Decisive moments of a lens man

He dreamed of becoming a good mechanical engineer - designing and building engines and power plants, perhaps. But things did not turn out the way he wanted. Yet he is grateful for the changes that occurred in his life. He thought of becoming an artist since he belongs to a lineage in Daan Bantayan that are born as artists: his father is a musician, his brother is a pop band player during his time, an uncle is a painter, and some others who are active in the arts. With a fair share of artistic genes, his guitar became his companion and he fell in love with music - his primary interest. He did not have a formal background, though, that's why his talent has remained untapped.

As Lemuel Arrogante recalls these stories, he pointed out that it is only by God's grace that he is able to develop a craft that is by far his unimagined expression of art. Did the name ring a bell? Yes, he is no other than Cebu's pride in the field of wedding photography. Perhaps, you came across this lens man during a wedding ceremony you attended in the city. He holds on to his camera, waiting for that decisive moment - especially when the bride starts to cry, while her parents give her a hug.

In the mid 80's (around '85 or '86), Lemuel was hired by Timex Philippines as product engineer after he graduated from the University of San Jose-Recoletos. Being exposed to music, he was able to compose a jingle for Timex, which became National Grand Prize in 1985. His stay with Timex allowed him to travel to Taiwan for training. That was a trip that made a big shift in his life, a turning point to be exact. He bought his first camera - a Canon SLR (Single-lens reflex). When asked why he purchased one, he smiled and said that it was out of curiosity of the art of photography and also, he wanted to feel the excitement of taking pictures. Without much knowledge on photography, he bought books in photography and studied the basics first until he became so engrossed with it, up to the point that he developed keen eyes in images. He definitely acquired the knowledge in photography through self-study. He also learned from some photographers or a visionary whom he looks up to, that in one way or another have shaped him. He was guided with the principles of Henri Cartier Bresson who is considered the father of modern photojournalism, Rembrant - one of the world- famous Dutch painters, Monte Zucker - a photographer and a photographic educator at the same time; and a US photographer named Dean Collins. Later on, he joined the Images Camera Club, which is now considered as the oldest club for photography enthusiasts in Cebu. By joining the club, this photographer was given opportunities to join in prestigious photo contests in the metro. For three successive years, he bagged awards in the Sinulog photo contests. Another contest he joined was Bob Lim's photo contest in Sun*Star. Lim's column came up with a contest for aspiring photographers. Luckily, it was his captured image that won first prize.

Lemuel received a lot of unexpected recognitions that made him improve his new acquired craft. Truly, a great work of art will never be left unnoticed; thus, a lot of people recognized his work as "picture perfect". Wedding pictorials were in demand and wedding ceremonies have become his training ground. He received a lot of bookings for weddings which he would always do every Saturday. He was also booked for commercial shoots. He would be absent from work and as the company noticed this, he was advised to avail of the early retirement program. Wanting to pursue his passion, he retired in 1992 (a year after he got married) and bought his first set of photography gears. He worked freelance - home based.

In December of 1994, he put up his first studio in Cocomall along Osmeña Blvd. and named it Papicture. Three years ago, they relocated to Mandaue City as they were having parking problems in their old site. Papicture got majority of the wedding demands in Cebu, as well as in Mindanao. From merely providing a single service - photography, that is, Papicture ventured into videography and is now a sought-after wedding documentation provider.

With a more personalized approach like conducting a series of meetings with his clients, he is able to keep his clients, also by bonding with them through trust.

Last October 9 , the Wedding and Portrait Photographers of the Philippines (WPPP) held a Photo Congress Cup to recognize the best wedding shots/footage. This is a three- year-old event where Lemuel joined and submitted his 20 entries (10 per category). The contest has two themes - wedding classic and wedding photojournalism. In the former category, all of his entries qualified and viola, he bagged the first prize, while his colleague/ nephew, Mikhail Arrogante, ranked third. In the latter, out of 10 entries, 6 photos passed in the screening and one of which is the third placer.

His winning piece is his "last minute" entry. Captioned as 'Soft and Beautiful', he least expected it to win. Among the 10 entries, it was different - the black and white studio portrait of a couple seems to be so traditional and ordinary yet indeed, being the "different" entry, it stood out and lured a lot of discriminating eyes.

Photography 101 (Quotes from the artist)

"I learned every principle from the people I look up to (referring to Bresson, Collins, Rembrant and Zucker) and combined them, then applied them in my day to day experience, not only in photography but also in life." "I'm always reminded of the words of the famous Henry Cartier Bresson: 'Inside movement, there is one moment in which the elements are in balance. Photography must seize the importance of this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it.' So whether the object is living or non-living, there is this one perfect moment. It entails patience for you to look and wait for that moment," explains Lemuel. According to him, it is vital to seize decisive moments so that photos with meaning and importance are produced.

"Photography is an ART. It is a medium of expressing my art. It is also a continuing and never ending search for ART."

Through this craft (wedding photography), Lemuel was able to learn and develop to live to the fullest the beauty of life.

His message to aspiring photographers:

Everything is God-given. Whatever you do to that talent, do it for the glory of the Lord. This is very important. Also, to summarize: First, study and research on photography; second, you must love this form of art; finally, you must be patient. And, passion must go with these.

For more than 10 years, Papicture has never had a massive campaign to promote their services; rather, recommendations through word-of-mouth from satisfied customers have made this studio withstood time and competition. Lemuel, Papicture's owner/general manager, may turn out to be eventually a photographer, but according to him, he never has any regrets. Instead, he is thankful for what he is right now.

Papicture is situated at Unit 120, KRC Bldg. National Highway, Subangdaku, Mandaue City. For reservations one may call tel. no. (032) 346-3662 / 0917-6224882; email: papicturephotographers@yahoo.com.