PHOTOGRAPHY: THEN AND NOW 2: CLASS and GROUP PICTURES REPOST PLUS

As I mentioned, my grandfather on my Mom's side was already in the photography business and during the 40s and 50s, he already had a 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 cousin, Janice R. had this in her archives...
 Sanson Studio actually started in 1927

It started off with the Black and White photographs and Sepia, too before it evolved to the Color pictures we are now used to.

Black -and- white

from my cousin, Joel Oporto: "colored" black-and-white,
sepia and black-and-white 

I guess, we have mixed feelings when we go over our Class Pictures. We laugh at how we look... we ask ourselves where our classmates are now... and wonder how they would look too.

These pictures were mostly taken by professional photographers, but some are not so well copied from the original.

When we were kids, we usually had a very formal Class picture usually on the stairs to make sure everyone is seen. But, when I went over an even older picture, I realized we also had a lawn shot when we were still in Prep!

in late 60s, together with Sr. Amandina

I just cropped the picture to see myself better and I must have been a "favorite" because I am closest to Sr. Amandina (lol)!

late 1960s: With Sr. Amandina, our very dear Belgian nun
 in St. Theresa's College 

mid 1970s: UPCC II-Palma: still black and white and standing on the steps

late 1970s: UPCC III-Singco: colored and no longer on the steps...
interesting that we now have a twist to our class pictures!
In retrospect, we also had a lawn shot in Prep!

early 1980s: University of San Carlos: colored but I wasn't able to scan this from the original photo... but this is a less formal graduation class picture!

mid 1980s: Cebu Doctors' College of Medicine: colored and see how behaved we were... but they still followed the traditional Class picture with us on the steps

mid 1980s: CDCM: colored and formal, now with cap

in the mid 1990s: University of Sto. Tomas Hospital: Department picture 

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And of course, class pictures become important after 25 years, when we start comparing...

even Cebu Doctors' is now a University!!! 

I thought that Class Pictures were a thing of the past.
However, these days, it is still customary to get a formal class picture but there has to be several wacky shots after!

In 2012: ADZU IV-Pignatelli... I realized the class (my son's class) had formal pictures, too since Jr. Prep up to Fourth Year HS. 

I also had a chance to be a Philippine Delegate to the Friendship Program for the 21st Century in the late 1980s.

Formal Picture in Barong Tagalog in the late 1980s in Tokyo, Japan (scanned from film)

And in our less formal group photos! in Hakone, Japan
 (scanned from film)

As Delegate to the AJAFA (Asean Japan Alumni Friendship Association) in the early 1990s in Malaysia (scanned from film)

early 1990s: less formal AJAFA-21 photo in Malaysia 
(scanned from film)

2007: less formal AJAFA-21 photo in Bulacan, Philippines 

2007: my son had the chance to join the AJAFA-21 delegates,
with Mohan and Rahman, part of our original friends
from about 15 years ago!

Here are more informal group shots...

early 1980s: USC: the color of the photo has become reddish as the effect of acid on old photos... therefore, the term ACID-FREE albums to keep the pictures from fading or becoming red... 

early 1980s: University of San Carlos Talamban: colored and more relaxed pose = = better picture quality (film) then now scanned

mid 1980s: Cebu Doctors' College of Medicine: just a swim break

And when we graduated or for yearbooks, it had to be the retouched black-and-white photo! But, when I looked through my pictures, I also had colored pictures for the yearbook, too.

late 1970s

early 1980s: now colored

late 1980s: back to black and white

late 1980s: still black and white

These days, Graduation pictures have leveled up and I have heard that aside from the portrait shots, there are also fantasy shots or glamour shots!

You must be wondering why I still have all these pictures. Again, I am a "CHRONICLER" as my Junior, Kaye R. De B. said. I am into documentation rather than the artist-photographer! 

PHOTOGRAPHY has leveled up to a higher level of SCIENCE and ART... and COMMUNICATION!!! 


These photos have shared a lot on how we have journeyed in life...
And will further document whatever we will discover in the years ahead.

But, I guess at the end of this blog, one of the things you would ponder about is...
How old must I be? (You don't need to answer...)

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!!!