SPOTLIGHT: Angelo Amistoso

by Alfred Uy Bomping

Who doesn’t know Angelo Amistoso?

Zone V Camera Club’s big events, wouldn’t be a real event if you do not see the shock of silver hair and the trademark chambray blue shirts of Angelo Amistoso. Everyone defers to Angelo Amistoso when it comes to his sound advice about club activities, milestone events, historical context of club practices and judging of photos if need be.

As he is a founding member of ZVCC since 1978, he is the perfect ambassador of the Club spanning 4 decades of his encyclopedic knowledge and personal connection with members from the various era.

We hear him speak during club events, we know how much he cares for about ZVCC, but beyond the surface, let’s pierce further and explore the core of the man we call dearly as sir Angie.

Photo above of Angelo Amistoso, circa 1978

Like many ZVCC members, sir Angie is a devout family man. Armed with his civil engineering degree from the Mapua Institute of Technology, he managed a family-owned commercial building in Dumaguete that has brought his two wonderful kids through college. Andre, his son, is a young doctor of medicine, and Camila, his daughter, will soon take her accountancy board exams. Sir Angie is also an active member of his local church.

Sir Angie’s passion for photography also began with his love to document momentous family occasions. In the mid-1970s, to commemorate his younger sister leaving for the USA, he borrowed a 35mm SLR camera, bought a roll of 36 shot film, and taught himself to use it. He was encouraged when all his shots were properly exposed and sharp. He considered this as his first day as a photography enthusiast.

Photo above by Angelo Amistoso as lifted from the 1979 ZVCC’s first souvenir program

With a kindled interest, he enrolled in a 5-day photo seminar under the late Vic Valenciano of Photografika in 1977. Then February of the following year, he received a letter calling those who attended the seminar to an organizational meeting to form a camera club at the Metropolitan Club in Makati. On March 5, 1978, he witnessed the birth of ZVCC as one of its first members. More than 20 people who attended the meeting helped make the club a reality.

Photo above by Angelo Amistoso

The first three years of ZVCC were like a formal corporate setting. But when a new set of members joined, the club developed a more fun and casual atmosphere. It was in the 1980s that the club’s artistry level soared. He shall never forget the words of the two judges, “this is like watching the Clio Awards Night,” and “the Manila Bay sunset is still damn beautiful even when we are still in Martial Law.”

Sir Angie would become the chairman of the National Photography Week (forerunner of today’s Photo World). He negotiated with Ayala Land to hold the event at the Glorietta. The event proved highly successful as even the second level was filled with photography stalls and exhibit-worthy photographs that delighted the crowds.

He admired the late Ben Alcantara, an in-house artist of the Reader’s Digest in the country. Ben’s simplistic yet striking photos in the monthly contests influenced sir Angie’s signature graphical style. The mastery of using geometrical shapes, patterns, and lighting, adapting them to a wide range of contest themes is truly remarkable.

During my interview with sir Angie, he offered some advice.

For new members: stick it out with ZVCC, do not be intimidated by the judges, express yourself freely in your photos, be a lone wolf searching for good images. This advice may not win you the Photography of the Year honor, but you will enjoy your photography journey for much longer.

For Zone V Camera Club: be flexible as you change horses midstream and know the capacity of your members. Take the road less travelled and continue to be innovative. Think high, fly high, but make sure you still see and touch the ground.

Photo above (L-R): Victor H. Rodriguez, ZVCC Founding President, Angelo Amistoso and the author, Alfred Uy Bomping

When asked what things he is truly proud of – predictably he said it is his family – but more surprisingly, also his ZVCC friends. He is thankful to be part of the great group from its birth in 1978. Zone V has since become one of the premier photography clubs in the country and is celebrating its 44^th anniversary this March, he is proud to be part from its inception and confident that it continues to thrive in the future.

And to the man who was once The Club President, a member of the elite Presidential League of Loyals and a ZVCC founding member, we thank you, sir Angie, for your continued concern for The Club and its members, but most importantly, we thank you for being a caring friend to all of us – the hallmark of a true ambassador indeed!