Scenes from a life

Time is precious and unstoppable. Memories fade. So how do you freeze time, and with it, memories as delightful as double chocolate fudge sundae?

You take pictures. And when the memories are of a once-in-a-lifetime event, you get a good photographer.

Photographers have the unenviable task of capturing life’s most important moments so that in the future, those involved can look back and remember how they felt during that time.

Twenty-eight-year-old wedding photographer Pat Dy takes this task rather seriously. For him, chronicling a wedding is not just a job but a responsibility.

"Being the wedding’s official photographer is a great responsibility but also an honor. It means that the betrothed couple is entrusting you with their precious memories of that most important day in their lives as a couple," says Pat.

For Pat, wedding photography requires more than just expensive purely digital technology and precise shooting techniques, which he both possesses. It also means having the eye and the heart make something out of what one sees through the lenses. His innate artistic sense is what, Pat believes, gives him the edge over his contemporaries.

He adds, "Those looking for a wedding photographer should look beyond the glitz and glamour. I believe that pictures tell the couple’s story and that I am merely here to translate it for him. Of course, I use digital technology but what makes my photographs memorable is the dedication that I put into my work."

For weddings, Pat likes to take advantage of natural light for a more romantic and intimate effect. He is also inclined towards the use of walls, windows and interesting architecture as backdrops for his shots.

Pat is a consummate artist whose great passions are photography and music. In terms of his craft, he likes to experiment. He began to dabble in photography way back in high school at Xavier School. In college, he took up a music course at the University of the Philippines and thought that he would not go back to photography again. But Pat admits that after a while, being behind the cameras seemed more exciting to being in the limelight. He professionally photographed his first wedding in 1999 (which means it was the first time he was paid for it) and hasn’t looked back since.

Today, he is one of the country’s most popular upcoming lensmen, not just for weddings, portraits and special occasions but also for fashion editorials for magazines.

Building up his name as a wedding photographer wasn’t easy, it took Pat two years and referrals from friends and satisfied clients to establish his reputation as an excellent photographer who produces elegant and modern, yet timeless, shots.

He explains: "I always remind myself that I am just here to capture and preserve a couple’s wedding day so I better do more than my best."

(For more information, check out www.patdy.com)

From my mail box

Dear Ms. Ramirez,

In your column today (June 5, 2003) in The Philippine STAR under the banner "Night of the Presidents," you opened with the night being the same as JFK’s 76th birth anniversary (May 29). I believe that it should be his 86th birth anniversary since he was born in 1917, specifically in Brookline, Massachusetts. If he were alive I am sure he would have appreciated being made 10 years younger.

Tito Velasco

(You may e-mail me at [email protected])