Jun de Leon’s love affair with the camera began when his mother, Socorro Paredes de Leon, gave him a second-hand Pentax when he was 18. "She knew my passion and she nurtured it; I’ll never forget it," he speaks fondly of his loving mother.
Jun and his Pentax clicked! The camera and Jun have since been inseparable. And now, that relationship has borne yet another fruit: Suonos, Jun de Leon’s fourth book, which will be launched on Dec. 12 at the NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio. (The coffee table book will soon be available at Page One.)
The Latin word for dream, Suonos is indeed a dream of a book, made possible with the support of businessman patron Sandy Javier who believed in Jun’s dream and wanted to be a part of it. Helping Jun transform his dream to reality were art director Fifi Feliciano, four stylists and four makeup artists – arguably the best in their craft – Millet Arzaga, Jenni Epperson, Michael Salientes, Marlon Rivera, Henri Calayag, Krist Bansuelo, Cristine del Valle and Jing Monis. Then there were line producer Eddie Littlefield and production manager Fernando Sucalit.
And Jun de Leon’s model(s) for his fourth book?
For art’s sake, 23-year-old actress-model Karen Montelibano lent her bare face and body to serve as the canvas where the country’s top stylists and makeup artists gave free rein to their art.
With undisguised pride, Jun tells us more about his book: "It’s a visual assault. Here, I gave all that I’ve got, all that I’ve learned over the past 30 years taking pictures, tinodo ko na. But this time, I’m using just one model whom I trained for one-and-a-half years. She did everything she was told to do, short of walking a tightrope. Like she ran butt naked across an uncleared cogon field until her feet bled and she couldn’t take it anymore. She has a mortal fear of worms, but we put tons of worms on her head. The girl knows no pain."
The book, says Jun, is really a movie presented in pictures. It’s divided into four sections – earth, wind, water and fire – and each has a story to tell. And watch for the centerfold surprise!
Jun and his indefatigable team went all over the country for the shoots. "My passion was met equally by these artists," he gushes. "I saw their discipline as they went through this long and arduous creative process. For instance, just one shoot would take half a day to do."
They did whatever it took. For instance, for the wind portion of the book, Jun had three wind machines brought in. But the machines didn’t work so he asked his publisher Sandy Javier to hire a chopper. With the chopper hovering above, Jun stood on top of a crane and started taking shots of Karen as she streaked across a virgin field of grass.
Jun’s book was inspired by a book by Andrew Wyett titled Helga where the photographer used only one model with whom he fell in love. The photographer disappeared for two years and resurfaced with a masterpiece in his hands.
"I saw my own Helga in Karen," says Jun. "She loved posing for me. She’s well-endowed. She had such discipline and energy. I was inspired!"
Did Jun fall in love with Karen like Wyett with Helga?
"I’m happily married," comes the quick reply. "To a certain degree, yes. Photographers are human beings, too."
In and out of camera range, a lot of women have come and gone in Jun’s life. "Women have always been my favorite subjects, but now I’m down to just one woman," he says with a twinkle in his eyes.
That woman, of course, is his wife, former Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Abbygale Arenas, 27. "I knew her when she was just 18," Jun shares his love story. "I thought I had everything until I met Abby. It started as a model-photographer relationship. I waited four years before I courted her. I threw in all the tricks in the book to win her."
Two years later, they got married and after two years, they had a son whom they named Irijah (a Hebrew word for "God sees"). Irijah is now one year and four months old and his doting dad is sure starting him young by bringing him all over to attend photography exhibits abroad, like a recent one by Richard Avedon.
"There’s no photography school in the Philippines," Jun sadly notes. "I applied to work for an international photographer but they required a degree in photography. I only had my Fine Arts degree. I was still a student when I started working at Daily Express in 1972. Being the youngest, I was the assistant of 11 photographers. I owe a lot to the training and discipline I got from executive editor E.P. "Pocholo" Romualdez. We were taught to take, develop and print our own pictures. I went all over taking pictures – from the Japanese straggler Onoda to the renegade Victor Corpus and the peace talks in Mindanao."
Likewise, as a DE lensman, Jun had to file his own pictures. He devised his own filing system which no one was privy to. Including his own editor EPR who once stormed into the DE photo department and started combing Jun’s files for a horse photo. Of course, he couldn’t find it under the letter H because Jun filed it under Y for yokabibs.
But no horsing around for this photographer who says he works 25 hours a day. He’s at his office at Traders Hotel on Roxas Blvd. as early as 8 a.m. every day. He has a seven-man staff consisting of a secretary, an assistant, labmen and a messenger. He eats at work, surviving on raisins and crackers. His daily schedule is full, with pictorials lasting till wee morning hours. Last year alone, he did over 200 shoots.
Jun’s simply unstoppable. "I cannot stay away from my passion," he confesses. "If you breathe photography, how do you stop breathing?"
He’s quick to add, "But I don’t keep my pictures, because I don’t like my pictures when they’re done. I enjoy the whole process, the whole creation, but when it’s done, it’s done. But had I known I would last this long, I would have kept my pictures."
If and when he retires – "but there’s still so much to do, so many more images to capture" – he plans to put up a training school for photography. "That will be my legacy – to raise the standard of photography in the Philippines," says Jun. "That’s why I’ve kept my library of books and my equipment intact. They’re my wealth, they’re all I’ve got. I don’t have a fat bank account."
What does it take to be a good photographer?
"As I always say, learn the rules and then break them," he advises young shutterbugs. "Set a precedent, don’t be like everybody else."
How important are technique and equipment to a photographer?
"It’s not a sin to have the right tools," Jun asserts. "Equipment is very important, yes, but what is more important is the eye of the mind. You can have all the sophisticated gadgetry and still end up with nothing if you don’t have the eye of the mind. Some people shoot for fame. Some people shoot for money. Some people shoot because they love the medium. I belong to the last category. Photography is passion and precision. Some people have the passion but don’t have the precision to create. Others have the precision, are well-educated, etc., but they don’t have the passion for the profession."
Who are his idols?
Internationally, it’s Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Sarah Moon and Peter Lindbergh. Locally, Neal Oshima, Wig Tysmans and Leo Pumanes, the guy who taught Jun the basics of photography.
Who are his favorite showbiz clients?
"In celebrity journalism, you gotta earn your stars," says Jun. "Among the best I’ve worked with is Sharon Cuneta – she doesn’t have mega airs and is never a minute late for a shoot. I’ve always been a stickler for time – I don’t waste your time, you don’t waste my time. Another very punctual client is Joyce Jimenez. And Regine Velasquez, she’s very disciplined."
What to Jun de Leon is beautiful?
"Beauty is something that comes from within," he defines the B word. "I don’t believe in the word ugly. There’s something beautiful in everyone."
When is a woman most beautiful?
"After a cold shower," Jun replies with a naughty wink. "Ang ganda-ganda talaga ng babae pagkaligo – with no makeup on, no nothing, just drops of water trickling down her face."
He adds, "A woman is at her most beautiful if she has learned to love herself."
Looks like Jun de Leon will never run out of inspiration. "I love life," he professes. "Life is beautiful. Everyone dies but not everyone lives. While I’m here, I’ll do as much as I have to, capture as many images as I could."
Say cheese(cake)!