Two of my favorite photos of Ethan, both showing how much of a kid he really was. I think he was around 3 years old.
Jollibee or beer?
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Monthly Archives: May 2013
Growing up with a camera
My son Ethan grew up around a camera. Whether I was shooting him or shooting something, anything, his first 5 years were years I shot the most as a photographer.
I did it both as work and as a hobby. I just loved photography. I still do, actually. I just don’t get to do it as much as I would want.
Last time I asked my son what he wanted to be when he grew up he said he wants to be a photographer. He’s too young to know what he really wants but I’m glad he has the knack for it—even if it’s just going to be his hobby when he grows up.
He’s actually very good and I’m not just saying that because he’s my son. He is. And he doesn’t like cameras without the viewfinder. He won’t shoot with a screen as a viewfinder. I’m actually glad he grew up at a time when I didn’t yet use a camera with a monitor.
When he turns 12 which is next year, I will enroll him in his first photography class. We’re both excited about it.
My first film…7-CUT
My very first film back in 1998, Manny Montelibano asked me if I wanted to do tag-team with Lawrence Fajardo and do short films. It was providential because I had wanted to do my very first film then. We would put up one production and do each of our short films and do role-reversal and help each other out. In the end, I became the lead actor for Lawrence Fajardo’s very first ever short film. And he acted also in mine. Yep, Lao (his nickname) is actually in 7-Cut!
I shot this a V-8 camera without any formal training in film, I din’t even know what a shotlist was. Manny Montelibano guided me a lot. I just asked a lot of questions I remember. But one person made the biggest contribution and it was Louie Gumapas who did magic in the editing of 7-Cut.
This short film introduced me to the world of filmmaking and the late Alexis Tioseco who brought me and the film to Singapore 8 years later in 2006.
You Got Milk
Ethan grew up never ever drinking water. He hated drinking water. He always just drank milk. Eventually, he liked drinking iced-tea, orange and apple juice, but never water. He’s very American in that sense.
On contact prints and apple cut…
This is me as a kid. Yep, I had the standard apple cut as most kids did in the 70’s. Nobody does apple cut anymore. And nobody does contact prints as well. In fact, people don’t even print their photos anymore. We should though.