Pictures That Touch The Soul

They continiously hop from island to island. They readily crisscross the archipelago more times than anyone dare count. They travel high and low and everywhere in between – as far north as Batanes and down to the southern most tip of Tawi- Tawi. Heaven forbid, I was almost tempted to blurt out desde Aparri hasta Jolo.

For company they have several high-powered cameras, the latest lens and bagsful of film. Their mission: to capture one-of-a-kind images that stimulate the mind, warm the heart and touch the soul.

They search for the out-of-the-way places, clicking away at never-seen-before sights or perhaps at well-known activities but seen from a different point of view. The results – truly works of art.

Their award-winning photographs are prominently featured in articles and in prestigious publications in addition to numerous coffee-table books enough to start a modest library.

Their illustrations, each with a dramatic story to tell, give life to informative brochures, much-appreciated calendars, keepsake posters and billboards.

They have been tapped to be guest lecturers and resource speakers for seminars and workshops on photography and their various prize-winning pictures have been showcased in several photographic exhibits.

The celebrated phtographers in alphabetical order are Bien Bautista, Noli Gabilo, Manuel Goloyugo, Albert "Bullit" Marquez, Donald C. Tapan, George C. Tapan and Edwin Tuyay.

Though renowned in their own particular fields of specialization, all seven are travel photographers. Today, from their own collection, they share with us their all-time favorite Philippine travel photograph together with some personal thoughts behind the image.

Enjoy. Feast. Fantasize. Dream on.

Manny Goloyugo: My choice, taken on the third day of the seven-day summer caravan tour from Manila to Davao sponsored by the Department of Tourism and Philtranco, is a hand-colored black-and-white original print. Two things make this photo special and memorable. First, it was taken with a borrowed but defective camera where only three frames came out from an entire roll of film and luckily this picture was one of three. Second, at sunrise bamboo rafts make their move unexpectedly and I had to eternally follow them to obtain the composition and timing I desired by jogging seriously on the seashore.

To make this photo even more dear to me, I hand-colored the black-and-white print with colors that were absent during the actual shoot. And since sunrises are not as colorful as sunsets, the choice of colors are purely mine. I call it the color of black and white.

I am obssessed with black-and-white photographs. I only take black-and-white pictures.

Bien Bautista: Amanpulo, to start with, is a dream of a place, where dreams are born. So on one Valentine’s Day (you better believe it!) on a blue moon (yes, Virginia, there is a blue moon) while leisurely strolling on the fabled shores, (if only the white sand could speak of the celebrities and personalities that sought refuge as resort guests) I gradually noticed a spectacular, awesome sight I have never seen before in all my life. I froze. I stared. I eventually blinked. It was still there in all its glory. It reminded me of Mars. And you must believe me when I say it became more perfect (pardon me – is there such an experience?) with each passing minute. All the components were present for that perfect picture – a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I focused. I clicked. This is the end result.

Alberto "Bullit" Marquez: Mount Mayon, no matter what others may say, has always been a picturesque subject. Don’t you agree? In all her majestic splendor visible for miles, it exudes beauty in tranquility. And yet it is always a spectacle beyond compare when the lava comes down and the pyroclastic display occurs during major eruptions. We are familiar with its power and its strength to destroy. But somehow at dawn, I feel the gentle flow of the lava seems to join the peaceful sleep of the people residing in the area. Maybe strange, but true.

Donald C. Tapan: This particular Mayon Volcano photo was taken some weeks before it last erupted. Considering that it is again making news due to the possibility of yet another eruption, I find it very timely. Besides, it is special because it took me some time to patiently wait for the clouds to drift before I could capture in its totality the world’s most famous perfect cone of a mountain. I was likewise very nostalgic of the floral array together with the ongoing harvesting of palay for these scenes are fast vanishing even in the countryside with the development of various residential subdivisions and the erection of manufacturing buildings in several industrial estates.

Noli Gabilo: Chavayan, a small pretty village in the southeastern part of Sabtang Island in Batanes and inhabited by some of the friendliest Filipinos I have ever encountered in all my travels around the country, will, without question, always have a special place in my heart. That’s the reason why it was not difficult at all to come up with my favorite Philippine travel photograph. Come to think of it, it’s my pleasure to share it with you.

Edwin Tuyay: Three days after its devastating eruption in 1991, I witnessed the unimaginable destruction brought by Mount Pinatubo. I consider this picture – showing a group of farmers with their carabaos passing by a river now completely covered with snow-like ashfall – very special for it shows stark beauty out of a mega disaster. The magic of photography. This particular photo was published in several newspapers and magazines all over the world. It has continiously remained, according to my agents in Paris and in New York, one of my bestsellers in my stock photography business even 10 years after I took the shot.

George C. Tapan: "George! take my picture – I’m in paradise!" Yes, that’s all what I can remember while I took this photograph of my foreign travel writer friend, lying on a canoe at the entrance of the big lagoon in El Nido. The blue sky. Crystal clear water. The dramatic scenery. The peace and tranquility. The sheer beauty of it all. Ah, paradise in the Philippines – truly a fascinating spot you would never, ever forget.