Why children photography is BETTER

Children are naturally photogenic. They look delightfully great in pictures without any effort.
What is so nice about photographing children is that they won't harass you to TAG them on Facebook. They will not text you in the middle of the night, bogging you to upload their photos. They do not take it against you when you do not get to inform them that their pictures are already in the world wide web. They don't command you to take a picture of them here and there; with this and that. At best? They won't tell you to take a photo of them "nga niwang sila". They do not have issues on their skin, pimples and shiny faces. They do not worry if you have taken the wrong angle or the right angle or their obtuse angle. They do not act like divas in the pictorials. They just compose themselves; unmindful, uncaring, oblivious of the lenses around them and just be their beautiful selves. The truth is, I often find myself trigger-happy clicking photos of children or of the quiet beach than that of an OA fatso who'd pressure your lens to do the impossible: MAKE HER THIN.

breaking all the rules

Mom is a photographer. At 58, signs of aging have caught up on her, but on photography, no signs of retiring at all. Though Dad worked as a public school Physics and Maths teacher, mom's livelihood on photography helped send us to school. She started photography in the summer of 1988. That was when I started to see pictures of me being Grade 3. I had no pictures when I was Grade 1 and Grade 2 because pictures were a luxury we could not afford. Dad taught her how to take pictures when an aunt in the  States sent us Minolta SLR. It was a great camera! The pictures that would come out look exactly how you took it! (Pangit man gud kaayo tong mga carema sa una nga plastic).

When mother thought she was ready to take on projects, she accepted a "birthday party deal". The cake was sliced, the birthday girl blew the candles on her cake, the lechon was skinned, the rice was already served, the party has ended, mom went home, tired from all the clicking she did --- only to find out that there was NO FILM loaded in the camera. She learned her lessons on basic photography in the hard way.

She must have taken that moment too seriously because from then on, she never ran out costumers. Children in our area practically grew up in front of her lens. From their baptism to communion to debuts to their weddings...until the dawn of the digital photography alighted on our doorstep. Mom struggled to understand the basics of DSLR. There are 2 DSLRs to her name with approximately 5 incredibly exciting lenses to choose from and she treats them like a point and shoot. The tragedy of old age. But with the DSLR-treated-as-point-and-shoot, she still gets to cover graduation ceremonies, school IDs, proms, yearbook photos, and the like -- nothing beats an old name, dude. Mom still rocks because, yes, she still friggin' earns more than I do in the arena of paid photography.

Now, me. I practically grew up reading camera manuals. I have been reading about aperture, speed and ISO at age 9. I could digest bits and pieces. I would have liked so much to apply them but Mom would not let me touch her camera, literally. She said I was too clumsy to ever hold our "bread and butter" safely.

We had no television until I was in high school, thus I found entertainment and refuge in books. All sorts of books that Dad would bring from the school library (I had to read them fast so I'd finish the darn book before he'd return them). The reading material which were readily available were camera manuals. They never had to be returned. They were all stacked in the cabinet where the cameras were sacredly stored. The manuals were the only things I could touch that are related to photography; I could not even touch her battery charger! Jeez.

I asked my mom to let me practice shooting. The film was expensive and so was the photo processing. So I was on dead end.

The time came when I could already buy my own camera; it wasn't just an ordinary time, it was the digital age. My very first camera was an OLYMPUS C Series. I LOVED IT (but it was stolen!!! thus I bought another camera which was exactly the same as the one which  got away hehehehe; di man lang ng level up!). The model was a simple point and shoot camera with a super-MACRO lens.

I took photos of EVERYTHING except of those what we call, HUMAN BEINGS. I hated the idea of taking a picture of you! LOL! I adhered to the strictest rules of photographic composition. I would not take a photo of which I won't get (according to my own poor understanding) perfectly. And since it was difficult for me to take perfect portraits, I avoided taking pictures of human beings like plague. I didn't like to spend so much memory on ordinary faces when there is the most beautiful, yet highly short-spanned, sunset; or the skies in its perfect orange and pink unison, or the flowers, oh God the flowers! They're just so beautiful...so why would I spend a megapixel from my 64 MB memory card on you??!! LOL!!!

That was then, when I started taking pictures and dreamed of becoming a paid photographer like mother. The pictures you see above were the first ones I have taken with my little humble Olympus which brags of its 64 MB memory card. It was during this time when taking pictures that defy the Rule of Third is an offense to me and to the others who believed in THE PHOTO CORRECTNESS. I could laugh at myself silly when I think of it. :) I would carefully note of the lines, the curves, the amount of light coming in, directional light, artificial light and light, light, light. I was so hard on myself that I get depressed; I can't even deliver my own standard.

Though I am still stuck with amateur photography and not knowing exactly where to bring me to which level, I have happily broken and bend some rules. Though I have not reached the kind of photographic perfection I dream for myself, I am happily clicking pictures here and there when the mood feels like it.

These were my first few attempts. I still do my attempts today. Everything is just an attempt, actually, because, everyday, I still have to learn, unlearn and relearn. But in my attempts now, though I know the rules, I don't mind breaking them every once in a while. :D

My past life: CEBUANA

When I first hit Cebu, I knew I was home. It was simply, MAGICAL; if you ever believe in magic, it was something equal to that. I love their strong Visayan accent. I love the balance Cebu gives between Manila and Cagayan de Oro. I love their really old, funny looking, clanging jeepneys. I love the way how they speak. I love their urban planning. I love their hotels and their resorts. I love their Shamrock, their Sinulog, their barbeques in Fuente. I just love Cebu.

A couple of years after studying (and partying) at Xavier (or in a nearby bistro), a close friend, Lenny Monzon, and I went to Cebu to find ourselves. After bumming off here in Cagayan de Oro, with its then slow paced life, we packed our bags and went to Cebu to fulfill our destiny. That destiny became hours of dreaming big dreams in Ayala, while sipping coffee and forking our pasta in Oh George. We met some boys, exchanged numbers with them until we could not tell one from the other. They drifted away a like lint off your sleeves. We splurged on shoes and bags and pizza and went home with an economy ticket from Trans-Asia; as jobless as we were when we left Cagayan. LOL!

Well, that was more than a decade ago. We are fine now or so I think we are, thank you. Lenny is doing well in the States and I am now teaching at a school run by the Jesuits and lay people.

It was ten years ago when I realized that I must have been Cebuana in my past life. I LOVED CEBU. I still do. I like the music of their heavily accented Visayan. A lot people (especially the Tagalogs) laugh at the uniqueness of the Visayan intonation. But for me, as my friend Noel Abragan would say, "Bisaya is music to my ears". And of course I have fallen in love with a Cebuano. Who could not? Who has not?

This love for Cebu traces back to my roots. Everyone special to me, my aunts, uncles and cousins, generally are from the Visayan Region: Bol-anons and Cebuanos, basically. When they come and visit us, their accent would definitely delineate from the softer Visayan version of the Kagay-anons. When I go visit Cebu, it feels like, all the people there are either my auntie, uncle or ig-agaw (cousin); puede mag-bless?!

Visiting Cebu feels like going home.

Oi! What do you know, I really ended up working in there for sometime. Would you guess, I became a tour guide in Cebu. LOL! That's how much I probably loved the place.

About over a year ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Cebu again for several times. So happy to have taken these wonderful pictures. I am sharing them to you. :)

This is a Thai Restaurant in SM. This is where the reception of my youngest sister's civil wedding was held. The center piece of each table is a real chili branch. You may just season your sauce with the "live" chili right in the center of the table. Hehe. No thank you for me.

SM- Sheraton. Has it opened yet? There are a hundred different stories why this hotel has not operated before. One said that it is haunted by the hired hands who died there. Some would say, the foundation is not that solid since it is standing on the reclaimed area. Some would say they honestly don't know. Heheh. Ano ba talaga, Kuya?!

This is a classic greeting you get as you arrive in Cebu. These Bajaos ask money to live on; for a living. They would pawn their tiny little children into coaxing you to throw coins to the sea. They would dive for your piso, with their infants in their arms. Yep! The babies are still alive when they come out of the water.

One of Cebu's newest babies: IMPERIAL PALACE RESORT. It's lovely there. I heard that Shangri - La sued this hotel for "copying" there concept. Well, true enough, the place looks a lot like Shangri-la.

Have you gone to the SUTUKIL area of Mactan Island? If you are on a tight budget. Don't go there. It is horrendously overpriced.  Well, if you have a budget that can feed a hundred of street kids, its perfectly fine. For the many times I went there, it was for free. Sponsored by a book company, by a Cebuano date, by the travel agency, I had no idea it was so unmercifully overpriced. The enlightenment came only when my college best friend, Lovely Dumlao, came home from the States for a vacation and took us to Cebu. She   asked me where the best place to eat while we would be frolicking Mactan Island. I suggested and insisted SUTUKIL; sugba-tula-kilaw. Kay chada man lagi gayud. So we all had our tummies filled. When the bill arrived, I collapsed! I was sooo nauwaw ni Lovely, I felt so embarrassed. I wanted to pay for the whole budget mishap but the poor teacher had only enough. LOL! I was pink to my toes, I just pretended to be tinkering with my camera and took the photos of the perfectly serene little boats right next to the restaurant.

 Shangri-Laaaaah!!! The first time I went to Shangri La was with my first ever text mate (as in!), her name is Heart, to meet her tita. Heart was one of the crowned beauty queens of Cebu. Yes, she's beautiful. She's tall. She has big beautiful eyes and all. Yeah, yeah. Guapa. But, however, apan, her Tita is The Miss Cherie Gil, when if seen in person, is a GODDESS in her own right. Heart suddenly became ordinary citizen. Just like me or you for that matter. LOL! End of story.

These pictures are not enough to encapsulate the awe I have for this old city. Though Cagayan is my home now (which I will be promoting in days to come), Cebu is still something I wish to visit as often I would like to. You should know by now, I am a Cebuana in my past life. You would always look for your "home".

(Murag iring! Hahhahahaha...)

Allan and Gen's Prenuptial Photos

My co-teacher at XUGS, Genevieve, whom I have also worked closely at the tutorial center I have put up last year, confided to me her "big plan". I was so excited for her/them that I humbly volunteered to do their prenup photos.  To my surprise, she giggled and welcomed the idea of me taking their pix.

It was only a lot later when the presssure dawned on me. Gen knows exactly what she wanted and how she wanted the pictures to come out. And I was like, oh my God, keri ko ba neh?! Anyway, that giggly moment of sharing wedding dreams felt like it was just yesterday; while dawdling and making reviewers for our tutees.

Well, what do you know. Last week, I finally found myself reaching for the perfect lens, double checking my batteries, locking my camera settings because Gen was already in front of my camera; enclosed by the warm embrace of her fiance, Allan, ready to tell the world of their unstoppable union.

Wish you the best, you two. :) See you April 14.