A Still From 20 Years Ago

There was a time when I had the patience to spend all those hours to develop film and print positives in the darkroom. Now I can't help wincing at how slow a few seconds can seem as I wait for my scanner to duplicate the images for the same photos.

From the start, I have always loved taking pictures of people's facial expressions and the things that they do. I loved it so much that I took up Basic Photography twice while in college. With a meager student allowance, I bought film and photo paper and coaxed friends into agreeing to pose for me. The dream of having my own darkroom was hindered by the fact that photography was such an expensive hobby (and it STILL is).

My old Canon AE1 (SLR...without the D, mind you) has long been retired. I've lost my old tripod and lighting equipment. Though I started to use digital cameras only in 2006, it was only just recently that I felt I wanted to do more than just take pictures during get togethers and while on vacation. I want to learn all over again to work with images that speak, or more precisely, paint a thousand words.

This picture was taken by the official still man during the production phase of a film project in 1993. It was part of my summer internship at University of the Philippines. I didn't know that he took my picture until one day I was handed the print.

My affair with photography has been so far... an affair. But it would be counted among the first loves worth going back to. For someone with a passion for life (typical of anyone born under my sign - Scorpio), taking photos would always ensure that every moment that we want to hold on to would remain in our memory, digital included.