Monday, December 24, 2012

PHOTOGRAPHY: THEN AND NOW REPOST!

I remember this picture of a "rotating carousel at night" which won me our organization's Grand Prize for Best Photo. I guess there were only a few physicians into photography then, so I won!
This was taken in the early 1990s with my Pentax SFXn SLR camera... no not Digital SLR yet!




Come to think of it, this was scanned from a simple picture with no Photoshop editing and most of all, people were not yet so much into Photography. 
It was just interesting because of the play of lights as the Merry Go-Round spinned...I wasn't even so sure if I had a tripod, but I must have used it!

Then, photographers were correlated to simple men who would take pictures of you in parks and the like. 
This is a far cry from the present day photographers who are usually affluent and can afford all the newest DSLRs, gadgets and accessories needed and who have the whole range of paraphernalia, including the editing works! 
Most of all, they can gain access to further studies from seminars and conventions, where they can learn from the masters!
Camera Club of Zamboanga during the workshop on
Travel Reportage with Lester Ledesma

Photo credit: Blanca Mae Sebastian

I am amazed with the photos of my friends and there we can appreciate the beauty of maximizing the use of the DSLR!

Actually, photography has already elevated into a different level of science and art!
from my cousin, Janice Sanson Reneer's collection
My grandfather on my Mom's side, Amado Sanson was already in the photography business and during the 20s (since 1927), he already had the Sanson Studio in Cebu and usually gets the Studio Portrait shots, Family pictures and of course, Class Pictures! Don't forget... they also had the great talent of retouching!
My Mom, Certified Public Accountant Lucila Ricamora 
at the Sanson Studio wearing a creation she made herself, 
also as a graduate of the Samson Fashion School, Manila! 
I remember the Black and White shots and the Sepia, too!  Now, these are effects we get during computer post-processing!
my parents, Lucila Sanson Ricamora (CPA) and 
Dr. Napoleon Ricamora (Radiologist)
In fact, my Auntie Gening (Dr. Generosa Solano) even used to lightly paint with color the Black-and-White photos manually just to give a touch of cheek color or tint to the face... and I later discovered even coloring the dresses! 
from Joel Oporto, my cousin....
And here is a picture with family and friends...I wonder what camera they used...must be the one on a tripod!

Dr. Generosa Sanson Solano, Cresenciana Sanson, (wife of Amado), Lucila Sanson Ricamora and Marianita Sanson Dolorfino.  
The models had their traditional pose and of course, the Mona Lisa smile.
My Mom, Lucila Ricamora... 
with annotations written in ink
And here is an interesting picture of my Dad, Dr. Napoleon Ricamora at work. He was one of the pioneer radiologists in Cebu and used to get images of the body through X-rays!
Black-and-white picture taken in 1958
When we were kids, we usually had a very formal Class picture usually on the stairs to make sure everyone is seen.
with Sr. Amandina, Belgian nun in St. Theresa's College Cebu
These days, it is still possible to get a formal class picture and there has to be several wacky shots after!
taken 2012, IV-Pignatelli Ateneo De Zamboanga University


And when we graduated or for yearbooks, it had to be the retouched black-and-white photo!
1940s
after more than 40 years,
the black-and-white graduation photo remains! 
These days, the yearbook picture has leveled up so many notches higher! I have heard graduates really prepare for their graduation photo shoots! Graduation packages now have the pictures in uniform... toga shots and even fantasy shots or glamour shots!!!

I learned to love Photography more in 1987 when for the first time, I bought my own camera in Japan (when I was a Philippine Delegate), the Pentax IQ Zoom 70, which I read from Newsweek was the world's very first FULL AUTO COMPACT 35 mm film zoom-lens camera. I really looked for this in Shinjuku and it had to be this specific model!!!
This still used the film and this was the expensive part - developing the photographs.
with my co-delegates to the ASEAN- Japan Friendship Program... few months after our Japan trip and using the Pentax IQ Zoom 70
This picture was taken from this full auto compact zoom lens 35 mm film camera. See the date stamped on the photo!
I got further addicted to getting more pictures (even with film! ...and more so with digital) because of my friend, Dr. Ed Catibog who took shots of the view from the hotel window, the plane window and all other details of the place and activities! I thought, "I got to follow this style!"  

Then, I have become a "CHRONICLER" as my Junior, Kaye R. De B. said. I am more into documentation rather than the artist-photographer nor the director type! I am also more into the classic photos and prefer less editing, but maybe, I really don't have the luxury of time.. and talent for this! 


We  take pictures because we are together and want to document that special day.
2011: Sanson Clan in Cebu 

And more so, if we document events like this today and the same 12 years later


And this, too... 25 years after!
taken in Japan!


taken in HongKong (Master Cook) ...in Manila!

Autofocus and SLR cameras have gone a long way. It is now digital with all the increase in megapixels as well as in-camera editing, weather proofing and ease of editing and sharing. Now, everyone can take a picture with their cellphones! 


In 2007, I would never forget my Sony Ericsson K800i cellphone which I used partly for our Dubai trip, when my camera batteries drained.

taken at the Ibn Battutah Mall in Dubai using the Sony Ericsson K800i



And of course, the newer cellphones have better cameras which suffices if we forgot our digital camera!
At the Colosseo in Rome as taken from my HTC One X cellphone

taken by me with HTC Cellphone...I am impressed!
taken by my friend with the HTC One X cellphone... and he doesn't know how to use the phone...but still turned out fine!
using the Nikon Coolpix P300 compact camera 
Technology has exponentially changed and made photography more easy, more accessible, more cheap and as my friend, Dr. Cynthia H. said, "First thing one does in a DISASTER is no longer to run for your life... Now, take a picture first before running for your life! Then post in Facebook as soon as possible!"

As I said, PHOTOGRAPHY has leveled up to a higher level of SCIENCE and ART... and COMMUNICATION!!! 


This is our way of sharing how we have been, what we have been doing and what we are interested in.


I wonder where Photography will go in the next decades and how it will amaze us more !!!
* The DSLR will remain for the critical eye!
* The compact cameras will stay for those who just want to document life.
* There is the mirrorless camera which has also caught the attention of the serious photographers... thinking about it, too but have to still learn more about it, if users are happy!
* Other than cellphones, even the iPad and the tablets have turned to become cameras! 
I just saw on TV about the upcoming PHAMERAs (primarily a camera with a phone!)... 

Let us wait and see!!!

16 comments:

  1. Pictures are really priceless! I love photography but I'm not really a PRO.lol That carousel photo is amazing thinking that there was no editing done to it.

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  2. Wow, you come from a line of doctors, and photographers! :) Galing, I don't think I can achieve a photo like that with my film cameras now. I don't have the patience! hehe :)

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  3. It's so nice looking back esp with photos. Great that you still have them. :)

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  4. I looooove your mom's wedding dress. The details aren't very clear but I really like what I see! :) Also, that carousel shot is just brilliant! You guys also looked so cute in the school pic. I really wanted to study traditional photography but I never had the time so I dabble with the gadgets available to me. I use a Lumix LX5 plus my Lumia fone :)

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    1. Wanted to buy the Lumix LX5, then, I bought at a later time so I chose the newer cameras of the same type. Beautiful camera!

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  5. doc!!! im blog-alive again!!!! hehehehe :-)

    i love the Class pic!!! i cant identify you!!! hahahaha

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  6. I am green with envy, I dont have any pic when I was a kid.. now that I have a son, I make sure we have a photo together on his birthday :)

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  7. Amazing photography. :)

    Have a merry new year.

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  8. I love that cellphone shot of the Eiffe Tower. So pretty.

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  9. Wow, great photos. Good thing you preserved them all. Love the vintage shots, so natural for me.

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  10. You deserve the prize you got back then in the photography contest because you sure have an eye of an artist. Great looking photos! :)

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  11. I love vintage photos! Oh, funny you mentioned the Sony K800i. My family went on a trip to Subic and got victimized by a Bukas Kotse gang at Tarlac. They got all our stuff, including cameras, iPod and video camera. We proceeded to Subic anyway, and we just used my husband's K800i and my Sony C905 phone. The pictures were great, except for the night shots.

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  12. photography evolution.. :) I still admire the vintage photos. My Mother and Father look so artistahin in their younger days. :)

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  13. What an interesting post!
    "Now, take a picture first before running for your life! Then post in Facebook as soon as possible!" -this is so true! Although I don't think I will do it, very scary!
    I love the carousel photo, seems like it's spinning too fast.

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  14. I have watched photo restoration last Sunday. It really amazed me how they can still restore very old photos but I know everything is possible. A camera with a phone, wow that's really great. I have seen camera with wi-fi already. That's the wonder of technology.

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  15. Amazing blogpost Tita! = = Kaye

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