A global event at the end of June makes me recall memories of decades that polished my inclination for visual arts.
Bringing those memories is the celebration of Camera Day, which is annually observed every June 29. The day celebrates that instrument that captures and stores videos and images and the benefits it brings to societies and communities in all corners of the world.
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The camera has evolved a long way from box-type gadget to the instamatic and single-lens reflex ones, the motion picture equipment and later the handier digital and smartphone point-and-shoot technology that has simplified the technicalities of camera handling and photo and video editing to the grasp of hobbyists and non-hobbyists alike.
Today, with one’s mobile phone – with its built-in camera – photography has become almost everyone’s hobby, whether the photos – both still and in motion – are taken during gatherings and special occasions, of scenery, portraits and just about anything, many of which are shared through social media posts.
Indeed, photography has become anybody’s hobby, the more reason that Camera Day must be celebrated far and wide.
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My romance with photography grew in sophistication with time – from an instamatic box in high school and college, a Vivitar digital SLR with various lenses in graduate school and my news reporting days to the smartphone models that have constantly been updated.
Through the years, my enterprise and creativity honed during a graduate school course in photojournalism have resulted in dozens of photos that I consider among the most visually interesting I have taken.
These include:
• A branch drooping with the weight of icicles for a weather visual report on the onset of winter
• A constellation-like image of faucet water overflowing on a red class reflecting an orange bathroom light overhead (a last-minute photo taken to beat a class deadline after I totally forgot about the weekend assignment)
• A lonely barn on a ploughed cornfield for post-harvest documentation
• A glistening tree on a frozen lake (for a mid-winter image class requirement)
• Dozens of tropical sunsets, among others, especially at my all-time favorite end-of-the-day spot – at Sojoton Point in Cauayan, my hometown.
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Because of my journalism and visual communication education, I had the opportunity to share the photojournalism production mechanics in the annual National Schools Press Conference.
When Department of Education officials handling the annual National Schools Press Conference were preparing for the annual gathering at Teachers’ Camp over three decades ago, they expressed the urgent need to put order in the conduct of the photojournalism contest which they introduced for the first time the year before.
“Can you develop a systematic way for the contest as it was chaotic when we launched the contest last year?” they asked me.
With the three-phased competition (shoot, lab process and mount), I could imagine the ordeal they went through a year earlier.
Adopting the processes I learned from my photojournalism course, I introduced the contest procedure which, I understand, DepEd used for more than 15 years until it improved the process with the onset of the digital photojournalism contest system.
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Advocates of the observance are encouraging people – almost everyone with a mobile phone for that matter – to celebrate the event by, among others:
• Learn more about cameras through online and library readings
• Shoot pictures of the day and share those photos with others on social media; you can also make greeting cards out of photos you take
• Be more creative by shooting scenes you have not taken before; also you can experiment with your composition, lighting and other technicalities
Let’s celebrate our ever-reliable and constant companion.
On Camera Day, try to let your creative juices flow further and, yes, share your photos not only to document and immortalize precious moments and heighten our sense of aesthetics but also to brighten the day and inspire others.
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From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. (Psalm 50:2) | NWI
