The great yellow adventures

Are you free on Monday?” asked Hannah’s photojournalism professor one ordinary day.

“Yes,” she replied. “Why?”

“Give me a waiver and your blood type,” he requested. “You’re going to ride in an American war chopper, and you’re going to land and cover the dock of an assault ship in Subic Bay.”

In the average scheme of things, Hannah didn’t expect to be instantly whisked off to fly with the US Air Force when she enlisted for a photojournalism class in the University of the Philippines (UP) last semester. The series of serendipitous events that changed her life had begun when European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) photojournalist Dennis Sabangan was mentoring her class.

Dennis Sabangan possesses a roster of incredible credentials — from photographing Barack Obama, to war zones, to being among the official photographers to cover the recent FIFA World Cup. Why he willingly spends time to teach a three-unit photojournalism class at UP Diliman is quite a mystery, admirable though it is.

When not shocking the class with his R-rated jokes and bizarre laughter, or inspiring with his incredible stories, Sabangan challenges his students to go out and get firsthand experience shooting different themes every week. His generosity in teaching doesn’t mean he compromises his high standards. He will blatantly criticize his students’ photos down to pulp if they are no good. He warns, jokingly, if you have a weak heart and your photos suck, don’t come to class at all.

Hannah Reyes, a speech communications major at UP, enrolled in his class last semester and tried to perform to his expectations. Her longing to learn pushed her to apply for an internship with the EPA, where she expected to do the usual mandatory clerical job. “I just wanted to be in an office where there would be photography and I could hear their stories after coverage. That was enough for me: to get to know and get to talk to the photographers.” But on the first day of work, clad in white pants and open-toed sandals, Hannah was sent to do field work in a coal production place in Pasig City.

Within the first week on the job, she was published in the International Herald Tribune.

To date, Hannah has seen her fair share of the many facets this country has to offer, both good and bad. She has come face to face twice with the notorious Ampatuans, covered the May presidential elections, was present during a depressing fire which destroyed 300 shanties, and rode with the Philippine Air force during Noynoy’s inauguration, which showered the crowd with yellow rose petals. Her work has been published in various international publications, among them The Guardian, Bangkok Post and The Wall Street Journal. But despite the instant exposure, Hannah humbly says that the work on the field is astounding. “It changed me in one summer. I grew up a lot, and being out there was beyond just inspiring. It was something that made you want to make a difference,” Hannah says.

The challenge of being a rookie photojournalist was aggravated by the fact that she was a 19-year-old girl out on the field doing what most grown, burly men do. For people who know Hannah, her light, bubbly and sunshiny personality; her open love for her favorite color yellow; and her infatuation with wanderlust may disguise the hard-hitting, aggressive and courageous photojournalist she is. “Being a woman photographer in the field was different because other photojournalists were grown men. Some of them — I don’t want to say underestimated me, but they weren’t sure if I was supposed to be there or if I was even qualified to be there.”

However, Hannah says being around other photojournalists made her realize the unspoken camaraderie that they shared with each other. Other photographers were always looking out for her and were always willing to mentor and teach her. She says the way they impart their knowledge shows just how much they strive to keep photojournalism alive.

Although Hannah admits she still has a lot left to learn, she says working in the field and gaining firsthand experience has taught her a few things. “I’ve learned to appreciate the hospitality of people by taking pictures of complete strangers who just let you in. They recognize how powerful photojournalism is and they ask you to take their pictures so their cause will be heard. You realize how powerful a tool it is in helping people out, in changing people’s lives, and that’s really, really inspiring.”

Hannah dreams of one day traveling the world with her camera, shooting other cultures and taking the kinds of pictures that will be able to stand time. Her longing to explore the world with infectious positivism will no doubt bring her to places and enable her to capture the times in ways that will awe and inspire many. 

Perhaps for now, that’s what we should anticipate of the dreamy-eyed Hannah and her great yellow adventures.

The world, after all, needs more young explorers and storytellers.

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Check out Hannah Reyes’ online site at http://yellowadventures.tumblr.com/.