All I ever wanted is to capture beauty and drama.
Ever since I owned a still camera this was my main objective. My first film camera was given to me by my aunt. My first captures was a tiger in a cage and the beautiful Taal volcano. But I only earned a “waste of film” criticism. And the shots are either too dark or too far.
The same criticism was heard when I have my first digicam. I asked my father to buy me a digicam because our company outing will be in Boracay. I planned to picture the beach, the sand, the sun, the tourists and the tourist attractions. And to my dismay only few of my shots capture the critical eyes. I sensed that nobody appreciated.
I thought of upgrading my gadget. I bought my first DSLR from my savings. A Nikon D40 that is too swak for a novice and photo enthusiast like me. I brought my camera everywhere. I wish I could also bring it to my sleep to capture my dreams and nightmares. I picture the ocean, the sunsets, the sunrises, the moon, the landscape, the street, the people. Then I started to learn little by little on my own, like the angle, the lighting, the settings, the subject and the moment. I was able to make it to local broadsheets as photo contributor and to a local mag of same position. But none got interested in my art. None of my works appear appealing to the mass eyes. For them my shots are just pictures and nothing more.
I wanted to hone my craft and to study its art and science, but it is too costly. I grab free seminars for I thought it would help me but some are just pure endorsements of their products.
I don’t want to copy other photos, I want something that had my signature on. Just like Mark Floro, that is sooo good in food photography, John Chua, for commercial photography, Don Sevilla for Landscapes.
Now, that there is so many budding photographers and many can afford to buy even the most high end DSLR and many can afford to attend photography class, my chance to be good will only depend on my dedication to self development. I should strive harder than everybody, to read more and practice more. If time comes my savings will be enough for a photography lesson, I should enroll to such. For the meantime, I would stick muna on my skill and love of photography.
Above is El Nido as pictured by Catilo.net, Below is my version of Cavite Boracay.
Which do you find more appealing? Why?
