Thank you very much Sir Ronald Jayme for featuring me as Picture Perfect's Photographer of the Week, to Ms. Jojie Alcantara for the wonderful write-up and to the graphic artist who made the layout. 

Visual Narrative
By Jojie Alcantara
Published: September 23, 2014

“I am a storyteller,” shares Rodel Diaz, professing his love for art which dates a long way back to childhood. He began painting and sketching; but lacking the discipline to prepare his tools meticulously, he transitioned into photography which was more to his taste and personality.

Rodel started a career in web design and graphic art during what he refers to as “the dark dot-com era.” A graduate of BS in Computer Science at UP Los Baños, this Quezon City-born guy is currently working as a software engineer in a multi-national company in Taguig.

“My photography started before the Internet enslaved the world. As a self-taught weekend photographer through trial and error, I shot mostly with an SLR film camera borrowed from a friend. I bought mine while working in Hong Kong just a few months after the world revealed the first DSLR.  Several years later, I finally went digital after renouncing my purist view against digital cameras. Today, I am utilizing the wonders of digital photography and post-processing in creating art. Since then, photography has been my outlet, my escape from the IT reality,” he explains.

For Rodel, a photograph is effective if it evokes a reaction, a range of emotions – happiness, sadness, anger – it can be about the composition, subject matter, and lighting or the combination of all three. 

He believes his being a moody person greatly affects the end product.  He notices his shots are better when relaxed and in a good mood.  But in overcoming and managing this moodiness, he needs to care about whatever he is shooting.  These moods influence his preference for bright colors, or toning down to subtle and dark.

“I have no particular preferences in pictures but I have great respect for people who still shoot film. I used to shoot film and was at one time a purist because I once believed that a photograph should never be manipulated. Little did I know that even films are being post-processed. My work as a graphic artist introduced me to the realm of Photoshop. By digital post-processing, I was able to extend my creativity by enhancing the photos I took. Post-processing has become my way of self-expression. I love playing with colors, but there are photos that stand out if they are in black and white,” he says.

Rodel has since made several attempts to join a few well-known camera clubs, but time management was an issue. In his daughter’s school, the Mindbuilders Preschool owner invited parents to volunteer as official photographers during school events. The MB Paparazzi was born out of camaraderie, and even though their kids were already in gradeschool, they keep in touch and hold photography talks and workshops from time to time.

He had also joined photo contests organized by his company where he won the grand prize.

“Currently, I am enjoying wedding, lifestyle, and fine art photography. But I am not confining myself to any specific area as I am open in trying other types of photography like food, real estate, and travel. When I travel, I always look forward to having several photos shot in a different perspective. I tend to capture emotions. By trying to connect with the locals, my travel becomes more meaningful, making my documentation easier. Human interest is my favorite subject. You can create stories by just capturing a single emotion done candidly. I don’t know if it is good or bad, but I don’t have an ultimate goal as a visual artist. I just want to take great photos and go where my camera (and artworks) will take me. And so far, I am not disappointed,” he narrates.

Rodel is guided by two basic and most important principles a lensman must-have:  patience and passion. For him, nothing great is achieved in a hurry and without enthusiasm. He believes this is where he is most passionate about – capturing light through his lens and telling stories through his art. 

“The best thing about being a photographer is that your eyes will be trained to see the essence of things beyond the naked eye. And in effect, you will appreciate God’s wisdom better. You will see beauty even in the ugliest subject you could find. That’s what photography has taught me,” he ends.

Reprinted from: Manila Bulletin/Picture Perfect/Published: September 23, 2014

Ang inyong mababasa ay resulta ng boredom at maghapon at magdamag na pakikinig sa musika ng eraserheads... Artwork by vp021 of deviantART

Portland, Oregon
May 2008

Dear Kim,

Kumusta ang bakasyon mo? Nakita kita sa isang magazine, sa tindahan ni Aling Nena, nabugbog ka na naman daw kahapon. Hindi na nakita mula nang huling nag date sa megamall. May mga kumakalat na balita, tagahugas ka daw ng pinggan sa may Ermita. Bigla na lang natutulala, umiiyak, tumatawa. You shouldn't take all the dog food that they make. Pinilit kong iahon ka ngunit ayaw mo naman sumama. Gusto mo bang sumama? All you have to do is follow that star. Isasama ko ang girlfriend ko, isasama ko kahit sinong may gusto. Uwi na tayo dahil wala ng sense ang ating mundo. 68 Dr. Sixto Antonio Ave, bahay namin, maliit lamang, pero pero pero malinis 'to pati sa kusina. Maraming salamin sa bahay namin. Wag kang matakot na matulog mag-isa, kasama mo naman ako. Kahit na ano'ng mangyari, kahit na saan ka man patungo, takpan mo ang iyong mata, hihiga tayo at kakanta. The whole day would be fine. Even if I have to fetch you everyday. I'm in it anyway. Ako ang kailangan mo, i-dial lang ang telepono. Nais kong marinig ang malandi mong tinig. Take a bite, it's alright. Halika tikman ang langit. Game, Tama na! Ha ha ha! 

Wag kang mabahala di kita malilimutan. Kamuka mo si Paraluman nung tayo ay bata pa. You’re living in a Catholic school, all the teachers say you’re fine. Nakadungaw sa bintana, you're staring at my soul, my sanity you stole. Nadakip mo ang puso ko. They try to tell us we're too young. We took a trip by boat into the promised land, a place in the world when the sun don't shine. Hitchin’ a ride on Santa’s sleigh, magkaholding hands papunta sa C.A.S.A.A. We dream a land of milk and honey, a place of wishing wells and magic spells. Ngunit ngayon kaybilis maglaho ng kahapon. Cause time slips and slides into another place. Ang mga tao sa buhay mo ay nagdaraan na lamang. Umiikot ang mundo at hindi humihinto ngunit ang kalagayan mo ay di nagbabago. Pwede bang itigil muna ang pag-ikot ng mundo? Sabi nga ni Rico J. Puno, kung may problema ka, magsuot ng maskara. O baket ba ganyan ang buhay ng tao? Bakit ba pag nagsawa na ako biglang ayoko na? Yoko na yoko na yoko na mag-CMT! Sawang-sawa na ko nyan sa bahay namin. Anong nangyari dito, sino sa atin ang nagbago? Wag mo nang itanong sa akin, di ko rin naman sasabihin. Sabihin man ng iyong nanay na wala akong silbi sa buhay.  I don’t think she understands, I just wanna hold your hand. I wanted life to be this way: no comic books, no ugly looks. Life's a journey anyway -- hey! Kita-kita sa dulo.

Alam kong nababaduyan ka na sa mga sinasabi ko. Tatlong oras na akong nagpapa-cute sa 'yo. Nasayang ang maghapon, ano ang napala? Tama ka na walang saysay kung itutuloy pa. Easy ka lang. Kung gusto mo manood ka na lang ng sine. Di ba huwebes ngayon baka may bago ng palabas? Pero salamat na rin sa yo sa wakas. I'm so glad you open the door. There's only one thing I'm wishing for: Gusto ko ng Nirvana T-shirt. Hindi yung yellow ha, yung RED!

Magpalonghair kaya ako?

Driving one rainy Saturday night I was listening to Lourde De Veyra's Chillaxradio (over Radyo 5 92.3FM) as they journeyed on classical (and even contemporary) poetry. I didnt expect that poetry on a rainy night  (accompanied by a smooth background music) could be that awesome, lalo na pag lumang tagalog. Nakakarelax kahit trapik. One poem that struck me was one written by Neruda and translated in Tagalog by Virgilio S. Almario. Kaya hinanap ko agad sa internet at heto share ko sa inyo.

This is it.

After more than a decade of designing websites for others, I finally have my own. My very first website was created in the 90s using a notepad and an imaging-software-i-forgot-its-name. I have never heard of any HTML editing tool or Photoshop back then. That site which contained nonsense stuff (such as midis!), was hosted in Geocities. Too bad I wasn’t able to backup those files, it looked very amateurish anyway. I enjoyed toying with the site so much that I decided to pursue a designing career instead of software engineering (Yes, I have a computer science degree).

But computer programming found its way somehow into my profession when website development was paid more than the web design. Throughout those times, I came up with quite a few personal websites, but was fixated more on my design portfolio. I didn’t have my own domain and was completely satisfied to have them run in some free webhosting services. And those free webhosting companies died, and along with them my websites. At some point, the desire of having my own space also died.

Several years later, I am still in the IT industry (sigh). But got hooked on digital photography after I renounced my purist view against digital cameras. I have accepted the fact that film and digital are two different arts. They lie on separate planes and to a great extent, incomparable. Then I thought of revitalizing my desire of making my own website to exhibit not my design folio, but my photography. Thanks to web 2.0, having your own website is easier, more fun and interactive than ever before.

So this is it. Enjoy the photos and hope to do business with you soon. :-)