I attended the Travel Reportage seminar by Lester Ledesma here in Zamboanga City.
Camera Club of Zamboanga (CCZ) President, Sixto Kwan met Lester Ledesma during the Photoworld Asia 2012 Convention held in Makati last year, where Lester Ledesma was the invited speaker on Editorial Photography and indeed this is his forte, being Smile (Cebu Pacific) magazine's photo editor, as well as a freelancer for other Asian magazines, too.
When Sixto heard Lester was in the Philippines, he immediately took the initiative to invite Lester to Zamboanga City and he did oblige.
Sixto told me of this seminar by the end of last year and the title itself already appealed so much to me! Travel Reportage is exactly what I want to learn. First of all, I have been traveling a lot and second, I want to share about my travel experiences through blogging.
I know no rules in blogging. I usually say what I want to say and flood my readers with pictures so I can be more visual. I thought, here is a venue where I can learn tips from people in the know... and pick up a better way to share my stories. Why not!
So here is our teacher: The Lester Ledesma!
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| our teacher... cool guy!!! |
This is our venue: ABC Bakery and Restaurant in Sta. Maria, Zamboanga City
They have function rooms now...
This is our class: mostly, Camera Club of Zamboanga's members
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| Allan Go, Felipe Lim, David Luy, FRR, Anton Lim, Marvin Macrohon,Jess AndrewYu, Sixto Kwan Blanca Mae Sebastian, Teacher Lester Ledesma, DOT IX Director Mary June Bugante, Michelle Lim |
And here are my groupmates:
And here are the places we went to, which I will share in my next blogs...
And here are the places we went to, which I will share in my next blogs...
*The Zamboanga City Public Market
*The Layag-Layag mangrove community off Talon-Talon, Zamboanga City
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| It was drizzling when we went there.... expecting muddy floors! |
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| our own Cultural immersion! |
Most of all, I'd like to share more about our teacher, Lester Ledesma and his impressive career!
Taken from the Skylight Images website:www.skylightimages.info/
Lester V Ledesma lives and
breathes for his two passions - travel writing and photography - so much so
that he has made it his purpose in life. Fresh out of college in Manila, he
went freelance in 1999 and documented the Philippines, his work earning him accolades
such as Kalakbay Travel Writer of the Year Award. He travels the world,
shooting and writing stories for magazines like Prestige, Silverkris, COLORS
Benetton, Mabuhay, Smile and Asian Geographic.
Lester is based in Singapore,
but feels more at home in Bangkok, Rome, and his native Manila.
Lester maybe contacted at lledesma@skylightimages.info
Singapore
photographer photojournalist writer
Awards
Received:
- 2009
Pacific-Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award for Travel Photography
- 2007 Pacific-Asia
Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award for Travel Photography
- 2006 Asia
Travel and Tourism Creative Awards (ATTA) Silver Medal for Travel
Photography
- 2002 ASEAN
Tourism Association (ASEANTA) Award for Excellence in Photography
- 2001
Kalakbay Travel Writer of the Year (Philippines).
Exhibits:
- 2009, South
of East (Royal Plaza on Scotts, Singapore)
- 2008, Seeing
Elvis, Singapore International Photography Awards (Old School,
Singapore)
- 2006, The
Ring, Chobimela IV (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
- 2006,
Passage Through Europe (Filipinas Heritage Library, Philippines)
- 2005,
Pilipinas: Travel Photographs by Lester V. Ledesma (Singapore Arts
Museum, Singapore)
- 2004,
Pilipinas: The Travel Photography of Lester V. Ledesma (The
Photographers’ Gallery, Singapore)
- 2004, Pilipinas:
Travel Photography by Lester V. Ledesma (Brunei)
- 2003, Bone
and Stone: Unearthing the Bombon Ruins (Filipinas Heritage Library,
Philippines)
- 2002, Nayong
Pilipino: A Last Look (Filipinas Heritage Library, Philippines)
www.skylightimages.info/
If you see this, you got the right page!
Those who are interested in getting him for projects or join activities which he organizes can contact him through this website.
Lester has a special project this March and is an open invitation to everyone and anyone interested...PhotoTreks: Bali on March 16 to 19, 2013!
To learn more about Photo Trekking, you can check out this Facebook page: Photo Treks with Smile magazine & Lester Ledesma.http://www.facebook.com/PhotoTreks
If you are off for a vacation, why not try Phototrekking!
Lester has scheduled it based on how he does a shoot, so that you can be in the place when it is most picturesque... whether it is sunrise or sunset or even at night!
A value added activity is Cultural Immersion where you can stay with a Balinese family or ride the traditional boat in Halong Bay in Vietnam or a temple experience in Bangkok!
So check out his website if any of these activities intrigue you!
Well, as I said, we had a challenging and exciting Travel Reportage seminar with no less than THE LESTER LEDESMA, the cool guy!
Aside from the Pearls he taught us during the seminar, I also learned these:
* Frame the story in your mind even before the shoot.
* Don't underrate your pictures.
* Don't confuse yourself with worrying about technical quality.
* Choose the pictures which touch your heart most... don't use two of the same!
* This isn't learned overnight!
I hope I wouldn't disappoint my teacher with my future outputs!!!
Also, I hope you can experience him as a mentor by joining one of his intriguing Asian PhotoTreks!!!
A value added activity is Cultural Immersion where you can stay with a Balinese family or ride the traditional boat in Halong Bay in Vietnam or a temple experience in Bangkok!
So check out his website if any of these activities intrigue you!
Well, as I said, we had a challenging and exciting Travel Reportage seminar with no less than THE LESTER LEDESMA, the cool guy!
Aside from the Pearls he taught us during the seminar, I also learned these:
* Frame the story in your mind even before the shoot.
* Don't underrate your pictures.
* Don't confuse yourself with worrying about technical quality.
* Choose the pictures which touch your heart most... don't use two of the same!
* This isn't learned overnight!
I hope I wouldn't disappoint my teacher with my future outputs!!!
Also, I hope you can experience him as a mentor by joining one of his intriguing Asian PhotoTreks!!!
wow! you're lucky to have a chance to attend a workshop with Lester Ledesma.. Looking forward to your next post..
ReplyDeletelooks like you have learned a lot from the seminar
ReplyDeletecongrats and i really anticipate to your next shots and stories
Whao.. it was certainly a fruitful seminar for you. Looking forward to your next photolog.
ReplyDeleteWow you are so lucky! I wanted to attend seminars like this but it's too expensive, I can't afford it. I settled myself reading online na lang. I'm looking forward for more beautiful photos in you blog Mam, especially photos from our hometown ZC.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could also attend photography classes but first I need to have a DSLR camera to use and practice with.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy for you to have attended the seminar with the prominent man Lester Ledesma. ", Hopefully in your coming posts you share with us the things you learned even a lil'. ", Looking forward to it. hehe
ReplyDeleteWow! This is indeed a great opportunity to learn from the master :) You are so privilege!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great experience and your mentor must be great! Photos make a great story but words written to describe them makes the photos more alive. I wish to learn to capture great photos someday like Charm and you.
ReplyDeletethat's cool. you can have more ideas when it comes to photography. ako, i just want to improve yung point and shoot style ko.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! To be able to travel a lot, I am sure there's so many photos to capture, so many stories to tell.
ReplyDeleteI would love to attend workshops like this. Especially wehn it will help with my blog adventures, hehe. I am sure my husband would also love to join such because he is addicted to photography nowadays.
ReplyDeleteMommy Maye
http://www.momayescraft.tk
I wish I could join such seminar too. i am starting to make photography as a hobby now.
ReplyDeleteI want to try phototrecking! i could imagine now how beautiful scenes, i can capture in my camera. :)
ReplyDeleteWow taking beautiful photos is one of my goals. You're lucky to have had a chance to learn from a professional like him.
ReplyDeleteCool! That would be a wonderful experience. Something to save up for, but i bet the slots get taken real fast. Thanks for sharing the tips you learned from the master :)
ReplyDeletewow, you're so lucky to be be able to attend in such event. Phototrek seems fun and informative, and it's in Bali! wow talaga, I wish I could join.
ReplyDeletelooking forward for your photos after the event.. for sure you've learn a lot from the said event..
ReplyDeleteNice!! Looks like a fun class. What does 4 mean, by the way?
ReplyDeletewe only had four pictures out of ten for our presentation... na-pressure kang kami hindi na marunong mamili ng picture for the story!
Deletewould love to see your photos from this event. i wish i could attend these kind of workshops.
ReplyDeleteyour lucky to attend that seminar, please share some pointers with us
ReplyDeleteThat's a very enriching seminar. How I wish I have the leisure to travel. I also like taking photos...well amateurish pa hehehe....But you get better with practice. And it helps if you have good mentors too. :-)
ReplyDeleteI also want to attend a photography seminar! But I'm only an enthusiast and do not even come close to "promising." Hehe. Now I'm looking forward to more photos from you!
ReplyDeleteWow! To be a photo enthusiast and to be mentored by the best of them! Looking forward to more wonderful pictures in your blog, doc!
ReplyDeleteIt's really a bonus if we could attend this kind of seminar as I find it interesting and fun!
ReplyDeleteYou're very lucky to have been given the opportunity to attend a seminar with a photography expert. You must have learned a lot of lessons. I will definitely put to mind those tips you've shared. Thank you. :-)
ReplyDelete