The Story Behind my Photography 2004

2004 -

My photography slowly showed promise and Auntie Chinga saw this when she came to visit Philippines. She let me handle her Carl Zeiss Sony Cybershot digital camera. Heavy. Made in Japan. Black. A bit bulky for today's taste but this was 2004, where in Cagayan de Oro, you were either rich or privileged to afford something like it. I jumped from borrowing from my friend, Johnny Macanas - a talented theater actor, model and photographer himself and then to my cousin's Olympus when either was available. I needed them. Not only to feed my own vanity, posing as my own model and lab rat but my present occupation required it. My jewelry business. As an artist, I often found myself sidetracked by colorful skills and manual work - jewelry making was one of them. This was the height of do-it-yourself jewelry and I had access to good beads, wires, pliers and whatnots. I sold them here in the locality to friends and soon, I was already exporting to New Jersey. As a businesswoman of the artsy fartsy, it was important for me to make an impression with my brand "Natural Vices." I decided, that maybe it was time for image models. So I gathered beautiful family members and lovely friends to pose in headshots with my handcrafted earrings. With the simple makeup I did on them, their photos gave even more life to my designs - and together, they traveled abroad.

(Inset: An example from the Natural Vices collection sent to USA with same set of earrings the model is wearing and more. The model is my cousin. )