SPOTLIGHT: Ed Arcilla

A Multi-hyphenate Artist

by Arlene Donaire

It is a widely (or wildly?) accepted anecdote, that individuals born in February are especially gifted in one sense or another. They are inclined to be immensely creative and imaginative in problem solving, progressive and original in thinking, passionate and compassionate in their chosen fields. They are likely to become either artists or cops and geniuses or fanatics too! These couldn’t be more different as they traverse the extremes of human character, but they are bound by the unique “temperament” associated with Aquarians and Pisceans. Ansel Adams, Norman Rockwell, and Renoir are but few of the notable creatives born in February. Whatever is the case, whether true or not, we do have a perfect example right within Zone V Camera Club, of quite a few February-born members, who excel in both left and right brain skills. One of them is Edgar Arcilla, who joined ZVCC back in 1987.

Ed started shooting back in his high school days with a Kodak Brownie. He’d save up his ‘baon’ to buy second-hand cameras from repair stalls – the 120mm type of cameras, like the ones used by spies in movies. His interest grew when he enrolled in Fine Arts in the University of the East’s School of Music and the Arts.

Joining photo contests and exhibits and seeing his photos on the walls gave him satisfaction. By that time, he was using a Minolta slide type 120mm and an Asahi Pentax 35mm single lens, had set up his own dark room in their house basement and spent hours printing his own photos.

When he worked abroad as resident artist for Hyatt Regency from 1972 to 1980, in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney, he had moved on to Nikon cameras, spending his weekends traveling and shooting with friends and, along the way, upgrading to newer models when friends would ask to buy his units.

We asked Ed to share his journey as photographer and artist and the lessons in between …

The key influences

He had a friend who was a good influence.

“Whenever I had the chance to come home from working abroad, I would call up friends to get together and one of them happened to be Butchie Reyes of Aristocrat Restaurant. Little did I know that he was then deep into photography and one day, right after the 1^st People Power at EDSA, I was in his office in Cubao and he showed me his cabinet with bags and bags of slides and negatives. That started me thinking about getting serious in photography! We decided to head over to Malacañang as it was the time the Americans were evacuating the Marcos family and the ‘uzisero’ in us prevailed. We spent the evening there and witnessed people climbing the gates and looting the palace; chaos was everywhere in the streets. We witnessed history unfold but we had no cameras. After that, Butchie invited me to join Zone V Camera Club. I was then working with a Japanese owned cargo consolidation company and it was part of my job to organize a branch office in Manila and oversee its operations. I scheduled my trips to fall on the club’s monthly meeting dates.”

Early experiences as a ‘probee’

He relished the experience and excelled.

“I attended several meetings, which were held in Quezon City at Alex III restaurant, one of Butchie’s cousin’s resto. I remembered being warmly welcomed with ice cold beer when I was introduced to the members. After several beers, I realized that this would be a good group to belong to. However, I was an irregular attendee since my home base was still in Hong Kong. After another year or two, when I decided to move back to Manila and start my business in fiber optics, I attended a few more meetings, without joining the contest. I was afraid to start because of the pressure. My thinking then was that my photography skills were good enough but seeing the entries of the members in 11 x 14 inch format ‘mahihirapan ako dito.’ The truth was that I didn’t know what to shoot as I had never experienced joining a serious camera club competition before. I also didn’t know how to go about it – didn’t know where to have my work printed!”

Ed’s tipping point happened on his first “On-the-Spot competition”, which was held in Liliw, Laguna.

“This time I did not let it pass. I wanted to experience this. I remember wearing the yellow Zone V cap and the 10^th year ZVCC anniversary was pinned on it. We assembled and waited for our transport in front of the Hotel Intercon. I brought 3 cameras then, a Leica M3, a Nikkormat EL and another Nikon FE2, my workhorse. It was fun, but we got rained out. I found a house by the roadside and stayed under the shade of a sculptor’s studio. I managed to befriend the owner, who gave me permission to shoot anything. I saw some pretty plaster ‘Santo’ hands painted white and mounted on nails arrayed on a piece of 2 x 2 inch lumber. There was an electric guitar in the living room standing at a corner, I borrowed it. I placed the guitar on the pavement by the door, to get some light as it was still raining. I laid down the wood carefully with its hands and fingers stretched out alongside the guitar frets and strings. Once composed, I stood upright as tall as I could, kept my shoes from the frame and shot away and made some music. This shot, which I entitled “Music Minus One”, years later on made it to Honorable mention at the Canon Asia Pacific Photo contest.

“Music Minus One” Photo above by Ed Arcilla

Another shot I did was inside a canal. I went down alone and followed the sounds of children chattering and water splashing. There were about a dozen of kids playing. Some wading in the water, others hanging suspended on water pipes above, and the rest were interestingly curious about this photographer, who was interested in them– staring at me, in a cheeky manner. There was gushing water that was so clean since it had just rained hard that morning. Luckily, there was a crack above this 10 foot diameter of a culvert and a generous enough of raw light poured onto these kids, and immediately behind them into the abyss was totally dark. I asked them not to mind me, to keep on doing what they were doing and I clicked away. The next meeting was held then at the Peanut Hall of Aristocrat Restaurant along Roxas Blvd. This canal shot gave me a 4.5 score. Not bad, not bad at all. My second entry also scored high; it was a photo I took of the son of fellow member, Irene Aclan. On our way back from Laguna and at Eagle Ridge, Antipolo, we took a break to watch the sunset. I set up her son, who was wearing a red shirt, profiled against the bright headlight of the bus. I finished the last two or three frames of my film spool. My high scores made my day, affirming that this probee could make it and become a bonafide member of the club. It didn’t take long and I was inducted into the club by then President John Ching+. That OTS was quite memorable to me, as they say: beginners luck?”

Photo above: Ed Arcilla, second from right, as he was being inducted to Zone V Camera Club, by then President, the late John Ching (right most) together with Ferdie Bautista+ (second from left) and Juanito Boy Kaw (left most)

Being a full-fledged member

He was competitive and consistent.

Ed’s competitive nature and consistency was evident in his outstanding performance in the club, as he secured a place in the top ten several times in the succeeding 5 to 6 years. He was also an active member:

“wherever Zone V was, I was there – sports, competitions, seminars, exhibitions, outings, and the many times that FPPF PhotoWorld Asia was held, Zone V helped, and so I did, whichever way I could.”

For Ed, making coffee table books was a rewarding experience – mingling with other photo clubs, learning more tricks and making more friends, bonding was easier then. Aside from the monthly competitions, which he religiously joined, he also participated in external contests when Zone V was invited to join.

“I would submit entries – won some, lost some. But that’s just fine. My big break came when Jenny Lim of Super East Marketing, distributors of Canon Cameras then, invited the club to join the Canon Annual Photo Competition (CAPC). I joined CAPC from ’89 to ‘92 and won in all years: “Crackleware Face”/Honorable Mention/1989;/“The Swing”/Third Prize/1990; “Music Minus One”/Honorable Mention/1991; and “The Chairman”/Grand Prize/1992, which bested over 10,000 entries from 8 Asian countries. This photo altogether has a long story to tell but the most important thing about it is that it was a First Place winner in our Zone V monthly competition, “Men at Work.”

Top photo: Crackleware Face; Photo above: The Swing; both winning images by Ed Arcilla

A side story on Ed’s grand prize winning image: “I was looking for something to enter; it was in the last few days to deadline. As I searched through my piles of 3R prints, I felt a rush and my heart pounded heavily when I came across the photo. I told my wife, Meg, who I just married that morning, that I have a good feeling about this photo. Lo, and behold, I get this call from Jenny Lim to tell me that I had won the CAPC Grand Prize!”

‘The Chairman’: Ed Arcilla’s Grand Prize Image for the 1992 Canon Annual Photo Contest, besting 10,000 other entries from 8 Asian countries

Journey to visual arts

His visual arts foray was somewhat pre-destined.

Ed’s shift to visual arts was imminent as even during his Zone V days, he had always been associated with fine arts friends, who were painters and he was exposed to their artistic world, through their exhibits. One day in the late 90’s, Ed slowed down from his Zone V involvements. Due to a slowdown in his work in the advertising industry, he had to double time and earn a living elsewhere. As he had always been immersed in the arts, it was quite natural for him to gravitate towards the related fields of painting and sculpture.

“As we are slowly climbing out of this pandemic, here’s hoping that the demand for my work will jumpstart and get back to normalcy, exhibiting in galleries and hotels. Keeping my fingers crossed.”

Words of wisdom

Ed is optimistic for Zone V, seeing that it is in very good, reliable hands. He appreciates that the current crop of Zone V Zombies is doing exactly what the pioneers and early members could only dream of in their peak days, when the digital trend was still in its infancy.

“With the technological modernization, there is no telling how much more our club could become. As of now, it is The Club to beat. I don’t think any other club can match the quality and camaraderie our members are enjoying. It’s heading in the right direction.”

As ZVCC turns 45 next year, Ed offers the brilliant idea along the lines of “CALIBRE 45”, of highlighting the works of the amazingly talented zombies, who are with the most powerful side arm in the world—a Camera. Ed is currently doing his Masters in Visual Arts and developing his thesis on Light Art: Fiber Optics (Painting & Sculpture) at the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts. A multi-hyphenate achiever, whose credentials are replete with accomplishments in both professional and creative fields, Ed epitomizes the Zone V member, who never stops exploring and expanding his realm of artistic possibilities.

Thank you Ed for showing the way!