Love For Photography

It was year 2009 when I first had my digital SLR. Ang saya saya ko noon. Kasi nabili ko yung gusto kong Nikon D3000 na camera galing sa pinaghirapan kong pera. Isa yun sa mga binalak kong bilhin at nabili ko nga siya. Kasagsagan pa noon nang DSLR sa Pilipinas. Parang naging fad yung magkaroon nang malaking camera at i-phase out ang mga compact digital camera.

At that time, gusto ko kasi matuto nang photography. Gusto ko mag-aral nang photography. Gusto kong maging magaling sa photography. I was really that interested about photography for some reason. Naa-amaze ako. And normally, when I want something, I work hard to achieve it. I really push myself.

But due to many unexpected circumstances, sa lahat nang mga gusto ko na yun, ang natupad lang eh magkaroon nang camera for photography. LOL. Di na natuloy ang balak kong pag-aaral. Pero, sinubukan ko pa din matuto on my own. Self study. Experiment and explore. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, I will learn on my own. I want to challenge myself if I have a given talent on photography by not looking at any website or learning from any expert. Test lang. Kasi pag wala, I'll stop. Pero feeling ko that time, parang meron. And so I tried.

Luckily at that time, I had a team who's willing to be part of my initial test shots. Part of that one month's engagement activity that my R&R Team launched was a photo shoot that's done every week. We divided the team into four groups, one will have a representative model on the week's theme competing for a prize. The Rewards & Recreation Team at that time was formed by the Cheequitas (Ash, Hazel & Drey) and called the contest as "Make Me The Next Fashionista". You can check out our very amateurish and fun activity at youtube (click this LINK).

First week's theme was Zodiac Signs. The first week became a learning experience for the R&R Team kasi gumamit lang kami kung ano makita namin for props. Lumang kumot, basurahan, cartolinas, tapos wala din namang professional make-up artists sa team so talagang pure na engagement and recreation activity lang namin. Katuwaan lang na game lahat. Kaya the following weeks, nag-iimprove siya unti unti. Second week's theme was Season, Elements for the third week, and Movie-inspired theme for the last week. And still, I was experimenting on my shots.

What's funny was, meron akong ahente na di nagme-make up pero napapayag namin. Meron din akong 50 years old na, pero napapayag namin. Meron din akong di game sa mga ganung kaartehan at pagbihis-bihis, pero napapayag namin. Meron din akong straight guys, napapayag din namin. Meron din akong sobrang mahiyain at di mahilig sa pictures, napapayag namin. Meron namang mga game na game. Meron pa ngang nagpa-parlor as preparation for the shoot. Ganun kasaya ang team ko sa mga ganun. Kaya ayun, opportunity for me to test if I have some skills in photography.

That's where it all started. I decided to continue learning the craft. I know that it will take time, will take a lot of test shots, to be good with it. Hanggang sa unti unti na akong natututo. Kakapanood ko nang America's Next Top Model, observe observe lang. Pero hindi pa din ako nage-explore sa  internet. Hindi pa din ako bumibisita sa mga photography sites. Kasi alam ko naman sa sarili kong hindi ko ito magiging profession. Hobby lang talaga that somehow I got passionate about. At ayoko ding sabihing may ginayahan ako. Gusto ko, magkaroon man, alam ko sa sarili ko na hindi.

DISCLAIMER: I never claimed I'm good at it. Natuwa at na-enjoy ko lang siya kaya nagtuloy-tuloy na ang interest ko sa photography. Up to now, I'm still not a professional photographer and still not claiming I'm good at it. Malayo pa ako sa pwedeng tawaging "magaling". Hindi rin kasi pa ako nag-iinvest sa gamit. But I believe that I got aligned in to creative photography. Kasi I enjoy playing with the shots thru post production (editing). In creative photography kasi, it doesn't end from having a good camera and your shots.

Some raw shots needs enhancements. Minsan kailangan i-rotate pag medyo tabingi, kailangan ayusin yung exposure nung light kung madilim o masyadong maliwanag, alisin yung agaw atensyon na blemishes na sumasapaw sa subject nang shot, i-balance yung kulay, i-highlight yung gusto mong subject, at kung ano ano pa. So aside from taking pictures, na-enjoy ko talaga ang post production. Dahil sabi nga nila, it takes creativity to do it. At sabi din nila, some are born to take good shots but not in editing. So I'm exploring in to those two and challenging myself.

Although I don't use Adobe or Photoshop kasi di ako marunong nun. I just use some free enhancement tools online, laro-laro, mix-mix, explore lang, again, another way of challenging myself to be good at something I'm not an expert of by using non-professional materials. Gusto ko kasing maging storya ko sa photography eh someone who had inner talent, had that playful creativity, and passion that moved him to grow in his craft and be good at it. So that's the journey I'm taking in photography.

Kaya when there's an event. I take some shots. I like to capture moments especially when my subject is people. Kaya in any occasion or just simpleng tambay, basta dala ko ang camera ko, lagi akong si picture. Pag na-byahe naman, lagi kong ginagawang model si hubbee. To capture the view and the memories of our journey. But I also take photographic shots along the way. Lagi nakalabas yung camera ko. At nahihilig ako ngayon sa photo walk. Random shots. So you see, it's just plain hobby I truly enjoy. A plain love for photography!

Feel free to like my Facebook page by clicking the link at the right side of my blog or the image above. Title is Photography by Alexander James. Mga sample shots lang yun. So please do not expect too much ha. Inayos ko kasi yung page nung isang araw, may gusto daw tumingin na possible client. Napa-wow na lang ako. Kaya pinagpuyatan kong ayusin at i-update uli. Kaya hanggang di gumi-give up sa akin ang camera ko, itutuloy ko itong masayang hobby. Nakakatanggal stress siya sa akin. Nare-relax ako.

I will soon launch my Travelography here in my blog. I will share some shots I've taken during my travels in the Philippines. Part of promoting our country na din.