Point and Shoot: The Photography Class Experience

I love taking photos but not learning its intricacies and all the more, the principles behind it. I knew only a little knowledge about photojournalism but had no idea with what they call plainly as Photography.

Until came Communication 63, a subject which appeared on my enrollment list during my last semester in college. All of my colleagues had some interests on the subject and here was I with not so much interest and not knowing any basics of it.

Our first output was to come up with a sunrise photo. Of course, the output implies a good start for us and I had the chance to take a beautiful Dumaguete sunrise along the Rizal Boulevard at 5 in the morning. 

Yet, I had the courage to learn new things on that final semester. I listened to the instructor, took notes, practiced frequently on how to do with the settings with a camera(digital/point and shoot) so that the image would appear good. 

Here is a series of Journals I wrote in the past (Photography Class Requirement): 

Journal# 1 in Photography  

Photography Class this semester is a chance to know what this medium is all about. The class started with a symbolic sunrise picture and with a new instructor, I expect that new ideas and new knowledge discoveries would come alive as the semester goes. I haven't really thought of photography but why not? Since this is also a part of the media that I will probably work on in the future or if not, I can use it for some occasions and whatever knowledge I may acquire on this field, I could probably share it with my peers and to people I may meet along the way.

Journal# 2 in Photography  

In the first lesson we have taken, I've realized that usually the first steps in taking photos are usually in the family and of course through school requirements. Photography is all about lights and if there is none, the image may seem not to be clear. A small amount of light can do a big difference in the case of photos. 

We also brainstormed about our own understanding about photography and I never hesitated to answer that for me, it is the art of taking pictures. I have also got from Sir Clee that when the image is flashed, different perspectives or points of view may arise from the audience as well as the meaning that is implied. 

Journal# 3 in Photography  

Sir Clee explained how the camera did evolve to its present form and that it came from the camera obscura, the crude form of a camera but it was first used by painters to view their subject but the image they would see was the reverse of the actual. 

Just before any work is to be done, we are told how to handle our cameras. Pointing the lens to the sun is a no no for it will destroy the lens and also the camera should not be exposed to humidity and to water. We were also taught how to shoot and the dos and donts of the shoot. 

Because most of us use digital cameras, we were also taught how to use it and how to shoot using the kind of camera and it just needs some good adjustments to have a better output. 

Journal# 4 in Photography 

I think an important and one of the best things I learned about photography is knowing what is white balance and how to adjust it in the camera. It really helped me in coming up with better photos in the given requirements by the instructor. 

I've learned how to adjust from fluorescent lighting to incandescent when in indoor and from sunny to cloudy in the outdoor shoots. 

Aside from it, I also learned about how to take a subject and who to have a good composition. The rule of thirds is always a favorite learning for me. It gives me a sense of knowing how to shoot in the manner a pro does through this principle. But the hard thing is application. I need to practice more to enhance the skill.

Journal# 5 in Photography

For me, one of the hardest lessons that we have taken up is coming up with the experimental exposure. 
I still have to search up on the net on how to adjust because I have the difficulty in adjusting the camera in the locations that I have to shoot in. 

The light conditions, the shutter speed and the aperture and how it is to be dealt with are my next to be learned principles in photography. 

 Journal# 6 in Photography

It is interesting to know that what is supposed to be an error made by capturing not sharp images can be controlled by adjusting the camera presets and made to be a diversion from the art of photography’s status quo.

Blur as it is called Bokeh can be manipulated by adjusting the ISO-Aperture-Speed of the camera.

On that meeting, the different kinds of lenses were discussed briefly namely; auto focus, wide angle, and prime which was a fixed lens. Along with the lenses, Aperture was also discussed. From then on, I understood what it is as the size of the opening the lens.

Since one of the next outputs will be decisive moment, the class was told of tips how to capture one. I learned that a photographer must keep his eyes open when events occur as it is and be ready to capture the desired output.

Journal# 7 in Photography

ISO-Aperture-Shutter Speed relation was further discussed in detail for us to know the importance of adjusting these components in order to achieve a good output.

I learned that when you want to capture a sharp photo, an adjustment should be made in the shutter speed, ISO and Aperture and it also depends on the light conditions. Whenever I get hold of a camera, I would try to adjust it based on the Exposure.

Journal# 8 in Photography

Since our course has a demand of journalism and not mere photography so we were taught of the principles of photojournalism as gives life to a news item in news item whether in print or in TV broadcast.  The photo should possess the same ingredients that of a news story. 

Photojournalism is a risky job for media people as they would be faced in the exact situation when a phenomenon occurs. I also did not notice if our instructor did not tell the class that weddings  today are shot in the photojournalism manner.

He also informed us of what are the beginnings of photojournalism and that there was this point in history of USA when only three photos of the “Great Depression” made a big impact to the world. I learned that a picture can tell it all as long as it has a story content, even without letters, it could convey a story for itself.

Journal# 9 in Photography

Black and white photography was discussed and from it, we saw pictures and affirmed our amazement to it but I was also threatened by it because of my love for colors. But it was really different to see photos in black and white.

Our instructor also discussed the Reduction Theory and from it, I took my technique of capturing what I would like as an output for the exhibit, that before shooting, a conceptualization should be made. And with the process is editing and I also learned for the first time how to edit a photo in Adobe. I was really not interested in photography but now, I found it essential because I am fond of keeping a memorabilia and one way to come up with one, is through photos.

Journal# 10 in Photography 

Black and white photography was discussed in a more thorough way and there were more insights shared by our instructor. The number one commandment towards the capturing of pictures is go for the crisp ones or the sharp ones so that I would be easier for the photo to be converted to black and white and the output would be desirable.

He also said that black and white would change the perspective of a photographer and the eye for detail would be needed. I was struck by the quote: “The devil is in the details.”

Journal# 11 in Photography 

Many photos in black and white were again shown and tips were given on the editing and coming up with the pictures for the exhibit but I did not have any topic yet at that time.  

He also discussed the truth in photography and that the world is vanishing and that documenting through photos is one way of preserving the past. From this concept, the topic comes from or should I say the central theme of our upcoming exhibit.

Journal# 12 in Photography

It was the day of our proposal and I had two preferences: the “mataderos” of the public market or the Dumaguete Catholic Life. I also had the passion for covering the religious side of the Dumaguete populace who still at present are true to their faith in God as they make it a routine to visit a church or light a candle in the belfry. The “matederos” also have a unique  life worthy to be captured and that they live to kill these animals for the people to have meat to be bought.

Journal# 13 in Photography 

The Photo Walk was one of the most unforgettable moments in my student life at Silliman and though I did bring just a point and shoot, I was still happy of the photos I captured and it was really Dumaguete.

The experience of an early morning photo walk was for me a worthwhile experience to be remembered. The walk itself and the places we have covered were also significant and the people who have witnessed the endeavor kept on asking us what we were doing and they were glad to hear that it was a class requirement and smiles also were painted into their faces.

Journal# 14 in Photography 

I was one of the last people to pass the photos for the exhibit and I really tried my best to come up with photos with photos around the theme religious/catholic life of Dumaguete.

I woke up at three in the morning of Wednesday, August 18, 2010 to shoot the events at the Cathedral Church everyday and I was the first one there to arrive just in time for the opening of the church. I prayed that I will be guided to capture some moments of people’s religiosity evident in it. I moved form the church to the belfry and vice versa until seven in the morning. After the camera went out of battery power, I went home.

The next day, our instructor approved three of my photos which incidentally were intertwined in the theme I just proposed. Maybe it was just luck or maybe  God’s providence to come up with a picture of a praying pregnant mother, little boy touching Virgin Mary’s image and an old man praying in front of the Sto. Niño. It was a representation of  a family of faith and that is Dumaguete.

I immediately post-processed my photos with the help of some classmates on one photo and I then passed it to our instructor. I then brought the photos for data storage at OK Photo Supply and test printed it.

Journal# 15 in Photography

The preparation for the exhibit at Hotel Palwa  was one of the very happy moments in photography class. The joke was on Ms. Maputi who called our instructor, Mr. Clee Tan instead of his family name, Villasor. We were there to mount our photos in the illustration boards.

At midnight, it was Kring’s birthday and I was singing the weirdest birthday song the world has ever heard and that was in the tune of an old Marian song Immaculate Mother. (Sorry for the blasphemous act). But nonetheless it made the night for us as the people around me were almost dead to pressures of the upcoming event and their laughter was at least a remedy to ease their burdens of the mind and body.

Journal# 16 in Photography 

It was one of the simplest openings I witnessed and yet it took the attention of the people of the library.

The ceremony itself was quick and I was just amazed that I was part of the exhibit though I admit,

my pictures are not so good but at least I tried my best out of it.

Dean Genove was there in full support and her speech was again a voacbulary check exam. It really made my nose bleed at times. JOke! I just admire her feature writing prowess.

The Cafeteria snacks made my day because they were so irresponsible in turning over the snacks for the event and I was really pissed

off and out of my hungry stomache, I gumbled in anger to the chicken heads. GRR! I went home ahead.

The Photo Walk and the Photo Exhibit at Robinson's Place (Dumaguete)

 Pose with classmates, Czarina Lea Morado and Sun Mei Lee at Robinson's Place Dumaguete during the Exhibit Opening. 

These were my exhibit photos reflecting the religious life of the people who live in Dumaguete: from the mother's womb, to childhood then to their adult years. My photos main title was "The Transcendent Faith" 

The next photos I will be featuring are part of my final output for the semester. It was a magazine of my printed photos. 

Its concept came from a photographer friend. I wanted to create memories of my school, Silliman and Dumaguete before I leave its abodes. 

Just Like the Old Days: Reggae, Rest and Recreation

A day after my first graduation anniversary, I was reminded that life is not always about the millions of how to dos and sticking to the rules which could lead us to what we all want to head on: SUCCESS.

After all, at the end of the day, we should realize that we are humans, not robots. We need some time to rest, unwind and break free.

For many people, going on hangouts is like a way to get out of our own messy, problem-filled and stressful lives. For me, it’s like a way of giving yourself a break from the realities of life.

Since my college days, I learned to hang-out with friends and confidants and even drink some liquor or alcoholic beverages (sshhh.. I first drank when I was in kindergarten with my aunt...). I usually schedule drinking sessions on Fridays when school was over and just before I would go home to my hometown on a Saturday.

Reggae   

One thing I would not forget about those old Fridays of my life was the music – Reggae. “Payag sa Likod,” a local bar in Dumaguete would hold its weekly Reggae Friday with Standout Reggae Band, one of my favorite bands along with choir-mate and vocalist, Kuya Awing of the infamous Enchi Band of Dumaguete.

All of those Fridays were so different from each one but one thing was common: the Reggae music which I really loved. Love? Yes, the perfect term is love or maybe addiction. Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” “Red Red, Wine,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “Buffalo Soldier” and “Waiting in Vain” failed not to amuse me and get me into dancing when I heard such tunes. OPM’s “Maling Akala” and “Binibini”  were always my personal picks. All the more, I will be enticed to hear of more Reggae music when I would hear the band play “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Caribbean Blue,” and more of Enchi’s originals like “Baboy” and “Istambay.”

Reggae music would give me some relaxing feel and it has kept me reminded of how life should be lived. Though I really have not mastered the lyrics of these songs, such songs still have a place in my heart.

Rest

After a very stressful week, humans deserve to grab some rest. Not at all times, sleep could be ideal because in some cases, we need more of a relaxing process and somewhat like releases for us to be called stress free.  

Pertaining to this, I would choose to stay with people, talk and laugh with other them. This also helps us break free from our serious life.

Recreation 

Drinking became like an ideal way for me to spend some free time. I consider this a recreational activity because I am also engaging myself into somewhat like socialization exercises with a mix of people with different insights and from a rainbow of backgrounds.

Drinking sessions would probably be inevitable for young men who are growing up and it’s like part of the process. It’s not about who is the strongest and who is slow to be intoxicated but it’s about the conversations, the bond and most of all, the friendship which grows 

within the group of persons who share the glass together.

Let’s toast to that! Kampay!

Wine, music and friendship go together. Like the old days, when I was still in Dumaguete, I used to have the kind of life which I mentioned earlier.

Here in Davao, nothing has changed but not like the daily and weekly drinking sessions, I now get some drinks just twice or thrice a month for some work reasons.

I've got some new favorite Reggae songs from a local band here in Davao. Hope to mention and talk about those in my next posts.

Thanks to a new mix of friends who live nearby. I've found new confidants in this new place I can already call: a home away from home. 

A Year has Passed

Ben S. Malayang III, president of Silliman University, as he handed over the proof
of my college achievement. Now a Bachelor of Mass Communication graduate. 

           It's been a year since my graduation day. I could say that it was one of the happiest days in my life and I have dedicated that day to the people who made me strong through the years: my family, my relatives, friends and church mates.

   
   Receiving my diploma on that very memorable day of March 20, 2011 was for me the moment when I felt the world stopped. As I took the steps to receive my diploma, it was the time when I believed that school was over and that I am already a graduate. 

      

The moment I stepped on the huge stage inside the Silliman University Gymnasium was the time when I finally believed I have graduated in college. Events which happened before my graduation was a total opposite of the outcome. I had my full trust in my God, the ever-near friend of mine through all these years, that He will make a way when circumstances seemed hard to cope with.  

     On this blog site, I opted to post the articles I wrote before and after my graduation. This would give you an idea of how I lived and loved my college days.


   Let me end this post by this paragraph I posted in my Facebook Account last year during my graduation day, March 20, 2011: "‎A million thanks to God for this day! After the great wave of hurdles in attaining a college degree,I still can't believe I've come face to face with this graduation.I would only believe until this afternoon,when I would go up on stage and receive my diploma..."

Countless Dreams, Unending Disappointments, Abundant Graces

        I've heard certain folks say that life is like simple Mathematics and I immediately lingered on my mind a few thoughts. Life is has its additions, when we gain something but still then, there comes the subtractions, our disappointments and the materials that we should let go along the way. Those are just some of the realizations among many that I have thought of. Life is a vice-versa of additions and subtractions.

     

      I had countless dreams, plans, of what should I do in my own simple life. I'd plan for this and that, and that I would go here and there and I would do everything I could think up in my mind. I may have fulfilled dreams that I have thought but still, I felt so sad for the dreams that I haven't had. I would be thinking of those dreams from time to time, and repeatedly feel blue that I was not able to fulfill it.

     

        Yet, I hold on to the faith and trust that I have in my Master, my God and King who sees me down here, who knows me and who created me. I may have plans for my own but He is my Creator and I have accepted with my whole heart that all that comes in my life is all of His working and part of His master plan and that His thoughts are greater than my own.  God sees everything beyond the wall that I may be facing and beyond my wildest thoughts is His great plan.

                                                                                              

        Though my dreams crumbled into pieces, and I felt disappointed at times, I still believe that God knows what is best for me and He promised to give me what I need for He is the Great Provider. I look forward to that day that like on the night when Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane I could fully say: "Let not my will be done but Yours."

Goodbyes

   If there is one thing I hate most in the world is the word goodbye. Saying goodbye is hard to do but as my life progresses and as I aim to look for greater things in life, I had to do such a painful act of letting go the comforts of my home and the company of the people who I can call my friends. 

  

  Goodbyes always bring tears to my eyes. I maybe the person who would easily laugh but I also cry in an instant, speaking of the dreaded goodbyes.

  

  Many would wonder why I have decided to leave my comfort zone but someday, they will soon understand why I have come to decide as such but for now, I have to say goodbye.

                

    Goodbye to the people who through the years have made me strong and made me who I am today, the young people who I have made a difference to as I shared my gifts of talent, to the children who considered me their inspiration as they grow up, to the people whom I touched their lives and to those I may have shared a thought or two. 


   Whether in the community I had served, in the church where I almost spent most of my life, in school where I learned the basics of life and its intricacies, and in my own home where I first received true education in the mind, the heart and the soul, I’d forever be thankful for those people I met in this remarkable places and rest assured that what I’ve learned, I’ll use it for me to survive the new hurdles in life in a new place to fit and in a new stature, and I’d be heading on to carry the challenges of professional life. 

        

     I'll soon be back and but as of the present, I would  start my life anew!

A Tribute to all my Friends

     Looking back at those sleepless nights not in burning the midnight candles but those nights turned day with the intoxicating dose of our sweet companion called liquor of any kind, I couldn't see any regret or a feeling of bitterness. 

         Instead, I would definitely remember the endless laughter over a joke or a funny thing that just popped out in the scene. Friends is what  I can call you but more than the friendship is the trust and the feeling of closeness though, time cannot be a measurement for the bond that has been made between us all.

          It's as if the world has made us to know each other and as we enjoy the company, life cannot seem to be unbearable. This may answer what is the purpose of having friends who are, true enough to be with you through thick and thin. It's a great thing to know that in this crazy and chaotic world, we have found peace in each other. I may be the luckiest person on earth if I have the greatest fortune and if I can avail of all the luxuries but if I found no true friend, I may be considered as the poorest of the poor, worst than those in the slum. 

 In my short journey called life, I am thankful for almost in every chapter that opens and closes, friends who I can consider true enough come and yet not go but as we say, though we are friends, we have our separate lives so we need to live our own personal life. One after the other, you may come and yet as time passes me by, I realize, if friends were treasures I had acquired, I could be one of the richest.

           But as a new chapter in my life opens, and as I face the great hurdles of professional life hopefully in a new environment and a new habitat to fit in, I hope to meet new friends like you who were true enough to stay with me and not forsake me no matter what happens.

         With that, all my friends, I thank you! I could have not made it this far without your encouragement and infectious laughter that always ring in my ear whenever I am alone and sad.

                                  Thank you!

Close to the Finish Line

       I can almost see that finish line towards this college life but like runners, I now feel exhausted and slow to giving up.

     As the days progress, I tend to get a lee-way out of this sad and melancholy mood. What would come after this? I still am not sure if I could get to grab that finish line. So sad but true! A sad truth at the back of my smiles and laughter.

   The happy-go-lucky personality is the direct opposite of what really is on the inside.

    It's a coping mechanism that in my whole life I have never been tired of using for me to go on amidst the numerous waves of tribulation that came one after the other. But one thing is certain, I have learned the lessons that would apply to different kinds of circumstances.

     Despite the dissapointments brought about by the trials, I have become open to a rainbow of perspectives.

     Then, all of a sudden, I fainted and found myself on the ground, helpless but as I grasped a breath and more, and when I looked up,  I saw the line with a mark: finish and all that surround became a black wall. I see nothing as if I am blind.