Monochromatic

"Seeing" In Black & White
  [and finding Art in the Mundane]

November 24, 2012

What appears to be an insignificant, inconsequential, mundane moment interpreted monochromatically ---> in Blacks, Whites - and the Grays in between - is actually a smart, well-crafted On-the-Spot/On-the-Go portrait of my nephew [right] and his team mate on the way to a football match.  

Notice the foreground, notice the 2 subjects and notice the background - and how the mentioned elements are blended together.  Notice the countless tones of gray.

"Pahabol" itong kuha na'to [as in the vernacular].  I barely managed to convince my nephew and his companion to just look at me, at the last micro second or so, as they were about to board a sedan.  Somehow, in those fleeting moments - I instantly noticed their reflection on the roof of the sedan and quickly recomposed my image to include the said reflection.

Clicked my shutter 3X and bade the dudes good bye.  Glanced at my LCD screen -  -  -

Now - If the photo above is not an artistic Black & White image - I don't what is.

And as my subtitle suggests - One can always find and create [great] art from seemingly mundane, insignificant, fleeting, inconsequential moments. One simply has to be more observant of the environs [details/elements] and how they might be composed/combined/blended with the main subject[s] to create a great image.  Being very familiar how the nuances of light will affect the elements in the picture - that does matter too.

Suffice it to say, my years of experience working with [analogue] [non-digitla] Color AND Black & White film, [in 35mm and 120 medium format]  has always been priceless - Not the fanciest cameras nor the most advanced computer graphics/photo applications - can ever replace actual hands-on work with film.

And REAL Black &White Film Photography starts with "seeing" in black and white the potential final image even before one clicks the shutter. The "artistic process" continues with the composition of the image, the clicking of the shutter, the processing of the film, the printing of an analogue Black & White image on Black & White photo paper. No conveniences such as Digital Technology [such as Instant Image Checking [Chimping].  Yup, nothing like the skills from learning the "traditional way" and the conveniences of present day tech.


And again, at the risk of being redundant - Here are a few reposts [from previous entries]  of some classic Black & White images from my film days:

 

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Norwood

MVP

Most Valuable Parent

Gabe slams the go ahead basket vs Meralco

Nov.21 - SMART Araneta - Rain or Shine beats Meralco in OT
Gabe wins MVP honors in a dramatic "come-from-26-points-behind" victory

I started "noticing" Rain or Shine Elasto Painter Gabe Norwood only because while shooting my first ever PBA basketball matches last year [2011],I observed that his wife, Lia, would always bring, their [then] months old first born, Cassius, with her to the Araneta.  Occasionally, Paul Lee, Gabe's team mate at Rain or Shine, would even dote on the little baby, every now and then,  after a hard fought match.  So me, a sucker for capturing such moments started taking snaps of Gabe and Cassius together.  Through the months, I was able to compile a small number of Father/Mother & Son On-the-Spot shots So - Here are some of them :

[Frustratingly, I can't seem to find my first ever [2011] shots of 

Gabe & Cassius together - Will post them ASAP after I finally find them]

January, 2012

April, 2012   Easter Sunday

 August, 2012

 November, 2012

 November, 2012

November, 2012

November 21, 2012

After the Overtime W over Meralco

Gabe and Lia give me a few secs with Cassius and Orion,

 before exiting the Araneta

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Random

Stealing Beauty

"B B C"

[Bea Coronel,  Bea Pascual,  Charo Soriano]

 I love stealing/capturing images of pretty girls. [There are nine in this entry]  But it is not enough that I "steal beauty", so to speak.

[Actually there was a Hollywood flick, way back' late 90s, titled "Stealing Beauty" - had Liv Tyler as the leading lady. Somehow, that two-word phrase has stuck to me ever since, hence,  the title of this post]

I am, as I stated in a previous post, very concerned with doing it in good taste AND even more importantly ---> am constantly striving to maintain a "style" AND "soul", at least as far as this "type" of photography is concerned. - If ever that is possible [I like to think so]

 Well, Enuff o' that - You guys be the judge.

 Bea C. [Season 74 UAAP Volleyball Tournament]
- interviewing an athlete -

 Bea C. [UAAP Season 74  Pre-Season Press Lunch]

- being presented to the UAAP Press Corp -

 Profile - Bea P. [UAAP Season 74 Volleyball Finals]
- supporting Team Ateneo as a spectator

 Profile - Bea P.   [UAAP Season 74 Volleyball Finals]

Eyes at the Lens, Please
[obviously posed - not stolen - after the Lady Eagles won game #1]

 Kara Aceveedo / Bea Pascual / Charo Soriano / Carla Belo

{Shakey's V-League Season 8 Finals - Summer, 2011 }
Charo Head Coached the Lady Eagles to sweep [2-0]
 the Adamson Lady Falcons and win the Gold

 Charo  [Shakey's V-League  Season 8 Finals]

 Charo Soriano [UAAP Season 74]

 Charo  [Shakey's V-League Season 9]

Another "C"

But two of my "classic stolen portraits" of all time have Cristina Garcia as my subject. FYI, when I started to shoot UAAP College Football [Jan., 2009], Cristina was one of the first UAAP female athletes that I actually met and conversed with.  It was only after a year [2011] that I finally was able to craft
a technically competent AND artistically sound stolen portrait of the young lady - worth a 2nd, 3rd, 4th look.

 Cristina Garcia  [UAAP Season 74 Men's Basketball Finals ]
 Sept., 2011 
- when Ateneo won the 4-peat -

 Cristina Garcia  [UAAP Season 73  Women's Football - Round 2]
February, 2011

- praying [Cristina was an Assistant Coach] before the Ateneo-DLSU match -





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Up Close & Personal

Ringside

Just happened to make the acquintance of a charming [very attractive] young lady [and MMA Hard Core ! Afficionado] in the person Jade D., last Saturday evening [Nov.17] during the Pacific Extreme Combat MMA Event at the Araneta. [We just happened to sit on the same row]

 Jade is on a break [after finishing 2 years as a nurse at the St. Luke's Global City] and is eagerly waiting for her first assignment/tour of duty as a Flight Attendant for Qatar Air - Way to Go Girl!

 Left to Right

Jonathan / Karl /Jade / Neil

 Right to Left

That's Jade / Jonathan / Mrs Calvo / a friend of Mrs. Calvo

 Definitely, The youngest member of the audience [Mrs. Calvo's baby boy]

 That's Karl Lutherio, Jades' companion, w the "earpiece"

 Mesmerized 

[by something he doesn't really understand]

 Parting Gesture

- Flygirls -

Come the following morning, Sunday, [barely tweve hours after the MMA Event] while I was shooting at the Exterra Dualthon at Clark, Angeles - I bumped into a familiar face -> Rochelle L., a med student from Cebu - I met her last March at another Exterra Event [March 17/18 Cebu]. 

 Why do I have her in this post with Jade ? You ask - What's the "connect" here?  Actually, [if I'm not mistaken] Rochelle is enrolled [or at the very  least is planning to enroll] in a flying school in Cebu because she wants to be a pilot someday. Yes, from med school to flight school. [Interesting indeed, to say the least]

Both, coming from med related backgrounds, both intending to fly -

 [Jade as an FA, Rochelle as a pilot]  Hmmm -Not Bad. 

Jade D

Good To Go !!

Rochelle

Exhausted after the Exterra Dualthon

but still charming as ever

- Pretty as they come, pretty as they get -

What Can I Say ?

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Main Event

Ali Cali  vs  Erwin Tagle

November 17, Saturday

SMART Araneta

I'm no MMA afficionnado and I have yet to learn a lot about this sport that's gaining popularity in the Philippines.  This is my third opp to shoot MMA.  I shot ONE FC MMA last August 31 at the SMART Araneta and ONE FC MMA [again] last October at the Singapore Stadium. This time around, it was Pacific Extreme's turn to bring its own brand of Mixed Martial Arts to Metro Manila.  Just had to be there, to learn more and improve on my MMA photography.

 Ali taunts Erwin

 Didn't get the access I'd hoped for so I just had to manage with my 400mm telephoto lens [at least, from the ringside area]

Blood , Sweat - No Tears
Notice Tagle's blood dripping
 [and mixing with Cali's sweat]
 on Cali's biceps.

 Domination !

 Look at the fear in Tagle's eyes, as he again, has his back against the barrier.

 Erwin did his best to put up a good fight - - -

 but Ali was just too good for Erwin to handle

 Game Over

 After a couple of rounds, it was beyond any reasonable doubt that Ali would emerge victorious.  Here, Erwin seems to be waiting for the inevitable declaration of the judges.

Moment of Triumph
Ali breaks out a huge smile as he is declared,
once more - Champion

 Thumbs Up !

 Parting Shot
{That's Erwin's girlfriend, Sarah [in tears],
on the rear left of the ambulance}
 
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