Anticipation

Back in the day, when I was still learning photography using a film camera (my father’s Canon A1), buying a roll of film was pretty darn exhilarating. Well, first of all, ‘twas due to the fact that I could hardly afford any – I was a high school student then – and times when I had the chance to steal/beg/borrow some cash were rare. Once every four months or so, I went to the photo center in Alturas (it’s still there, I think) to buy a 36-roll Kodak or to BQ Arcade to grab some Fujifilms which were cheaper. Sometimes, I get my stash from Ramasola Superstudio which sold 36-shot Agfa films that had a couple or so extra frames at the end – such joy winding the frame to 38 or 40!

That was the bulk of my shooting then. No digital cameras yet. No cellphone cameras either. I shot film which regularly kicked me in the face with more than half a roll of garbage. But, I was not to be deterred. Or, maybe I was somehow deterred but stubbornly went back at it because I easily forget. But mostly, it was the thrill of shooting film though. The thrill in the hunt for the perfect capture.

See, during those times, photography classes and workshops were hard to come by. There were only a few people doing photography so I did not have photo buddies of any sort. My father taught me a few things and I had a single photography book to guide me through. Nothing more. So, most of my frames were estimates and experiments while trying to memorize the settings for different shooting conditions. One time, I had to list down the settings for every frame as a guide. But still, nobody really knew what was to finally come up on the negatives.

I few years ago at the BQ Express Center, I was waiting for some prints to finish when two high school students came in to have their film roll developed. Their school was still teaching film photography despite the availability of digital cameras already which I think is commendable. When they came back after an hour, I saw my youngish self in their beleaguered faces when they received their uncut roll and found out not a single frame was properly exposed! I’m sure in the hour they waited, they were excited to see properly exposed photographs and dreaming of the perfect capture in this single roll they sent in only to later find out all of them were, well, duds.

I never saw those kids again. I only hope they still trudged along, bought a few more rolls and finally got exposures that would make their mums proud. Or, I hope they eventually ditched film photography class and went straight ahead to shooting great photographs with a proper digital camera instead. Either way, I feel proud of them who tried and played the game of anticipation.

Another Photo Class

Shameless plug. We are doing another Basic Photography Workshop on the 16th of this month, Sunday, 9am to 6pm at the Crabhouse Restaurant. Participants are entitled to join Side Room Photography Club after finishing the class. The club is designed to be an extension of the workshops were members continue learning about photography through club shoots, contests and other guided events.

Together with local photographer/designer Charles Borja, who is also an event organizer, we try to make this workshop series regular so that aspiring Bohol photographers will have a chance to learn proper photography in a proper setting. (Unlike those hit-or-miss times of yore back in the film days.)

If you are interested to join, please call or text 0926-571-1111 to reserve a slot. Or visit, www.facebook.com/sideroom to inquire.

Happy shooting!

(For questions and comments regarding this column, please email me at ryanmacalandag@yahoo.com or look me up on Facebook. We are conducting regular basic and advanced photography workshops through Sideroom Workshops. Please visit www.facebook.com/sideroom to inquire.)