Renek Gaszewski [Blog]

Renek Gaszewski:

A tiger, a black swan, a pregnant woman and a fiery red “kalesa” [horse-drawn carriage] in front of a rundown building, these were some of the subjects of photography students, who mounted their first exhibit last week in Makati City.

The two-day, free admission exhibit entitled “Perspectives: A Photographic Vision,” held from May 25 to 26, featured 35 photos taken by six students of a one-year course at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, conducted by seasoned photographer Bobot Meru.

One of the students, Dexter Licaucho, said he was thrilled to have his first photo but was worried over the possible turnout of people. He was not disappointed when students’ families and friends came.

Even other photographers and professors from the CSB also came to view the exhibit.

“This is the first time that a group of students who just finished their first term taking the diploma course… came out to have an exhibit of their works. And you can see the quality of their output is really good,” said Edwin Celestino, Photography Division staff head at the Multimedia Arts and Diploma Programs in CSB.

Lichauco’s classmate and friend, Sig Hermogenes got into photography because he needed to take pictures of fighting fish that he was selling online.

“Syempre, dapat maganda yung mga pictures para magustuhan nung mga customers na bilhin yung fish, [Of course, the photos must be good so customers will buy the fish],” Hermogenes said.

Soon after, taking photos of fish became Hermogenes’ passion and he decided to quit his nursing studies and pursue photography.

He dreams of having his work published in National Geographic magazine. He’s got a head start for his portfolio.

Included in the exhibit were three close-ups shots of different animals - a black swan, an eagle and a tiger - which Hermogenes said he took some two years ago during a trip to the Avilon Zoo.

The novice photographer managed to capture the emotions of the animals. The black swan looked like it was about to cry. The eagle looked fierce and you can see part of its wings which were spread (Sig said he took the photo just before the eagle fed on its prey). The tiger looked indifferent and bored.

Hermogenes also likes war photography.

“Iba kasi yung feeling kapag andun ka sa may action, [It's a different feeling when you're right in the action]” Sig said.

Unlike his friend, Lichauco prefers to take photos of people, ranging from models to street kids. He said he would also like to try architectural photography.

However, Dexter said he saw photography as a part-time job and would eventually go into business.

Meanwhile, Ebony Paguia was inspired to take photography seriously after seeing a black and white nude photo of a woman at a mall in Quezon City years ago.

“Hindi ko makakalimutan yun, black and white siya tapos nude na babaeng nakatalikod. Tanda ko pa nga, sa SM West ko pa nakita ‘yun, [I will never forget that, it was a black and white photo of a nude woman. I remember I saw it at SM West,]” she said.

Like Hermogenes, Paguia wants to make a career out of photography, but earning is not her primary objective.

“Gusto ko art pa rin ang una hindi money, kasi photography is an art so yun talaga ang priority ko [I want art to come before money because photography is an art. That’s what I want],” Ebony said.

The mother of television personalities Patrick Garcia and Cheska Garcia-Kramer, Celeste Garcia, initially enrolled in the diploma course to chaperone her son to the classes.

“Patrick wanted to take photography and his dad wanted to make sure he attends his classes so he made me take the same course,” she said.

“But then I ended up enjoying the class so much and I have been very active in all the activities,” she added.

Garcia or “Tita Bing” as her classmates call her, helped mount the exhibit.

The course, Garcia said, allowed her to apply her Fine Arts degree from the University of Sto. Tomas.

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