Two Master Storytellers Succumb to Leukemia

Writer/Filmmakers Mario O'Hara and Nora Ephron

Two of the writer/directors I greatly admired passed away due complications brought about by Leukemia last Tuesday (June 26); just a couple of hours from one another, half a world apart.  Award-winning Filipino Filmmaker (writer, director, producer) Mario O'Hara was admitted to a Manila hospital last June 15 for leukemia treatment (he refused blood transfusion, but underwent chemotheraphy), but died eleven days later at the age of 68.  Popular American Journalist/Filmmaker Nora Ephron died several hours after in a hospital in New York, of pneumonia from complications brought about by acute myeloid leukemia -- a condition she has been suffering from for a couple of years.  She was 71.

I join the thousands of fans and cinephiles the world over, in mourning the loss of these two talented artists.  Though they may have departed in body, their spirits live on in their art (body of work), and will continue to be a precious legacy for all of us to enjoy and learn from.  

Nick Ut's "Napalm Girl"

The Pulitzer Prize winning photograph dubbed "Napalm Girl," turned 40 this month.  When it was first published in June 8, 1972, 21 year-old Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong Ut (professionally know as Nick Ut) had no clue that his photo would one day become one of the most famous images of the 20th century, and how it will have a lasting impact on his life.

Nick Ut, then and now

Nick Ut became a photojournalist at the young age of 16, just after his brother Huynh Thanh My, an Associated Press photographer, was killed on assignment.  He was mentored by the legendary photojournalist Horst Faas (who recently passed away).

Nick was with some South Vietnamese troops on patrol near Trang Bang, when he witnessed the aerial bombing of a civilian village.  A South Vietnamese Skyraider plane bombing suspected Viet Cong hiding places, accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on South Vietnamese troops and civilians.  Surprised by the attack, he immediately trained his camera on the burning village.   Soon after, he heard screams from the villagers, among them children, running away from the devastation.

Another shot by Nick of the same scene

Among the panic-stricken children were Kim Phuc, her two brothers and her cousins.  Nine year-old Kim Phuc ran naked after discarding her burnt clothes wailing, "Too hot! Too Hot!"  Blobs of  napalm had incinerated her clothes and scorched her skin like jellied lava.  In her fear and confusion, her only thought was how ugly she's become and how she will never be the same again.  Screaming in panic, she ran out from the burning village into the main road, oblivious to everything else around her.

"Blow Job" by Tadao Cern

This is something I found in Facebook... A series of portraits by Lithuanian photographer Tadao Cern (Tadas Cerniauskas) using "air blasts," to create comical caricatures of everyday people.  The series was created during the Design Weekend in Vilnius. Visitors to the Tadao Cern studio were invited to participate in a live photo session.

It's graphically hilarious and visually novel.  It reminds me of the wonderful times I had as a child, when I would stick my head out of our speeding car to experience the blast of wind distort my face in weird contortions.

Here is a sampling of "Blow Job":

For more information on "Blow Job" or Tadao Cern, please go to www.tadaocern.com or Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.364606033586614.77800.151290258251527&type=3

--all photos property of Tadao Cern

My Favorite iPhone Photo & Video Apps.

Playing my Traveler guitar using my iPhone as an Amp. (photo by Anne)

I have been an iPhone fan since its inception and yes, I am one of those freaks that have gone through all five versions (iPhone 1, 3G, 3Gs, 4 and now the 4s) of this popular Smart Phone.  I just love the versatility of this gadget-- "a digital Swiss Army Knife."  With one tool, I am always carrying a virtual office wherever I go-- my telephone, my computer, my music and most importantly (as a photographer), a camera/videocamera.

I shot and edited this photo using the 1st iPhone

I shot and edited this photo using the iPhone 3G

When I got my first version of the iPhone, I just used the camera for casual snap-shots.  At 2.0 megapixel, the camera was just too "light" to use for anything more serious.  Since the phone came with some great Apps., I was always eager to upgrade.  I began using the iPhone for my Fine Art work after upgrading to the 3G.  There was only a megapixel difference, but I was able to clearly print my photos up to 8" x 10" (using the Camera Bag App.).  You can see the results of this initial foray in my "Grounded Series." Now with the 4s' 8 megapixel camera, I can leave my trusty compact Leica D-Lux 3 at home.

Here is an example of a photo I shot and edited with the iPhone 4s.

Although there have been a slew of lens attachments and gadgets that have been made to enhance the performance of the iPhone's camera, I never really used any of them personally.  Carrying attachments bulkier than the phone itself defeats the portability and ease the gadget offers.  My main attraction to the iPhone aside from its obvious convenience, has always been the availability of wonderful Apps.  To date, I have more than 400 Apps. on my current iPhone.

Here are some of photo and video Apps. I use regularly:

Canon's New Ultra Cameras: 1Dc and C500

The Canon Cinema EOS family with the new C500 and the 1Dc

Yesterday, Canon, Inc. announced two new cameras they will be introducing at this year's NAB - the Canon EOS 1Dc and the Canon EOS C500.  The two new EOS Cinema EOS cameras (Super 35mm) are 4K capable, with support for uncompressed Canon RAW file (still for 1Dc and motion for C500).
   

After the success of the hybrid 5D MKII and the 7D with Indie Filmmakers, Canon shifted its R&D to its products' video capabilities.  Last year, it created a new product line called Cinema EOS with the introduction of the C300.  Aside from pro-class cinema/broadcast cameras, the EOS Cinema family also features new pro-cinema lenses.  Faced with a shrinking consumer camera base (mainly due to cellphone cameras), the company is clearly shifting its focus to the professional motion imaging market.

Stewart Sy's Wild World

Stewart capturing beauty underneath the waves

Stewart Sy's love affair with nature and the wild started at a very young age.  Growing up in the Philippines, he fondly recalls spending a lot of his free time pouring over the catalogued back issues of National Geographic in the Xavier School library (we were classmates), dreaming of one day visiting all those exotic places and experiencing the grandeur of the wilderness captured by the magnificent NatGeo photographers.  After graduating from college (DSLU) in 1989, Stewart migrated to Canada to follow his family.  In Vancouver, he discovered a dive shop a few blocks from their house.  He signed up for a course, and the rest is history -- he has been diving now for more than 20 years.

Stewart discovered photography pretty much the same way, by accident.  People were curious about his new diving hobby and were badgering him about it.  So he finally decided to bring a camera with him during his diving expeditions to capture some of the beautiful things he saw underwater.  This second hobby also became an obsession.  Not only did he become a diving photographer, he liked photography so much that he became a part-time freelance commercial photographer too.  Aside from this, he runs two photography related businesses:  one that offers professional digital scanning services; and the other, a dealership offering aquatic photographic equipment and accessories.

Stu and I lost contact after we graduated from High School, so I was not aware of his photography until we reconnected in Facebook last year.  Stewart would post some of his work once in a while, and I was soon impressed by the consistency of his vision and skill.  He has an unmistakable artistic 'eye.'  According to him, he drew and doodled a lot when he was younger, but he never formally studied photography or any other art form.  Amazing, is the first word  that comes to mind, whenever I think of his photographs. 

I interviewed Stewart to get a better insight into his photography, his vision and his art:

Is It The Camera Or Is It The Photographer?

Should the photographer or the camera be credited for the quality of a photograph?  The answer to this question seems obvious (to me), yet photographers often encounter statements from people who readily tell them, "I love your pictures, you must have a great camera" or "your photos are beautiful, that expensive (professional) camera is certainly worth what you paid for."  It seems that most people have a general impression that photographers are only as good as their camera, and that a newer model, with more bells and whistles, will actually do miracles for anyone's photography-- a myth propagated and fueled by Camera manufacturers.

This erroneous belief started more than 100 years ago when George Eastman simplified the photographic process by inventing the first Kodak Camera.  "You press the button, we do the rest" promised George Eastman in 1888.  Everyone, wherever they went (since it was also portable), could easily take a picture with a Kodak -- essentially a shoebox sized light-tight box with a simple shutter, pre-loaded with his newly invented rolled-film (enough for 100 exposures).  Before Eastman, photography was a laborious occupation, exclusive to professionals who used cumbersome cameras and individually prepared glass plates.  The Kodak camera brought photography to the masses, and for the first time, knowledge and experience in the craft of photography took a back seat.

Since 1888, developments in photographic technology and imaging had made it easier and easier for all of us to take better photographs-- from point-and-shoot cameras with flash, to faster film stock and even auto-focus.  The current digital technology has even reached the point (in my opinion), where it is almost impossible to take a badly exposed photo.  Our current digital cameras (or cellphones) are not simple boxes anymore, but micro-sized pro-grade cameras that have variable shutters, irises, lenses and programmable flash guns that can all be automatically adjusted by computer.  "You press the button, and the camera literally does the rest."  In this day and age of the digital camera, everyone is at least, a competent photographer.

So has the camera finally replaced the photographer, after 120 years of technological advances?

My Very Own Superfriend

Anne's favorite Superhero is Wonder Woman... mine is Superman

If a Hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and strength; someone who goes beyond their limitations for the sake of another, then Anne Prado is a true Hero by any definition.  She has battled extreme adversity that most people would give up on.  But her deeds are not widely known, except to a few loved ones.  I have witnessed these acts of bravery and self-sacrifice, and I sincerely believe they should be made public.

Anne was a pretty and exceptionally talented child

Anne was born Anna Marie Prado on March 2 (Her birthday is today).  She was a precocious child who loved to sing, dance and entertain people.  Entertaining patients in her mom's dental clinic as soon as she was able to walk, she was offered several times to be a professional actress but her parents refused.  Poor Anne had to contend herself with using hairbrushes and flashlights during her impromtu concerts.

Anne finally blossomed when she attended school (Assumption & Maria Montessori).  She discovered Elocution and quickly became the favorite, winning gold medals year after year.  She also had a knack for writing, which she used to pen stories and essays.  Her first real trial came at the age of seven.

Growing up in a dysfunctional extended family, Anne suffered from blatant favoritism and discrimination early on.  She was systematically excluded and picked upon by her maternal aunt and uncle from participating in their outings or from using any of her cousins' toys for as long as she can remember.  So one day, while everyone was out having a good time, Anne snuck out a cousin's bike to take a quick ride around the block.  Not knowing the bike's brake was broken, She lost control of the bike going down a hill... Anne got thrown off and the bike landed on top of her.  What followed was a hell that lasted for more than four years.

Her spine was broken.  Anne had to have a major operation to fuse her back.  She went from one Specialist to another hearing the same negative prognosis -- she will never walk again and most probably will never have children.  A brilliant Doctor (Dr. Victor Reyes) finally took on her case as a personal challenge and the operation (after suffering substantial physical pain and anguish) was a success.  But that was just the start of her battle.

Anne had to undergo extensive physical therapy just to gain some sensitivity to the lower half of her body.  Upon gaining sensation, she had to relearn how to move and use her legs, suffering endless hours of gruelling excercises administered by tough therapists.  After months in bed (crawling from one room to the next), then in traction, she finally could go back to school in a wheelchair-- where (sadly) she had to endure ridicule and incessant teasing by her schoolmates for being a cripple.  When she finally conquered the wheelchair and had to wear a full back-brace, she was rechristened "Robo Cop" by some of her classmates.  For someone proud and strong-willed, these taunts were excruciatingly painful.  But Anne endured.  Except for a big scar on her back, she was able to regain all her faculties back through sheer determination and years of hard work.

Anne around the time I met her for the first time

When I finally met her in her mom's dental clinic for the first time, she was a beautiful, smart and outspoken normal High School student from St. Scholastica.  I would not even know that she had serious spinal surgery, until we started dating a few years down the line.  We instantly liked each other and we had a lot of common interests such as Art, Philosophy, Religion, the Occult and Debate.  Opinionated and naturally arguementative, we were both members of our High School interscholastic Debating Teams (Anne ended up competing internationally and was an accredited World-Championship Adjudicator), drama clubs and (by coincidence) both award-winning Elocutionists.  But I was living in Los Angeles during that time, so we only saw each other sporadically.  But we continued our friendship whenever I visited Manila.

After a string of unsuccessful relationships, many years down the line, I called her to have lunch.  I just broke up with my last girlfriend and I needed a friend.  We have not seen each other for three years at that point, so I was stunned when I saw her again.  She had blossomed into a beautiful and vivacious young woman.  I just couldn't stop looking at her.  So ended up asking her out for a couple of more dates before going back to LA.  To cut my story short, I went back to Manila the next year and after a few more months of dating, I asked for her hand in Marriage.  I had no plans of getting hitched, but the question just popped out one evening while we were arguing on the phone.  It just felt natural and inevitable-- I wanted to be with her forever.  She told me that she felt the same way too.  Little did we expect, that our love for each other would result in a lot of anguish and turmoil for everyone involved.  

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I have not done a movie review in this blog for a long time and I am a little bit rusty... But I since I read the book before seeing the Movie, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity for me to restart.

Most are aware that "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" is a bestselling novel before it was adapted for the big screen. Legions of fans are also anxiously awaiting the screen versions of the second and third books in the series -- "The Girl Who Played with Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest."  I am a little embarrassed to say that I am one of those fans.  Ever since I finished the first book, I wanted more.  I am now on the third book and I have to admit, a bit hesitant to finish it because it would be the end of a great adventure and the wonderful character of Lisbeth Salander. 

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

Stieg Larsson, the Author of the Trilogy, was a controversial journalist and activist in Sweden.  He was a pro-communist political activist who trained female guerillas in Africa early in his life; he was also a photographer for the Communist Worker's League; and he was the editor of extreme left-wing publications like the Swedish "Trotskyist" journal Fjärde internationalen and Swedish Expo Foundation's (established to counteract the growth of the extreme right and the white power-culture in schools and among young people) Expo Magazine.  When he was not doing his day job, he did independent research on right-wing extremism in Sweden, which resulted in his first book Extremhögern (Extreme Right). Larsson was instrumental in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations.  He was also an influential public debater and lecturer on the subject, reportedly living for years under death threats from his political enemies.  He died in 2004 from a heart attack, but there have been rumours that his death was in some way induced, because of the regular death threats he received as the editor of Expo.  Like all good writers, his characters were sketched from real life and are slightly autobiographic -- Writer/Publisher Blomkvist and Researcher/hacker Salander.

After Larsson died, three unpublished manuscripts of three complete novels (written as a series) were discovered.  The Salander Saga, published posthumously, has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide and have been made into movies (a Swedish version of the trilogy was made before Fincher's).  He wrote the novels for his own pleasure and did not attempt to publish them before he died.  Larsson actually had plans of writing more novels for the series beyond the three currently in print, because three quarters of a fourth novel was found in his a notebook computer, as well as synopses or manuscripts for the fifth and sixth books.  But alas, he died before finishing any of them. 

Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist

Pre-Oscar Inspirations

Douglas signing his prints for the exhibit

Douglas Kirkland's special new exhibit for the Oscars (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), "Out of Character" opened today, Feb. 11 at the AMPAS's Grand Lobby Gallery.  One of the most prolific celebrity/movie-set photographers in the history of Hollywood, Douglas was commissioned by the Academy to photograph all 20 of the Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress nominees for this year's Oscar race.  Only three sets of the exhibition prints will be produced, with each nominee receiving a signed copy of their individual photos.  The images will also be featured in the Oscar Awards telecast this year.  The larger than life portraits will be on exhibit at the Academy’s headquarters at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills until March 18.  “Out of Character” will be open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free.  After the exhibition, one complete set of the large-format portraits will become part of the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library photograph collection.

Douglas in the AMPAS Grand Gallery among his prints

Douglas' work has been a constant inspiration to my own portraiture work.  He is and always will be one of the great ones I look up to in both technique and artistry.  Please come and visit his new Oscar portraits if you can.

Here are some words of wisdom about photography, from some of the artists that inspire me:

Wynn Bullock's "Color Light Abstractions"

The Exhibit at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California

The first time I came across Wynn Bullock's "Color Light Abstractions," I literally gasped at the simplicity, breath and magnificence of this largely forgotten, ground-breaking body of work.  In 2010, the Bullock Family Estate started a traveling exhibit of the newly scanned high-resolution prints of "Color Light Abstractions" from Wynn's 35mm Kodachrome slide originals.  The transcendental beauty of Wynn's images have finally been printed in the way they were originally photographed in the transparencies.

"As sounds in a musical composition can be used not to express physical objects but ideas, emotions, harmonies, rhythmic orders and most any expression of the human mind and spirit, so light can be used visually to express the mind and spirit." – Wynn Bullock

One of the great American Photographers of the 20th century, Wynn Bullock discovered photography in Paris in the 1920s while pursuing a career in singing.  After discoving the works of Man Ray and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, he bought his first camera and began taking pictures.  It took more than 10 years before he decided to pursue it seriously.  He graduated from the Art Center College in 1940, where he experimented with alternative processes like solarization and bas relief.  His early experimental work was exhibited in one of the L.A. County Museum’s early solo photographic exhibitions. 

In the early 1960s, Wynn Bullock started experimenting with color and light.  According to him, he was always facinated by light -- "As long as I can remember I have been fascinated by light…light as a force and an entity in its own right. I recall as a boy finding pieces of glass on the California desert. Some pieces were of recently broken bottles. Their colors were familiar and didn’t excite me. Occasionally, however, I found pieces of very old glass with beautiful prismatic colors. I thought only light and time could have created these colors and I was deeply moved." 

Playing and experimenting with pieces glass shards and crystals, he came up with his own process of directly capturing light and color in film -- "I discovered that I could take a piece of crystal or glass – very fine optical glass – and crack it up. A large piece can break into thousands of little pieces and each one of them comes out with just a beautiful fracture. I would put a few little pieces on a contraption of 8 or 10 layers of glass and I’d have a light underneath. And then I would use other lights. As I moved the pieces around against colored materials [e.g., shards of stained glass and colored cellophane], the fractures would begin to show up in different ways.  It was such close-up work. You couldn’t identify the glass, but by being that close and out-of-focus, all kinds of strange and beautiful optical shapes and effects would form in space. To me that’s real, that’s no illusion. I could move one of these little pieces and it would change the whole character of the picture. I used every kind of light – prismatic light, lights under, lights to the side…. I could move the lamp, I could move the light underneath – I could control the form of the optical image. I wouldn’t use them all at the same time, I would just use them creatively.  When making these pictures, I use light not to make objects recognizable, but to create beautiful pictures in color, line, surfaces, texture, forms, and space dimensions through the action of light as it strikes objects."  The "Color Light Abstraction" series was created using this simple technique. 

Photography After Kodak

One of the biggest stories of the New Year, is Eastman Kodak's recent bankruptcy filing.  It made headlines the world over because it symbolizes the end of an era-- the end to the Age of Film Photography.  To film users everywhere, it was a death spell.  As a fan and Kodak film user, I mourn the good old days when film was the norm and great film stock was available everywhere.  I started my exploration of photography on Kodak film when I was a young boy.  As a film student in Art Center College, I used to buy my film stock directly from Kodak Hollywood in Santa Monica Blvd.  With Kodak forced to recognize its need to reorganize, film stock will soon become scarce (at least Fuji Film is still doing business) and film prices would surely skyrocket. Film photography will become more specialized and rarified.

But this Bankruptcy was not a surprise to anyone, everyone was expecting it to happen sooner or later.  The paradigm shift to digital photography has been happening for the last 20 years.  Eastman Kodak was just not savvy enough to remain on the forefront of the digital photography technology in the last 10 years, because it was busy concentrating a lot of its resources on mounting an aggressive stance to defend its shrinking core film business. 

The first Kodak digital imaging system built in 1975

Very few people know that Kodak built its first prototype all-digital camera in 1975.  The camera had a working CCD imager which digitize the captured image on a standard cassette tape.  The data was read by a playback device that interpolated the 100 captured lines to 400 lines, then generated a standard NTSC video signal, which can be viewed a television set.  In 1986, Kodak came up with the first megapixel sensor.  The company released 7 digital imaging products in 1987, capable of recording, storing, manipulating, transmitting and printing electronic still video images.  In 1990 it came out with the Photo CD system and proposed "the first standard for defining color in the digital environment of computers and computer peripherals.  In 1991, it released the first professional grade digital camera system (DCS) using a Nikon F3 body with a 1.3 megapixel Kodak sensor.  The company was in the forefront of the digital photography revolution, decades before companies like Samsung and Casio built their first digital camera.  So what happened?

Starting the New Year Right

The best way to start 2012, is by sharing some humor.  Here are some photography related videos guaranteed to make you smile...

Canon vs. Nikon extreme version:


Shooting Models without Photoshop:


How to get good pictures of yourself:


Flash that smile:


It's the photographer, not the camera (featuring David Bailey):


HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

--videos taken from YouTube.com

Grounded 1: Meditations On The Terra Firma

Ribbon-cutting for "Grounded 1" last Dec. 7

I have been a practicing Photographer for more than thirty-three years.  Photography started out as a hobby at the age of eleven, and it has been a constant presence in my life ever since.

When I turned professional five years ago, I decided to keep a part of my photography personal and experimental.  “Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is my first Series dedicated to the original impulse I had when I received my first camera -- to explore the medium of Photography and to use it to see our world in a different way.

I decided to start this personal (experimental) photographic journey at its core.  Light, shadow, texture, line, shape, color and composition comprise the most basic elements of the visual arts -- the fundamental building blocks of Photography.  “Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is pure photography, concentrated on the most essential elements of the Art.  All the photographs in this Series were shot as is, without photo manipulation.*

Beside the "Grounded" Exhibit poster in Ayala Museum

I opted to use a simple camera from the onset, devoid of any controls, to force myself to focus on these crucial elements.  I ended up using an IPhone, instead of my Holga or my Polaroid cameras, because my cellphone is always with me.  It is the modern day counterpart of the Polaroid and the Instamatic camera, and everyone is familiar with it (very few remember what Polaroids are).  After all the camera, no matter how simple or complex, is just a gadget that captures images.  It is our ability to ‘See’ and delight in what we see that dictates what we photograph.

“Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is also my initial foray into Abstract Photography.  Inspired by the avant garde work of Aaron Siskind, I wanted to retrace the possibilities of  Abstract Expressionism in Photography.  Siskind deliberately obscured his subject matter by concentrating on form, texture and simple visual elements to push Photography into the realm of abstraction; Simple and direct, without employing elaborate tricks and gadgets.  Upon discovering the possibilities of abstraction Siskind exclaimed, “For the first time in my life subject matter as such, has ceased to be of primary importance.  Instead I found myself involved in the relationships of these objects, so much so that the pictures turned out to be deeply moving and personal experiences.”

Preparing the Prints for the exhibit

I was walking down Hollywood Blvd. one afternoon, when it dawned on me that the pavements on this street are probably the most photographed side-walks in the whole world -- Pavements normally ignored, but have transcended the mundane by virtue of the names and hand/footprints of the media celebrities imprinted on them.  Why not photograph regular pavements and celebrate them in the same manner?  Aaron Siskind had a series of photographs of ‘tar-marked asphalt roads (his last Series 1986-88),’ which he elevated into Abstract Art -- because they contain interesting calligraphic-like elements that most people overlook.  Since Siskind’s photos were mostly in Black & White, I became excited by the thought of doing mine in color -- a small but significant variable that can heighten visual impact.

“Grounded No. 1” was born.  Seventeen different Los Angeles Cities ‘abstracted’ in a quatrain of photographs like the stanza of a poem ...distilled from the most basic visual elements of the ground we work and play on.  Gravity grounds us to the earth and nothing is more constant in our lives than the firmament beneath us.  Art exists around us, if we just took the time to ‘Look and See.’  “Grounded” is my photographic meditation on the Terra  Firma, the terrain we live and walk on.

*Technical Notes - I used an IPhone App. called ‘Camera Bag’ in the ‘Lolo’ setting to heighten saturation -- a digital approximation of Medium Format Color Reversal Film (square format). But the pictures remain as they were originally shot (no tweaking in Photoshop), with color gradations reflecting the natural daylight color temperature shifts during the time of the day they were captured. No special lenses or attachments were used.