"That goddam bird! There it goes again!" the Lungkot Team's official photographer exclaimed as he pointed angrily at the great blue sky. We gave a sudden questioning laugh and as we turned towards the direction he was pointing, we saw a seemingly little dark speck floating around a hundred miles away above a landscape. "With the sky as the backdrop of the shot, that goddam bird would surely look like a goddam fly in the photo," he said as he shook his head in frustration while adjusting the lenses of the camera for another shot.Most of us in the team has little know how when it comes to professional photography but somehow, we understood why our official photographer was upset. Time was of the essence especially when the subject involves landscapes. That one day brush with photography made me realize that every passing minute in a day creates a certain impact in the final outcome of the photograph. The revolution of the sun, the impact of its radiant light, the silent war with the moon and the ancient and predictable retreat of the sun to pave way for the night, and the illusory title of dominion of the night manifested through the creeping darkness over the vastness of the planet gives a certain mood or feel to the photos. These changes oftentimes go unnoticed. Rather, we oftentimes take notice of it only when the moment has been preserved in printed form or displayed in our monitors. Moments like when upon seeing our photo collections, we'd say, "Holy shit! I looked good on this one," "We were so much happy that time," or "That place is so beautiful. I wonder when will I be able to go back there." And even if the photograph is a stranger or new to us, I bet that you would agree that sometimes the mood captured by the camera is so overwhelming that you can feel it as if you were there. A transmission of emotion comparable to music but only this time, we see rather than hear in order to feel what is being laid before our senses. But unlike music which usually transmits messages through words, photograph transmits messages through our eyes and thus, it is more subjective. In other words, our disposition in life (what we feel at the moment, our knowledge, beliefs, values, upbringing, etc) plays a vital role in giving meaning to a photograph.
During the road trip, i chanced to hold a digital camera of a friend. It was magical. Yes, I am fond of beautiful girls, but my fondness for that specific thing of beauty extended to a more child-like innocence. The camera led me to appreciate God's creation in general. I searched and saw beauty on the wild flowers growing beside the edge of a cliff. I saw beauty in an old and vandalized waiting shed. I saw beauty in an antique cemented grill. I saw beauty in a leafless tree. For Christ's sake! I know it sounds gay but i even saw beauty in our most celebrated Boy Lungkot Best Actor!Whew! Now that the sexual tension has been set aside (fuck!LOL), there are so many things to be learned in photography. For a newbie like me in that field, my first lesson was to have fun. You don't have to be professional to enjoy photography. It is just a matter of cruising your car slowly on the side of the highway, take the keys away from the ignition, go out and lean comfortably at the side of your car, take out a cigarette, fire it up, look around, zoom in to the thing that really catches your eyes, frame it in your mind or better yet, with your camera. Feel your corporeal existence with humility and be mesmerize with the grandeur of the things around you. That despite of the fact it oftentimes go unnoticed, it persistently continues to live on and
silently deliver the message of order and beauty beyond man's comprehension and as if it is not enough, it even generously allows us to partake and even preserve its beauty and wonder through photography.And that is the...
"Goddam it! There goes that stuuupid bird againnn!!!"
