The Club started 2018 with a jam-packed January meeting. The first Monday of the month was too close to the holidays and the inertia of the New Year celebrations still lingered in the air. But there was more to the festive atmosphere than that. There was a promise of all things new, with many members of the board being first termers or relative newbies. There was the challenge of the Master Cup competitions newly reset. There was the scent of hope and reconciliation. And there was a Samsung LED television up for raffle.
President Paul San Pedro did a side trip to Cuba during the holidays and scheduled a return just before the meeting. A snowstorm to trump all snowstorms, also known as the ‘bomb cyclone,’ trapped PSP in New York. He stayed up all night, New-York time, on the phone talking with key members of the club to ensure that the meeting went on as planned, including the induction of probationary members. He also ensured that the raffle prize would be purchased by his secretary and delivered to the venue so that the winner would not go home with a mere gift certificate.
It was the first time that a 3pm deadline for the photo submission was implemented, thus moving the nerve-wracking ruckus that usually accompanies the 6:30pm submission earlier by three hours. The experience was no less tense. The difference though was that by the time the meeting was called to order, the photos were already laid out for viewing.
This was also the first time in recent memory that the January Open, normally a single shot color photography competition, allowed unrestricted post processing, paving the way for photo manipulation. 126 photographs were submitted for consideration by five (5) judges: Fil Dela Cruz, Jam Ramos, Johnny Lim, Erikk Cruz and Jarel Fajardo. The judges were of the generous kind as they gave out a lot of scores above four.
Second Entry by Javi Flores
When the dust settled, Master Photographer Javi Flores’s photo of two fire-breathers blowing flames (see top photo) to form the top and bottom parts of a circle in a classic yin and yang configuration won as Top Photograph for January. The photo was a made up of about three to four photographs stitched together. “No matter what I did, the two fire breathers could not generate the circle I had envisioned,” Javi said. “Fire moves up, there was no way I could keep the flame down until the fire-breather had gotten to the other end of his fire arc.” Javi’s concept with his photo goes into his consistent view that we should treat triumph and disaster just the same, as they are parts of the same circle. (Click here for tips on How to shoot fire-breathers.)
Master Photographer Raul Montifar’s high shutter speed shot of a frog dunked in water clinched second place Top Photograph award. It was as much technical feat as it was a conceptual one, considering that it involved proper side lighting and timing to freeze the frog right at that portion below the water level, still wrapped in bubbles of air.
Second Place, Raul Montifar
Joey Antonio’s photograph of fire lanterns being simultaneously released into the night sky secured the third place Top Photograph award.
Javi Flores’s yin-yang photo and his other photo of a girl in a bikini by the beach backlit by his trademarked light painting garnered him the Top Photographer of the month award with an aggregate score of 9.1054. “The light wand I used is the ice tube of a beer bong,” he said. “I bought the beer bong just for that plastic transparent tube in the middle. I’ve always tried to go for shots that the naked eye would find imperceptible. Our vision would not be able to keep a record of how the light wand moved, but the camera does, and so in this sense, I am maximizing the medium’s potential.”
The award for Second Place Top Photographer for January went to Tony Cancio who garnered an aggregate score of 8.9502. He submitted iconic shots of a lone tree in Namib desert in Namibia and of the Aldeyjarfoss Waterfall in Northern Iceland.
He says of his lone tree entry: “We rushed over to this area to catch the shadows while the sun was still low in the horizon. Park rules dictated that we could only leave the park at the break of dawn so we had to drive quickly to get to the site early. The dunes are amazing during this time of the day creating a play of light and shadows across the landscape. I chose this photo for its simplicity in its framing and for the vibrant color of the sand. I thought that people viewing the image would appreciate the simple but bold visual message.”
Reigning Master Photographer Jijo De Guzman bagged the award for Third Place Top Photographer for the month with an aggregate score of 8.9054, a promising start for his quest of the historic four-peat. Jijo submitted two photographs of the waterfalls of Bolinao Pangasinan. He says of his entries: “Beautiful waterfalls to me are like women, sometimes mysterious and alluring. They’ll draw you in. Waterfalls are landscape features that are seldom shot so I think they give out an appeal of unique beauty, charm, and mystery. On top of that, I always try my best to apply the best visual design possible to my entries. The shots required a lot of effort in composition and framing because the spots were I could set up my tripod were very limited. I also had to be extra patient because there were a good number of tourists in the area and they were constantly in my frame.”
Members Choice Winner, Tony Cancio
The meeting was also the first time that a Member’s Choice award was chosen. The members were given stubs where they could write down their choice for the award. Jan Aliling, acting Contest Committee chair for the meeting as Garrick Ang had also been marooned elsewhere, advised members not to vote for themselves. There were lots of ribbing and mock offers for sale of votes as well as mock campaigning. Jokes aside, members took their votes seriously. Tony Cancio won the first Member’s Choice award by a landslide.
The Contest Committee was able to wrap up the scoring early and the winners were announced by 10pm, another feat for the club. By that time, nearly no one had left yet, presumably because the raffle was the last event of the evening, and if the winner’s name was called out and he was not at the venue, he forfeits the prize to the next present member chosen. Bob Sison, who earlier on declared that he would win the TV, won the raffle. But then, the members were still milling about. Ending too early presents its own conundrum.
Some members moved on their favorite haunt in the area: Barcino, and thus was borne the details of the first fellowship activity for a cause. (See separate announcement) The high octane January meeting is portent of things to come. With many activities lined up, there is a greater need for inclusion and participation. Let us hope that we see more of the same energy for the next meetings.
