In the eyes of a dentist

He was introduced to the world of art at a very young age. During his elementary years he was always the school’s bet for painting contests and when they have a bulletin board or a stage to set up he was the first one that his teachers would think of.

Dr. Erwin Lim, however, chose a field that may seem to be not in sync with his passion. But even as a full-time dentist he still finds time to spark new life to his infatuation with the exquisite and the beautiful every now and then, but no longer with a brush and paint but with his lenses.

“I got my first camera when I was in high school and since then I chose to shoot photos rather than paint. Mas sayon na tong naa na ko’y camera,” he admitted.

Dr. Lim attests that photography appeals to many. “Appreciating photos may be subjective but there are pictures na daghan gyud ang ganahan, maybe because kumpleto ang elements or composition-wise it tells a story,” he said. “Ngano man nga naa gyuy picture nga nindot ug naa man gyuy bati?”

For him a good picture is one that would register in the observer’s memory; a picture that one would not be tired of looking at again and again. “That is what a perfect picture is,” he said and he should know being a recipient of several photography awards the most recent of which was the grand prize for the 2008 Sinulog Photo contest participated by 647 photographers and with 7000 entries to beat.

The advent of digital photography has made it easier for most photographers to take excellent pictures. As Dr. Lim said, digital photography enables photographers to easily archive their work and much more convenient to print.

“Maybe saona mas superior ang film, but now digital photography has reached a point wherein it has surpassed its limitations,” Dr. Lim attested. 

One of these limitations is clarity. “Now we have pictures with better resolution and larger pixels,” he revealed.

However, Dr. Lim bare that when he takes a picture he makes sure that he only takes it once. “Timplahon na nako daan nga kung pwede maachieve na nako ang akong ganahan with one shot mas maayo.”

The invention of camera phones has also made capturing life’s candid moments easier for this dentist cum photographer. “Camera phones are easier to bring when you are constantly on the move and your subjects won’t feel uncomfortable with you taking their picture unlike when you are using a large SLR camera which usually intimidates your subjects,” he revealed.

This was also the reason why he was able to take comfortable pictures when he was commissioned by Sony Ericson to capture the nightlife of Cebu City using Sony Ericson’s K850i.

“The thing that you should put into consideration when using a camera phone is its limitations. Once you know your camera-phone’s limitations you would be able to maximize the use of your phone’s camera feature,” he advised.

Dr. Lim, despite his busy schedule as a dentist, has always found time to indulge in his hobby of capturing life’s moments. And because of this he had created a name for himself, not just in the field of dentistry but also in a world otherwise dominated by full-time professionals.