________

If you're interested in commissioning my services, please refer to my contact details in the 'Contact/Bookings' tab under the site title above. 

The Daybreak Diaries (3)

Rebirthing Pains

Choosing a path that is altogether different from the one that you're already on is a daunting decision in itself, but I found out that it is unfortunately just the beginning. I had spent most of my energy swimming in circles in the choppy seas of an aimless life, and I now find myself struggling against the countercurrent of a past existence that I am trying to escape from. There are certainly times when I wonder whether I have the strength to see this course change through.

The path less traveled is full of doubt and nearly devoid of the very people who once populated my old life. I have also discovered that many of these persons have made the assumption that my identity is inextricably bound to the previous path that I was on. I was typecast into a role in their very own lives. And sadly for most of these people, their 'scripts' will not accept rewrites.

I played a number of roles for too long — the obedient son, the responsible brother, the dutiful nerd, the gracious doormat, the phenomenal failure, the eventual pariah — that the masks that I had swapped out for various acts had become glued to my face. Even I no longer knew who I really was before the curtains on this life went up. Prying all these masks off will be incredibly painful, and there will even be occasions where I will be tempted to put them back on.

The need for acceptance and belonging can be very compelling, but I must remind myself that I clawed myself back up from the darkest depths of my psyche and although I maybe gasping for breath, it is free air that is now sustaining my ragged soul.

If you share in similar trials, know that these can only make you stronger. And I truly believe that life will get better. Don't give up.

Watching the World Go By

The Other Side. I get so caught up on what I do not have that I become blind to what I do actually have. I become discontented, envious, and eventually unhappy. I realize that if I looked hard enough, somewhere the grass will always be greener. However, I have also come to see that verdancy cannot cover up for an unmistakable lack of character.