"Bisikleta sa Dagat" (Photo by Boyet Gabion)

We start this column with a reminder that the World Pinhole Photography Day on April 26, 2009 is less than a month away. Visit pinhole.org. for details on how to participate.

The site has a gallery where you can upload your pinhole image after the event. Six pinhole enthusiasts from the Philippines posted their images last year. Be one of the participants this year.

Try the pinhole challenge! It’s exciting, educational, and a whole lot of fun.

We have a long list of new contributors for today’s column.  First on our feature is Boyet “Ninong” Gabion, video and photo film editor at the Agricultural Training Institute in Diliman, Quezon City. Boyet shares that he started shooting in 1987 but could not sustain the hobby due to the high cost of film processing. Today, he is using a DSLR and says, “Na-enjoy ko na po ang aking nakahiligan libangan and at the same time ay work ko na din!”  Boyet loves to shoot the ocean, the skies, mountains, and to capture faces in different reactions and emotions.

Fortunato C. Suarez Jr. reveals that sometimes his passion for photography is getting the best of himself. He can really get excited about sharing his photos with others. “My love for photography started when I took a picture of a sunset along Roxas Boulevard and I liked it,” says 4T, as his friends call him. “I am not a technical person; I just shoot by instinct and from the heart.” Photography has also revealed to him some insights about life. He shares: “Photography taught me to seize the day and it even heightened my sense for beauty. I remember one day when I was on my way to the market, I saw a sorbetero and said to myself that I would take his picture on my way back. But he was not there any more after going to the market. I have missed an opportunity. Much like life, we have to appreciate every moment for it’s just a moment – seconds, and it’s gone. Only the picture stays.” See more of 4T’s images at flickr.com/photos/life_begins_with_4t/1313386949/.

John Dedase of Iloilo City sent in images taken from his camera phone. According to him, the “innocent eyes” of his subjects captured his heart. This year, he hopes to get himself a camera “to capture more precious moments.”

Kent Clever M. Cruz presently works at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines as a layout artist.  He is also taking up his master’s degree in educational management at the university. KC describes himself as a novice in photography and says that he wants to grow more. He shoots whenever he sees what could be a good picture. More of his photos can be viwed at kenshinchan03.multiply.com.

Preschool teacher Krystine “Teacher Tin” Lozano sent an e-mail to share a photograph of his lola. She writes: “Her pictures give me hope she’d get back to being the coolest lola ever. We call her ‘Nanay.’ She’s at the hospital and having complications on her diabetes. I miss her smile…”

Also sharing a picture of his lola is Jose Yap, a mechanical engineer at the General Motors. Jose says that he is currently trying to go back to the old habits of photography. He had been shooting in high school but put down the camera in college to concentrate on his engineering course. Last December, he bought a DSLR and is “still learning the technical aspects of handling a digital camera.” According to Jose, Picture Perfect and some of the online digital photography clubs have made the the learning curve so much easier.

Russel Asilo Dulay, product specialist for a multinational pharmaceutical firm says that he is a hobbyist who sometimes accompanies his friends as they cover weddings and events. He is also a member of the Nikon Club of the Philippines.

Also sharing this week are Mariel Ann Abon, a student of Computer Accounting and Management and Romwell Mari N. Sanchez of Makati.