UP Baguio College of Arts and Communication Summer Arts Workshop

Starting this Monday, April 16, I’ll be teaching in UP Baguio for their Summer Arts Workshop. For more information, please visit this site: http://www.upb.edu.ph/cac/ or email me.

Students of Taloy Norte Elementary school show of the photos taken and donated by the Baguio Photographers Club.

Pretty much everyone has had their photograph taken by someone at least once in their lives. It may be from a family portrait, from their graduation, or wedding. With the growth of digital photography and the influx of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is almost absolute that everyone has their own portrait. Well… almost.

Sometime back in December of 2010, I was with travel photographer Noli Gabilo and we were looking for a certain church to shoot in Taloy Norte, Tuba, Benguet as part of a book that we were working on back then. According to the directions we got, it was located along Marcos Highway, just about half an hour from Baguio City. We, however, spent almost an hour going up-and-down Marcos Highway mainly because we couldn’t find where Taloy Norte was. Most of the places we saw were part of Taloy Sur, until we finally saw a sign that said Taloy Norte Elementary School.

That sign we saw was pointing towards a one-way, rough road path, and feeling quite desperate, we decided to follow that road. I’ve been traveling through Marcos Highway for almost three decades and this was the first time that I have noticed it. The road was narrow, rough and right at sa side of the mountain. After traveling about 20 minutes (but actually felt more like 2 hours), we eventually saw Taloy Norte Elementary School so we decided to stop and ask for directions for that church that we were looking for. Upon talking to the teachers, we were amazed at what we had just found out.

The school had only about 40 students at that time, with just four teachers and one principal, so classes had to be conducted as a combination of two grade levels. Plus, everyone had to walk to the school, with some students walking over 45 minutes from their homes. I’ve seen the road that they passed through, I know how far it is, but I could only imagine the difficulty of having to walk to school through that road, carrying notebooks and textbooks. What if it rains? What if I sprained my ankle? Despite the challenges, the students and teachers were still there for a single purpose: education.

I was really impressed with what I had just found out and it really left a mark in my heart. After shooting what I had to shoot, we left for Manila, and the 6 hour trip gave me ample time to think about things. I felt really compelled to do something to help that school. Someday, I thought… someday.

Months later, I became president of the Baguio Photographers Club and this gave me an opportunity to do something significant. I proposed to the board of trustees that the club should come up with an activity to give back to the community. I told them about Taloy Norte Elementary School and told them that we could give back using what we had – photography.

My vision to help this school finally came true when, back in March 12, volunteer members from the Baguio Photographers Club visited the school bringing school supplies, uniforms, clothes, a new bell and Philippine Flag. Plus, we setup a studio there where we would take pictures of the students, print them out and give it to them as keepsakes. It was a simple gesture on our part, being photographers, and the smile on the children’s faces was priceless.

One of the pictures received by the graduating class of Taloy Norte Elementary School. (Photo by Rich Martinez)

Taloy Norte Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Lucila Montes Abance, assists students as they hoist the newly donated Philippine flag.

BPC member, Rich Martinez, takes a photo of a student in their make shift studio.

Students, faculty and staff together with the volunteer members of the Baguio Photographers Club.

We decided that we wanted to do this regularly and hopefully reach out to more. The following write up is by Lino Tabangin, vice-chairman of BPC.

Project Aninag

Adj.  visible, transparent, translucent. Cebuano: reflection of light from smooth surface.

The eye of the photographer tells the story of each photograph.  It may tell stories that connote happy events like wedding celebrations, birthdays and baptisms. Photographs could also tell of beauty through nature landscapes and portraits of our love ones.  It could also tell stories of yesteryears, lives and yolk of our forefathers and the wars they fought.

Although photographs capture what are visible through the lens of the camera, lives that were captured has different reflections, reflections that shows the very textures of each thread, carefully woven in one’s life to make a difference.

Aninag, is the difference the photographer makes in his everyday interaction in the lives of people. Making the difference and adds the smile in the photograph that tells the big picture.

In this light, The Baguio Protographers Club recently launched Project Aninag .  It is testimony of the BPC member’s passion and enthusiasm in promoting goodwill and responsible social collaboration.

With the BPC member’s gears , resources and skills, Project Aninag came into being with its maiden activity done in Taloy Norte Elementary School in Tuba Benguet on March 21, 2012 where 45 students was photographed and was given their graduation and class photographs for posterity.

The project is also in this week’s issue of Cordillera Today.

This week's issue of Cordillera Today featuring Project Aninag.

Project Aninag will we a regular outreach program organized by the Baguio Photographers Club. If you are interested to contribute or help, please feel free to contact me by sending me an email at me@waffycasem.com.

Mark and Rowi

I don’t  shoot weddings nowadays, but could easily make an exception when two of my good friends are getting married. Mark is actually my shooting buddy and a really good friend since college, and his wife, Rowi was also our classmate in college and I was actually with Mark back when he was still courting her. Here are some photos I took during their prenup in Sagada and their postnup in San Fabian. More pictures of those places would be posted here soon.

The prenup in Sagada with Kiltepan and St. Mary's Church in the background.

Postnup in Najeska Beachfront Resort, San Fabian, Pangasinan.

Another postnup photo from San Fabian, Pangasinan.

Congratulations Mark and Rowi!

Panagbenga 2012 Photo Contest Poster

ylocos Photo Exhibit Poster

I’m inviting everyone to check out our on-going exhibit at the Baguio Palace Hotel. The following text is by Mr. Lino Tabangin:

Ylocos

“Thrift is not an affair of the pocket, but an affair of character. “ ~S.W. Straus

A region nestled in the northern part of the country bounded by the China Sea and the Cordillera Mountain Ranges have deprived the Ilocanos of valuable lands for agriculture. However, as characterized by rich culture and perseverance, Ilocos have spawned into one of the Philippines’ richer provinces. Rich cultural history may have been one of the Ilocos’ crowns of glory portraying the Old Spanish lifestyle and architecture. The Old churches of the Ilocos-the Philippines’ pride akin to the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Old Spanish Houses and the Ilocano Cuisine can really captivate anyone’s heart of awe and beauty.

In this photographic art gallery, the Baguio Photographers’ Club depicts Ilocos’ character through its beautiful historical sights, natural spectacles and rich culture that makes Ilocos unique and distinct.

Ylocos….an affair of Character.

A 30-second exposure of the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation is located in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, and is about an hour and a half away from Laoag. Our group travelled from Laoag via van then met up with a guide at Burgos’ town proper before heading to the rock formations.

I was really excited to see the place since I’ve only recently heard about it and only seen pictures of it online. I had no idea how it would look like in real life and what else to expect. I initially thought that we would just shoot there for a while then probably move to another place in Ilocos Norte to shoot again. Upon arriving, the weather wasn’t that great and the wind was really blowing hard, with the waves smashing on the rocks. It was awesome. I then knew that we were gonna shoot there all day.

You could already see the huge rock formation from a distance.

The site was so beautiful that I started shooting even before reaching the rock formation itself. The wind was really strong, so keeping my camera steady was a challenge. I had to remove my lens hood and camera strap to reduce the drag and hopefully prevent camera shake during long exposures. Most people go up the white rock immediately so we tried going to the back to see what else we could see.

The back side, for me, was even more awesome. Huge waves, water flowing on rocks, cloudy sky… I was all smiles.

That awesome view behind the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation.

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation in black and white.

Seconds before taking this next photo, I decided to take off my socks… I was wearing Columbia Drainmaker Shoes so it was okay for it to get wet and wearing socks with it was pretty pointless. Right after I pressed the shutter, a huge wave hit the rocks and my feet was instantly covered in water with my camera and lens just inches away from it. It scared the shit out of me but the photo turned out to be my favorite in our trip.

My memorable photo of Kapurpurawan.

That photo is also currently part of our Ilocos Exhibit at Mr. Ching Cuisine in Baguio Palace Hotel.

Panoramic view of BPC's Ilocos Exhibit in Mr. Ching Cuisine, Baguio Palace Hotel.

My Ilocos Exhibit entry.

Here’s our group hug at the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation:

Kapurpurawan Group Hug. We couldn't hear the shutter so we didn't know when to look.

Double exposure of stuff on our Christmas tree.

The holiday season is over and we’re all getting back to reality already. 2011 was great and I hope 2012 bring much more for all of us.

Fisheye portraits of The Edralins.

A few weeks ago, The Edralins helped us (Baguio Photographers Club) during our anniversary and halloween party by performing during our event. As a way of thanking them, I organized a shoot to add to their portfolio. I already shot them before so I wanted to do something totally different by using a fisheye lens. I thought that the effect of the lens could reflect the band’s extremely quirky personality.

This photo was shot with a Samyang 8mm f/3.5 lens and an SB-28 w/ soft box on my left. The lens was too wide for what I wanted to do so I had to shoot using live view with the camera right above them.

Fisheye band portrait.

This next one was shot with my camera right on the table, with a bare flash bounced at the wall behind me.

Huh?!?

Now a non-fisheye shot:

Non-fisheye shot.

These photos were also used in the December 11 lifestyle section of Cordillera Today:

Lifestyle section of Cordillera Today's December 11 edition.

Thank you, once again, to The Edralins for helping us out and for being awesome photo subjects!

You can view The Edralins’ Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/edralins

Read the CT article here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150457946788607

A screenshot of the NASA's Precipitation Measurement Missions website.

A few months ago, I was contacted by one of NASA’s employees asking permission to use one of my photos for their website and to help them in the study of precipitation and how it effects landslides. I did a google search of my name a few days ago (vain, I know) and finally found where they used it.

Here’s the original photo:

A photo of the Bokawkan Landslide as caused by Typhoon Pepeng (Parma).

Site link is here: http://pmm.nasa.gov/image-gallery/landslides-caused-typhoon-parma