DPP 0811, Day 29 – Megs

Beneath that handsome exterior lies a quiet confidence, which allows Megs to both blend into a crowd and stand out at the same time.

In this shot, I didn’t want to downplay his looks, but also didn’t want it to be the only quality of his that I wanted to feature. I wanted to evoke his contemplative side, but also wanted to hint at the playful nature beneath it. The strong lines in the chosen setting were used to elicit a sense of masculinity because I wanted the ‘handsome meter’ to point towards rugged and as far away from K-pop-boy-band pretty as possible.

A simple one-light portrait, which is currently my favorite from the ones that I’ve shot for this project so far.

DPP 0811, Day 28 – Khristian

In the Philippines, the macho culture is still very much prevalent (thanks in part to beer and liquor commercials). ‘Real’ men do not cry, dance, or know that mauve is actually a shade of purple (and not the same color). I have been in earshot of too many machismo-fueled conversations between male students walking the halls of the university to know that things will not change soon. But, I have faith that the future will be different.

I dream that one day men can both be strong and vulnerable, powerful and graceful, and decisive and intuitive. And from what I know of Khristian, there’s hope for men yet.

DPP 0811, Day 27 – Mjane

Lately, I’ve been debating with myself over whether to stay true to a working style that I had developed or to trade it in for other trendier alternatives. It took me a while to end the debate (it was with myself after all), but at its conclusion I decided to continue to abide by the process that I had nurtured over the years —

At it’s very core, a portrait should primarily be about its subject. The location, composition and lighting come in second.

I hope that it will not only earn me some form of commercial success (enough to quit my day job), but that it will allow me to draw inspiration and fulfillment from it for the years to come.

DPP 0811, Day 26 – Chat

I try not to put too much stock in first impressions. I only got to know some of the most fascinating people in my life upon closer inspection. Being introverted, I could’ve easily shied away from a tornado of vivacity like Chat. And yet working with her on a number of occasions has allowed me to see other facets of her person; I especially admire the grace with which she handles her duties. Where it takes perseverance to make it through a long (and bad) day at work, it requires a rare optimism to make it to the end of the day with a smile on one’s face.

DPP 0811, Day 25 – Leif

In my experience in shooting people, no matter how practiced or (on the other end of the spectrum) unskilled the subject is at posing in front of the camera, at some point they’ll ask you the question —

What do you want me to do?

In Leif’s case, he was assisting me while I shot Aying (in the previous post), so the answer ‘Light yourself!’ was not only as good as any, but quite apt for that particular moment in time.

DPP 0811, Day 24 – Aying

Aying to me initially was the young lady with the infectious grin. I rarely see a picture of her not up to her goofball antics. And yet during the exhibit, I saw a different side to her when Ms. Ising put her on crowd control — mostly adamant (Not on the list? Walk through!) and towards the end a bit subdued (sitting quietly in contemplation).

Where it is true that I may not know Aying as well as her family and friends do, I do have a ‘gift’ for catching glimpses of sides of people that they often conceal from the rest of the world. She could’ve been just tired from a day of directing traffic ushering people, but I am quite glad to have made a picture of her that showed her quiet side nonetheless.

DPP 0811, Day 23 – Bronwyn

Bronwyn, a name of Welsh origin, is uncommon in these parts of the world. It is as if her parents already had an inkling that she was going to be exceptional the moment they gave her that name. And true to form, ‘wyn does not disappoint. I have had the pleasure of hearing her sing and also speak in front of a crowd, and I must say that she does both with an equal measure of confidence. On top of that, she has also taken an interest in photography and has quite the eye.

I suppose our names do play substantial roles in identifying us in more ways than we’d like to think. Hmm, I wonder how I would’ve turned out if my parents named me Conan. :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 22 – Renee

Renee. I’ve always had an affinity for that name. It’s also why I have this nagging notion that Renée (Zelwegger) doesn’t look like a Renee. For a name that bears its origins from water lilies (Japanese) and rebirth (Latin), she doesn’t seem to do justice to any of the two.

But, I digress.

I had noticed that Renee, who was quite the effervescent hostess at the start of the day’s exhibits, looked a bit glum. And so, I asked if I could make a picture of her in the hope of raising her flagging spirits. She said yes and was all smiles in front of my camera even before I could finish my question. It’s a powerful and wonderful thing this asking people for pictures.

I should definitely do it more often.

DPP 0811, Day 21 – Venz

To start, let me commend Venz for being the only one with the confidence and daring to actually tell me that he was ready for his shot when he saw me in the hallway with my camera. I was actually waiting for someone to take me on my offer, which I had posted online a few days before, to volunteer themselves for a portrait. If it is any indication, I am sure that this level of kabonggahan fearlessness will get him far.

DPP 0811, Day 20 – Dale

I use a number of color filters (also called gels) in lighting portraits. I mainly use CTO’s for warming the skin tones or to match the color of the late afternoon sun. From time to time, I also use other filters (such as a Tough Plus Green) to color balance with existing ambient or simply to add colored light to a shot.

Having prepared and worked with various colored solutions in the lab, I’ve always wondered about their use as filters. They’re not as handy as their solid counterparts, but one can actually modify their concentration to alter the wavelength and the intensity of the light transmitted. I got my chance when a couple of third years were preparing fluorescein dye for their exhibit on forensics.

I already had the shot pre-visualized. However, it took a number of tries and tweaks before I got the effect I wanted from the solution. Looking at it now, I think of the other things I could’ve improved, but I believe that’s why one must keep shooting and learn from pictures past.

DPP 0811, Day 19 – Dyonne

Often in the making of a picture, I have to decide whether to apply a bit of hyper-realism or to stay as faithful as possible to the subject as possible. However, even faithful is a highly subjective term when it comes to photography. An image, for me, is always an amalgam of reality and the photographer’s interpretation of the subject. Not everyone may agree with me, but the picture above is how I will remember Dyonne.

DPP 0811, Day 18 – Daisy

On my way to shooting Jiji, I happened upon Daisy in her practicum uniform. She’s been teased about it by a number of people in the department because it’s quite a departure from what she normally wears on a washday.

I was going to ask her if she had time for a quick portrait, but thought twice because I didn’t want to oblige her to stay beyond her work hours given that it was already starting to rain. But, as luck would have it, she showed up at the lab where I was shooting Jiji when I was about to wrap up. I asked her on the spot and she agreed to spend a few minutes of her time, which was all I needed since my lights were already set up and I just needed to reconfigure them for the shot I had in mind.

I just hope that this picture means that people won’t be giving her grief about her uniform anymore.

DPP 0811, Day 17 – Jiji

When I make a portrait of someone, I always remind myself that wherever it may be shot and however I may decide to light it, in the end, it should first tell a story about the person in the picture. I asked to photograph Jiji on a rainy Friday and she readily obliged. Since I had about an hour to prep, I got right down to the task of working out the details.

I wanted the shot to be simple, so I went for an uncluttered background. I wanted to focus on her fascinating eyes, so I had a gridded kicker light accentuate that part of her face. But, I didn’t just want a shot of her eyes, so I brought in another light to create fill. I ended up using three hot shoes flashes to get the shot above, but was happy to have gotten the look that I wanted.

When I showed Jiji the picture from the back of the camera, she said one thing that made my day — Imba. :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 16 – Nestor

Nestor expressed hesitation over having me shoot him for this project because he had such short hair (he used to sport it longer before classes started), but I told him that one of the very reasons why I asked him to be my subject was because of how his hair was cut. He eventually agreed, but asked to be shot last (and volunteered to assist me with all the pictures that day except his) when there were only a few people left.

For his portrait, I wanted to reveal his introspective side because I believe people rarely see that because he is often so child-like. I’ve seen him grow since his first year in the program and I must say that he has become so much mature over the course of his studies.

Nestor, mature?

Yes, because being mature doesn’t necessarily require one to be serious at the same time. I hope Nestor does not lose this quality as he goes through life. The ability to laugh at one’s mistakes is usually one of the first casualties of ‘adulthood’.

DPP 0811, Day 15 – Claurice

If you’ve been to the Talamban Campus of USC, you’ve most certainly walked by the Arnoldus Science Building. The structure is nestled at the base of a small hill, which is home to a number of trees.

I dragged convinced Claire (as Claurice is fondly called) to get her photo taken in front of one of the largest trees on that hill. Light was fading fast, so I was struggling to find a balance with available light. I was about to move her to another location when the floodlights (the light behind the tree on the grass) came on, which allowed me to frame and make the picture above. Just in the nick of time too because I didn’t want the subject to think that I made her walk all the way up there for nothing.

I never did agree with the administration cutting off the tops and sides of the trees just so that these lights can ‘beautifully’ illuminate the building at night (when nearly everyone has gone home). At least now, I can say, that although the cost of installing and operating them isn’t justified they’re good for use as kicker lights.

DPP 0811, Day 14 – Rachel

I have had the wonderful opportunity of working with Rachel before. She can somehow translate my often cryptic instructions into far better poses than I could have ever imagined. And having just told you this, you might be wondering why I went for what appears to be a portrait done in a studio. I did have other great shots of her in an outdoor setting, but none of them had a greater story than the one above.

I’ve shot in a cramped space before, but this picture was made using a space in the ChemSA lounge that was probably a little smaller than my cell cubicle in the department. But, that’s only half of what makes the story behind this picture significant. On top of the claustrophobia-inducing workspace, everything was handheld — from the beauty dish (key light) on upper camera right, to the gridded flash (hair light) on upper camera left (behind the subject), and finally to the black side of a circular reflector that served as the background.

Why did I have to make the shot in the manner described above?

Well, I had four great people willing to go on a limb and help me see one of my crazy ideas through. Thanks to Rachel, Nestor, Joy and Queenie.

DPP 0811, Day 13 – Nikki

There is a confidence in the way that Nikki poses that could only have been gained from years of performing in front of people. If I must borrow an adjective to describe it, I would have to pick the word fierce. Thank you, Ate Tyra. ;-)#

I have seen her dance a number of times, and she does so with much strength and grace. This further supports my assertion that dancers make excellent subjects. They know exactly how to position their limbs and consequently the shape their bodies will make with each motion.

And this got me thinking that the next project I work on should be of various people in motion. Dynamic portraits, so to speak. If I decide to push through with it, Nikki is already on the list of people I plan to shoot.

DPP 0811, Day 12 – Chen

Chen is in her first year of the B.S. Chemistry program. She is also her year level’s representative to ChemSA. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot her before. From the brief time that I’ve known this young woman, I can say that she is quite photo-ready. What I mean by this is that she is quite aware of where her good angles are and that she already has a number of poses in her repertoire, whether she’s standing or sitting or whether it’s a full body or a head and shoulders shot. I was quite lucky to have her indulge my request for a photo for my project.

Thanks, Chen, sa uulitin. :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 11 – Karren

Karren is one of our working scholars. She was unfortunate enough to be on duty yesterday while I was making preparations for the ChemSA shoot. I approached her and asked if I could make a picture of her, and she hesitantly agreed. I could tell that she was quite uncomfortable for a good part of the shoot. I did my very best to put her at ease, but I guess my people skills aren’t at the silver-tongue level yet. I had to shoot quite a number of frames before I made the picture above. I’m certain that it isn’t her best side; but I am hopeful that I will get another chance at shooting her, and maybe then she will be more comfortable in front of the lens.

Thank you, Karren, for your time.

DPP 0811, Day 10 – (My) Susan

There are some people who try to please you as a poor excuse for loving you. If we are surrounded by nothing but this sort of people, then our view of reality becomes skewed. We either become self-righteous or self-entitled, neither of which is a good character trait to have. As my younger brother would say, you’d start smelling punch-y because a whole lot of people would want to punch you in the face.

But, I digress.

There are, however, a select few who do accept us for all our frailties, but slowly shove nudge us to better ourselves. It’s not that they want us to turn our bad into good as many of us initially suspect. But, rather it is to grow the good in us such that there comes a point where it will actually blanket and bury the bad. Susan is one of these extraordinarily pushy people in my life. Growth is never an easy process, but I am truly happy to be truly loved.