Untitled Photo by Rona Cruz

We start today’s column with some words of advice for our reader-contributors. One, please send images with sizes between 100 kb and 500 kb, meaning not too small (5-30 kb) nor too big (2-5 mb).

Two, just send the photos with your e-mail instead of directing me to your website to grab the images. And three, please send images free of name tags, so we can enjoy the whole picture without any distractions. Thank you.

And now to our featured readers.

IBM Daksh call center agent Kristoffer Asi writes that he is just a beginner whose “lens is not choosy.” “I basically take a shot of everything under the sun. Photography is my passion,” he says.  Kristoffer shares that he uses a point-and-shoot camera and does his photo editing online at picnik.com. His flickr account can be accessed by typing in his name.

Architect Jun Sacayan shares that he started shooting in high school but “could not indulge in it” because he had to work his way through college. He writes: “I’d almost forgotten my passion for photography until last summer when I discovered that my 11-year- old daughter (Zeph) has an eye and interest in photography.” Last August, Jun and Zeph enrolled at the FPPF for the Basic and Advanced Photography  Workshop. Jun garnered the first place in the Portrait Category in the Basic Workshop and 5th place in the Advanced Workshop. Zeph made it to Frame One, the FPPF magazine.

(This column featured Zeph in October 7, 2008.) These days, Jun says he often joins his friends as back-up photographer in weddings usually during weekends, mainly to gain more knowledge and experience.  “It’s actually pro bono, but I enjoy doing it,” he says.

Singapore-based architect Omar Joseph M. Arcega relates that he got into photography while in college. “But after leaving college, I ‘literally’ put aside this hobby to concentrate on raising my two lovely kids,” he shares. Ojie took up the camera again after almost a decade of ‘non-photography’ when his yearning for the hobby grew into a passion. Today, he is attracted to street photography and “the everyday life” according to him. In shooting the streets, he always tries to find the story behind the scene. “For me, you must not stop when you’ve captured an image. You must ‘understand’ it in order to feel it,” he writes. Ojie is a member of Bulacan Letratista (BULLET) –  some members have already seen their names in this column. More of Ojie’s photography can be viewed at http://ojma.multiply.com/ and http://digitalpinoy.multiply.com/photos/album/14427.

Rona Cruz, a 2nd year, UST med tech student writes that she just fell in love with photography last September 2008. While she is in the medical field, Rona says, “It is not a hindrance to bring out my creative side in the world of photography.” Still a novice, she relates that she gets “chamba shots.”

Timothy Cardinal, a Com. Sci. graduate currently in government service shares: “Matagal na po akong may hilig sa pagkuha ng mga larawan, lalo na po sa mga iba’t ibang emotion ng mga tao.” To hone his craft, Timothy joined the FPPF basic workshop in Intramuros. He says that he learned a lot from it:

“Kung paano ka maging sensitive sa paligid mo, mga iba’t ibang eksena na nangyayari sa buhay ng tao. Iba ang pakiramdam kapag nakakakuha ka ng isang larawan na nagpapagaan ng kalooban mo o nakakapagpasaya sa ibang tao.” Today, he is into nature, events, and wedding photography.

Also sharing their images today are Jervin Montoya, who loves taking portraits, and Jhaybie Sibal.

For comments, suggestions or just to share an idea or image, email  rfyparedes@yahoo.com