Wherever you go, I shall go
Wherever you live, so shall I live
Your people will be my people
And your God will be
my God, too.
Wherever you die, I shall die
And there shall I be buried
beside you
We will live together forever
And our love will be the gift
of our lives.

I would like to beg everybody’s indulgence at this point. My teacher in editorial writing, Krip Yuson, a newspaper columnist, had taught my class more than 17 years ago that we refrain from being “I” writers (“I did this,’’ “I went there,” “I met so-and-so,” etc.) and I have tried to do that as much as possible with some exceptions. Photography is a very personal thing for me and writing a column about photography was sure to be an even more so because it merged my being a photographer and a writer, two of the gifts that I cherish most.

This is the 100th entry of this column and I, frankly did not expect things to get this far. This is especially due to well, some columns really don’t and some details in my life threatened its continued existence. That detail has something to do with Singapore. Those of you who have followed these words for some time would have noticed that since April, a lot of photos shown here were taken in that small island country. The reason is simple: My family is moving there. It is not without a great amount of sadness that this move is being made. I promised in my youth that I would never leave my country but God will have His way. My wife has been hired by one of the biggest telecommunications firms in the region and this we consider to be her reward for years of very, very hard and dedicated work in her industry for the past eleven years. She is now in a company where, she says, she will hang her hat and retire. This is for the long haul and our two girls and I will be there with her. My son has opted to stay behind and finish high school here. College? He’s still deciding.

During our wedding, I played “The Song of Ruth” as she marched down the aisle accompanied by her parents. It was a very simple wedding but things said then still ring very true and very loud. It seems God is cashing in on that song’s words and He seems to be asking us to do an Abram so that finally we do become little Abrahams. If you think about it, He’s not even asking us something difficult at all. We’re going to a Southeast Asian country that’s just a little more than three hours away (just like going to Tagaytay or Batangas from where we live) where the airfare is not at all expensive (long live Cebu Pacific, Jetstar, Tiger Air and, yes, Philippine Airlines!), where we have a good place to stay and where my wife has a very good job. Abram on transitioning to Abraham was called to just pack up and leave and go where the Lord led. That’s trust that I need to have for myself. My wife has work but I don’t. Will I be able to shoot or write or do I try to enter the academe again as a teacher? God knows and it is on Him that I and we all rely.

Fortunately, there is a lot of Filipinos there as most of you know. It’s just a matter of finding enough Filipino food options or, at least ingredients for whatever it is we’d like to cook. So many have made a good lives for themselves and we hope to do the same. (Anyone know where we can get Purefoods corned beef there? The wifey’s crazy about it.)

So what happens to the column? It will continue as long as Ronald, my editor wants it to. Some people ask how I can come up with ideas for a weekly column. I don’t really know but, awa ng Diyos, things have continued and I do pray that I can keep it going. It seems to be helpful for some people and that, in itself, is reason enough for it to keep chugging along.

Photography itself will continue in its own way. There are so many more options as regards places to buy camera stuff and I’ll pass on information as I learn more. Those of you who may want to go there should have a good idea of where to find good brand new and secondhand stuff.

My Canon T90 and EOS 30D are already there as is the Bronica SQ system. The only things left to bring are the EOS 5, EOS Kiss and the 40D, and 5D and their lenses. Two Manfrotto tripods, a Sony VX2000 video camera and a set of studio lights comprised of two Falcon Eyes strobes and a Rimelight will be coming along. The two older lights, the Visio units, will be staying behind left for my brother-in-law to use.

Photography has both been good to me and quite difficult at the same time. There have been numerous challenges and not all of these were surmounted because of my own limitations, intransigence, and stupidity. As my greatest teacher told me just over a month ago, “Not everyone is given a new lease on life. Maybe this is yours.” Mr. Pagsi, thank you.

Everything is a gift and as long as God is in control, there is nothing to fear. Yes, there are still some butterflies in more than my stomach as is a whole load of anxiety but at the end of the day, even without photography and writing and even my ability to speak to a crowd, the most important gifts remain – the love of my parents, my sisters, my sister’s family, my son, my daughters, my wife, and my God who has given this all to me, the good and the difficult but still good, and who continues to breathe the breath of life even now into me.

Thank you all so much and till next week.