THE  ART  OF  LIGHT

MANILA, APRIL 1, 2008 (STARweek) By Ida Anita Q. del Mundo - From the street corner videoke crowd to innovative fashion designers to world-class performers and artists, the Filipino has always been artistically-inclined. Celebrating these proudly Filipino talents is Bravo Filipino, a series of events held in various Ayala malls showcasing local talent. In honor of some of the best Filipino photographers, the exhibit, “9 Photog-raphers: Shared Moods” which opened last Wednesday at Greenbelt 3, features over 50 works of both new and experienced photographers in a display of color and light capturing mood and emotion.

Bravo Filipino was conceptualized to give tribute to Filipino art and artistry. It aims showcase to the world the talent of the Filipino. Bravo Filipino started with a concert on February 19 at the Greenbelt 5 garden. The concert, featuring acclaimed Filipinos in the field of music led by Ryan Cayabyab and Louie Ocampo, traced the development of Philippine music from traditional folk songs to iconic Pinoy hits such as Freddie Aguilar’s Anak.

Coupled with the concert was an exhibit on Philippine music with listening stations which was toured around the different Ayala malls, making it available and more accessible to the masses. The exhibit will also be mounted in malls in the provinces.

From music, Bravo Filipino branched out to other forms of art, with a fashion show exploring the evolution of Filipino fashion from native weaves to the fresh new works of the young designers of Greenbelt 5.

With the same idea of joining the veteran and the up-and-coming is 9 Photographers: Shared Moods. Jaime Zobel de Ayala, an avid photographer, made sure that photography was included in the Bravo Filipino celebration of Filipino art. The exhibit features nine photographers, handpicked by Zobel himself, putting side by side the work master photographers Quincy Castillo, Emil Davocol, Pancho Escaler, and Ernie Fajardo with the photos of emerging talents in Philippine photography Frankie Callaghan, Peachy Conception, Johann Espiritu, Gabby Lacuesta, and Kit Zobel.

The photographers’ different backgrounds bring depth and variety to their works. Kit Zobel, who considers herself a neophyte alongside the other artists in the exhibit says that while she had a digital SLR camera for a while, it was always on automatic mode. When not doing photography, she is busy helping raise funds for CENTEX or the Center for Excellence in Public Elementary Education, which provides free education which is at par with that of private schools for disadvantaged but deserving young students. She is also busy as a homemaker and mother to four children. In fact, she says, “I started photography to take better pictures of my family and my kids.”

Her first taste of fine art photography came when she attended classes at the Silver Lens Studio of Issa Lorenzo. “Now I see photos everywhere I look,” she says. Jaime Zobel, her father-in-law, is very supportive of her interest in their shared passion for photography. “I hope he likes it,” she says of her works included in the exhibit. Shared Moods is Kit’s first major exhibit.

Frankie Callaghan, on the other hand, has been interested in photography since he was 16 years old. His college studies in banking and finance, however, took him elsewhere. Never losing his interest in photography, Frankie recently left his career as an investment banker and financial analyst to become a full-time photographer. He has since become a recognized name in the field, with his works being featured in magazines and other publications. He now concentrates on fine art photography.

One of the more seasoned photographers in the group is Emil Davocol, a former president of the Camera Club of the Philippines. A photographer, illustrator, cartoonist, and graphic designer, he has received recognition here and abroad, including the distinction of taking Asia’s best photograph in 1976.

Emil, being in the field for over 30 years already, has had extensive training and experience in both film and digital photography. While he was one of the first in Manila to switch to digital, he still says without hesitation that he prefers film photography. “There is some factor in film that you cannot get in digital,” he says, adding that unlike in film, “in digital it is easy to alter the subject after shooting.”

Both Frankie and Kit say that they enjoy shooting with both film and digital cameras. “With digital, there is instant gratification. You can easily delete and reshoot,” says Kit, who confesses to being trigger-happy. “On the other hand, with film you make more of a conscious effort to compose the image you want.”

Frankie, who started out using film, agrees: “With film there is much more discipline, you get much more involved in the process, you put so much into it.”

Kit adds, “There is a magical quality to film.”

Each photographer also has different aesthetics. “My usual subjects are simple and natural,” says Emil who specializes in still life. He says he prefers positive subjects – “I don’t like to see negative things in my photographs.” He believes that photography is all about capturing the moment.

Kit says, “I take what appeals to me.” She adds, “I see life as images waiting to be captured – to freeze and immortalize a moment and allow it to exist beyond its time in the present; to revisit a story or mood in a photo over and over again, knowing that the story and mood can change depending on the viewer… to me that is the beauty of photography.”

“I take long walks or drive around and try to find nice spots that catch my eye,” Frankie says of his creative process. He says his shots are unposed, raw, and fresh.

Such are his shots featured in Shared Moods. Frankie remembers stopping in La Trinidad outside Baguio at 3a.m. and capturing the different colors of light from houses at the edge of a mountain. Specializing in night photography, Frankie says, “There is something about the night that draws me. I like how it is quiet, and how the dark can play with the way that space feels. It hides some things and reveals others.”

One of his rare daytime shots, Weeping Tree, is also featured in the exhibit. On the way to Sagada, he took a picture of the reflection of a tree in a puddle on the side of the road. He says he was intrigued by how the rain, mud, pavement, and motor oil gave the photograph interesting textures and dimensions.

The same attention to textures is portrayed in Kit’s photo, “Reverie.” Taken at her sister-in-law Sophia’s ballet studio, she says that the layering and blur gave the photo a dream-like quality.

Emil’s photo, on the other hand, illustrates capturing the perfect moment. Taken in Bulacan using black and white film, he recalls, “I saw the subjects walking home in the late afternoon and the sun was fading into sunset.” Taking the shot from afar, he remembers waiting in his car for the perfect moment when the subjects walked into the frame.

Alongside Emil, Frankie, and Kit are master photographers and former presidents of the Camera Club, Quincy Castillo and Ernie Fajardo and past director of the Camera Club and the Advertising Photographers of the Philippines, Pancho Escaler, together with some of the up-and-coming talents of photography today, Peachy Conception, Johann Espiritu, and Gabby Lacuesta.

On Shared Moods, Kit says, “Every image evokes a mood or emotion.”

Frankie adds, “The exhibit is our shared experience with the audience.”

9 Photographers: Shared Moods will be on exhibit at Greenbelt 3 until April 8 and at Greenbelt 5 from April 9 to 15.