The Top 5 Photos of July 2022
by Emman Araullo
After seeing the larger than life prints of their images for “Lingkod Larawan”, Zone V Camera Club members turned their attention to the smaller things – macro photography that is – for the monthly contest. The theme for July was billed “Up Close and Personal” with it being further defined as “finding extraordinary in the ordinary”. Upon seeing the entries, everyone would agree that club members definitely delivered in capturing extraordinary images.
This month’s panel of Judges include Rodrigo Tanabe Layug; a physician, reserve officer, and photographer based in Davao. He started as a landscape photographer who shifted to birding and is now specializing in macro photography. Jason Quibilan; co-founder of Fotobaryo, a non-profit educational foundation focused on teaching traditional film photography and darkroom printing. He is also a founding member of FotomotoPH, an artist collective based in Manila. Dr. Adel Samson; a practicing ophthalmologist. His photography focuses on marine life and cities he has visited. He was last year’s POTY at Camera Club of the Philippines.
The top 5 photos for the month of July are as follows:
#5 “Crossover” by James Singlador
ISO 100; f/16; 1/250 sec.
The image was taken with my Nikon D7000 with 35mm prime lens with external flash SB900.
According to James, “patience” was the key when he shot this image. James’ patience definitely paid off as his image was able to land in this month’s Top 5.
#4 “La Mia Ballerina” by Oscar Soriano (POTM & members cup)
ISO 200; f/7.1; 1/13 sec.
Oscar opened up by saying that “If cramming is a virtue, then I am profoundly blessed”. With less than 2 days until the deadline, the creative adrenalin in him was bursting to translate anything simple into extraordinary. Oscar knew he wanted to veer away from an insect shot (since he couldn’t find one) so the idea of a tiny monochromatic flower shot came to mind first; the concept to frame the subject followed.
He said “when you are pressed against the wall, your naked eye seeks and finds things artistically symbiotic when put together”. This is what prodded Oscar to grab four red plastic placemats (imported from SM Marilao). Armed with tweezers and lots of patience, he bent and taped them together to get the proper placement for it to mimic large interlocking petals. He then plucked a tiny branch from a pot in his veranda and the final image came into being. A midrange aperture captured the flower details while a slower shutter speed cast the red reflection on the subject with the morning sun diffusing light onto the rest of the composition. Slight post processing ensued and Oscar’s 11th hour entry was in the can.
In closing, Oscar said “Nature has blessed us with small things that the naked eyes often miss to appreciate, and my tiny dancing ballerina is a gift.” – It truly is, as his image also captured the member’s cup award and POTM honors for Oscar.
#3 “Oil and Water Universe” by Ruben Castor Ranin
ISO 1000; f/8; 1/40 sec.
Ruben said his winning image was “conceptualized during the pandemic period” during the club’s “abstract” themed monthly contest. For him “it was a photo experiment that went right”. He challenged himself to use whatever was available inside the kitchen and he ended up using a transparent baking pan, oil, water, an iPad for the background light. Ruben shared he “was in love when I first saw the outcome”. He has “always been a fan” of astrophotography images so his first thought was that it looked like a planet (Saturn to be specific) – something the judges and the audience also saw.
This photo is included in Ruben’s series of oil and water photograph, some of which were included in last year’s “Images of Hope” print sale.
#2 “Love at First Sight” by David Lim
Location: Butterfly Garden of Rainforest Park
Taken on a sunny morning in July 2016 for a club entry. David recalls that he “spent most of the morning taking close-ups of butterflies with a long lens and a crazy idea of capturing them in flight”. He said “the morning did not go well” until he finally came across this mango feed on the red platter, with these two butterflies looking at each other well aligned. He said he “had to be patient because the butterfly on the right kept on moving its’ wings”. Other challenges that David encountered in creating this image, aside from timing the shot, was the strong sunlight which made the image very contrasty and a introduced a lot of color ‘noise’ on the butterflies’ barbed legs.
As a result, David considers the work on the image “not his best post-processing”, but still thought the two butterflies were really up close and personal – something that fit the contest theme.
#1 “Untitled” by Brian Agana
ISO 200; f/9; 1/125 sec.
Taken with a Nikon d90 + Sigma 105mm macro lens
Brian mentioned that his “ultimate goal for this theme was to present a very simple but attractive image that will capture the attention of the judges”. With that in mind, he said he “anticipated that most of the entries will play around on insects, plants, miniature objects, water splash, etc.” so he wanted to deviate from that. This “artificial” leaf caught his attention because of its color, size, shape and texture. He anticipated that – given a closer shot, good lighting, and composition – this inanimate object will become real and alive.
Using his old Nikon D90 Camera with Sigma 105 Macro lens, Brian shares that he “placed this leaf on a table and just used natural light”. Several shots later, he ended up with this image as his favorite. Great choice as one of the judges described it as a “wall-able” image.
Congratulations to all the winners!
