A correspondence with Parish Kohanim

Yes, I sent a mail to him to ask for a free login and password to his site. I got it now and not only he is a great photographer but a very nice person and full of wisdom as well. I hope you get inspired too.

Cheers,
Jay

Parish wrote:

Luckily, we all do our crafts differently,that's the fun part to observe how others see the same world that we live in. We all have our unique visions and that kind of diversity make photography more interesting. You do beautiful work and your passion is evident in your photos. Reach out for the heavens and fly high. God bless, Parish

On Jan 16, 2009, at 5:17 AM, Jay Francis Romero wrote:

Thank you Parish, I hope to see you too. Perhaps when I come to the USA or come back here in the country. Truly, what you believe in is inspirational. I will stay in touch and hopefully be good in our craft as you are or if not, a little closer. Cheers! God bless.

On Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 5:36 AM, Parish Kohanim <pk@parishkohanim.com> wrote:
Hello Jay,
Happy New Year! Thanks for your lovely e-mail and your very kind words on your blog about my work and philosophy. I'm really honored and moved by your writing! I'm sorry that I did not get to meet you while I was in the Philippines last August. I found the people from the Philippines very kind,gracious and very happy people. This fond memory will stay with me for the rest of my life. I was highly inspired! I'm really glad that you got the message of being passionate about life and all of it's wonderful offerings. We're so fortunate to be able to see with our expanded vision through our craft. Thanks again. Please stay in touch. God bless, Parish

Here's the info:
Log-in: **************
Password: ***********


On Jan 9, 2009, at 3:22 AM, Jay Francis Romero wrote:

Hi Parish,

I am Jay Francis Romero from the Philippines and I am an aspiring photographer but still a hobbyist right now. I heard of your works and I am entirely in awe of them most specially your principles regarding your work. I guess I am a big fan of yours. I actually wrote a blog regarding you. http://yaj10.multiply.com/journal/item/36/Parish_Kohanim_Consciously_reject_trends_and_follow_your_own_vision.?replies_read=12

You inspire me and I hope to see more of your works. Please grant me the login to your site.

Thank you in advance and more power to you.

Kindest Regards,
Jay

I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For - David Cook

Parish Kohanim: "Consciously reject trends and follow your own vision."

Six years ago I had a dream of working in Makati. Awed by the structures that surrounds its skyline, the classy malls that it has, the young urban professionals that I can mingle with and of course, the green pastures that I thought will be in the palm of my hands. Yes, as I have said before, I am a dreamer and I'm always determined to achieve my dreams and so I did and the rest was history. Today, I dream again, of thousand of beautiful pictures of stunning landscapes, macros, portraiture et al. The most aggressive of them all is becoming a world-renowned photographer and yet I am only starting. Only a few months from my photographic exploits, I am already dreaming big-time. I can't wait to live in my dreams.

Parish Kohanim, a well known photographer hails from Iran and lived to reach his dreams in the Land of the free, the USA. Like me, he was one of the mundane people, like me, he has his own beliefs to stand firm. I give him my admiration not only for his works but more importantly, his perspective in photography. He believes that God provides all the beauty present in this world and that media, sadly distorted our view of it. Perfection does not exist in movies or cosmetics or anything to the same effect but only around us. Beautiful for him is something that moves one spiritually. Something that will stop you will drag you to pause, think and reflect. When did a photographer had a similar view? I am not certain. Nevertheless, I can connect to him. All have distinct beliefs but this would likely describe me as the photographer of my own right. Every time I stop to capture a landscape, or a moment or stunning view, I pause for a while to say, excellent work dear God, Thank you so much at the back of my mind even its  only 1/5000secs. (Hahaha, I'm even faster than my D60). Seriously, no amount of photographic effects or glamour can compare to the awe and amazement of real life, of stunning beauty right before your eyes nature, animals or humans.

Da Vinci, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas et al, the master artists of the renaissance period who until now sells their works in millions to billions of dollars are all but Parish's inspirations. In fact, his works are painting like as he says he is painter but his brush is a camera. Again, this guy describes me as well but not as a painter. Growing up and having studied these classical artists, I have never really appreciated their work until I saw them last 2007. Yes, I saw a few at the National Gallery.

(The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London, Great Britain, U.K.)

The Madonna and the likes are jaw dropping works that I fell in love with. Not only these are contemporary works that survived the ages but they are even being studied and facts show that Leonardo's Monalisa is a perfect example of portraiture. Technically, the aesthetics of the painting forms a pyramid where a photographer can based his portraiture. As I pondered more on this, I came to thinking of how genius is Leonardo, from artistry to mathematics. Well, that is to my advantage, I was soaked in Mathematics for 5 long years in college. I am happy having known these but somehow frustrated that what have I done for the past 27 years of my life? So much time was wasted. Anyhow, it is better late than never.

His photography principles are firm and I admire him for that. Among his notable trademarks as a photographer, he uses only one light in his shoots since the world has only one source of light, the sun. On the contrary, he can also opt to use several lights and still manages to make it look like there is only one source in the output. A master of light. For me, I will not be a master of light anytime soon. It takes time to know this and I will study such thru the materials at hand and experiment by myself.

Aside from the above mentioned, what has sealed my decision to emulate this guy is his conviction. "Trends come and go, but you have to be true to yourself. You should consciously reject trends and follow your own vision." says Kohanim. (Source: Digital Photographer Philippines). I was dazed. It was like a mystery unravelled. What I wanted to hear. This is what I needed to hear to be emphatic. There are so many trends around, new technologies, new shoots, new glamour, new effects, new dynamic ranging and the like. Only a few inspires me, and these words gives me confidence and new vigour to pursuit what I want and what I think is beautiful because I am not alone. There is the famous Parish Kohanim to back me up. Oh, thank you Lord for him. Lastly, yes, there is nudity in his works. Nudity but not pornography. Who says nudity is bad? Aren't our ancestors nude? Aren’t Adam and Eve nude until they found out they were after eating the forbidden? I would plunge into the same, given the chance.

I am dreaming again and it's not even night-time.

Your decepNIKON,

Jay

 

P.S. decepNIKON was derived from the movie transformers. Well, villains daw kami per Canon users. LOL! Peace! :)

References: Digital Photographer Philippines Issue 21; www.parishkohanim.com

Dream of Me - Kirsten Dunst

Photographer, this is your life!

I am a photographer, and more often than not I think about the past four months that I have spent clicking that shutter or dragging that slider in Photoshop. Since I bought my first dslr last August I never looked back. Shooting anything and everything that captures my eye. It's funny I have never knew this thirst in photos until the arrival of Nikky (my D60). But don't misunderstood me, before Nikky there was Casio Exilim Compact Digital Camera and I was already shooting a lot back then. Actually, I was so disappointed when the Casio camera broke last February that I have to buy a new one again. If there was something to be thankful about it, I was only 7 days away from going back home in the country and not much left to photograph in London. March until July passed without a camera because of some concerns I needed to attend to financially. I even went to Bohol with my family but still no camera. Good thing my mom and elder sister got one on this trip. But she doesn't know where the backup cd is! Arrrgggh!

Finally, last August, I made it a point to buy a DSLR as an early birthday gift for myself in September! Wow! I got really excited! I chose Nikon for the reason that my friend Jo, (please pray for her, she's in the hospital as of this writing. Miss you Jo! Get well soon!) has inspired me with her stunning captures here. She's a D40x user and her dad is superb shooter too with his D3! See here. (The zenfolio page, I forgot). Wow D3! I should have that someday too! That was the story behind my D60. I never knew any multiply group or a good photographer's blog back then.

Today and for the past four months I never stopped shooting. Accumulating 40Gigabytes of photos with a stunning 10k shutter actuations count to date. My multiply website does not really show how much photos I got. I still have hundreds left to post process. A huge backlog it may be it does not matter, it doesn't bother me rather it exhilirates me. Every photo comes an equivalent emotion, a feeling that comes from deep within. A photo that brings in a smile, even a laughter or a smirk or even sadness and perhaps a teary eye or a shed of it. It is simply life unfolding. We photographers capture life, but how and when can we capture such when our life unfolds with every moment spent in capturing and processing? I doubt if it can be done. Nevertheless, it is really not essential. What is essential is in every photograph, it is full of emotions. For many, the lovely scenes worth remembering. Funny thing is for candid and paparrazi shots, the moments left unnoticed are emphasized and brought to immortality. For some, it brings back memories of old times. For a few, dreams that came true and dreams that are nearing our reach and even the dreams that can't be reached. Who wouldn't say that what you capture is who you are and what defines you? Beauty captured, perhaps you admire beauty and longs to be with one. For tourist attractions, you are an adventurer and longing for more. For nudity, an artist thristing for more or the desire to bring out your fiery passions. For nature, the love of it and intimate protection of mother earth. For Religion, to honor God for His marvelous creations. In fact, it is a medium of glorifying Him, to thank Him for every shot that you take, for without Him there is nothing to capture. For with Him, there is life worth remeniscing, worth the second to the nth thought, worth another thank you Lord. 

I understand we differ on perspective in photography, but for me, every image has a piece of me. Figuratively and literally. 

Literally, I don't look so good shooting. Toinks!

I go down and dirty. But yeah, if dirt or water can be avoided, the oddest position that it can be!

Taking deep breathes and going in pools of emotions and thinking.

Taking the shot on the position you learned or by instinct.

Going to the best position that you think to capture the moment.

In whatever part of the world that you may be. Either a pro or a hobbyist. A DSLR or a compact digicam user, your photo is you. Speaking in first person, my photos is what defines me. It is what makes me happy. So the next time your friend tells you, "Lahat nalang pinipicture mo!" (You're photographing everything!) or your mom tells you, "Pati ba naman yan pinipicturan mo!?" (Why are you photographing even that?!)..tell them, this is my life and who I am. I express myself thru photos, I make the pretty even prettier, the beautiful to exemplary, the mundane..extraordinary..the ugly perhaps acceptable (lol!), the unnoticed..immortalized.

 

It is a passion that brings out life, that brings back the past life and the present. Photography is life. An extraordinary passion. For you, what is photography? Why do you shoot?

Whatever it is, keep on shooting!

Photographer, this is your life!

Always passionate,

Jay

All photos are courtesy of IJ Molina, my fellow shooter friend. Thanks Ayj for always shooting me.

The true spirit of Christmas

Are you excited about Christmas? How do you define your Christmas? Is it a time to spend with your family? be merry? give gifts? receive gifts? Eat delicious food, jump in to the Christmas rush. What else?

In London, the English spend it drinking, if not spending it on a holiday vacation or join some kissing action in Trafalgar Square or wait for the monstrous price drops in boxing day or wait for the early morning Christmas day when scantily clad women walks into some park.

In our country, we spend a lot of time shopping, gift giving, cooking, drinking and spending time with family. Singing carols, completing simbang gabi as well, Christmas parties here and there.



People all over the world are merry making. However, during my times alone, I can't help think of the others who do not have food on their tables this Christmas, who were abandoned by their families, who are bed ridden due to illnesses, who have lost their loved ones, who have lost their jobs due to financial crisis. Yes, we can't save all of them. Even if we decide to, the little that we can give won't eradicate the poverty et al but it makes a difference to them. Change do not happen overnight, but sharing love to others will always be treasured by individuals even unspoken. At the very least it will be implanted to them subconciously. I invite you this holiday season, let us remember those who are unfortunate by saying a little prayer for them. We might think we are a part of the unfortunate but definitely not. God's grace is sufficient enough for you. If you can read this blog, you are blessed to have internet access, blessed with eyes to read, blessed with computer literacy, blessed with time to read, blessed with open mindedness to read on. You have a lot more to add to these.

Let us take time this season to reflect how blessed are we. Yes, comparing may not always be positive. Let's put that behind and think of how loved are we by God and by our family and friends. Let me start with myself.

As I review 2008, here's what I am thankful for.

To the Almighty God,
Thank you for:
..my life
..my wisdom which is gained everyday in my walk of faith. I may not show it outright but I might surprise you if we have a serious talk.
..my escape from an unhealthy relationship this year. There is so much pain in this, as this was the first time in my life that I've felt so much hatred. I thank God for healing me, for giving me another chance to straighten up my life. There was so much for me to learn. First, master the art of reading people if they are really who they say they are. One can be very sugar coated. Second, the pain of all pains is when one hurts your family. Third, affiliations are only affiliations, it does not define one's true self. Fourth, read minds. Fifth, patience for being a laughing stock at my back of friends.
..my physical abilities. I'm very thankful for my physical strength to run (this saved me from the above), to climb mountains, to live alone in a foreign land.
..the provisions He has provided. Last year, I have encountered financial difficulties but God is so good He gave me opportunities to save during my business trips in Hong Kong and London. Most notable is my acquisitions of Nikky (my nikon d60), and my laptop.
..my better health. I have struggled emotionally and spiritually at the latter part of this year due to my gastritis. I was a frequent visitor of Makati Medical Center this year. From lab tests, X-rays, ultrasound to endoscopy. I am glad I am in better shape now. Thank you Lord God for healing me and providing for my medicinal needs.

Thank you for my parents and Tita,
..for their love, support and sacrifices. for being with me in my stubborness, success and for their good upbringing.

Thank you for my eldest sister,
..whose stubborness keeps me from gaining wisdom and knowing that it is better to love than to be right.

Thank you for my youngest sister,
..whose support and care will always be treasured. I'll miss you..I'll miss protecting you. I pray that you'll be happy, safe, in good health and achieve your goals in that foreign land. Take care always.


How about you? What are you thankful of?

I wish that the true reason for the season be with you always. He's waiting for you.
He's so good a God, He talks all the steps only to be so close to you except for one. That one last step is for you to take. So much about loving you He is not that aggressive.



God bless you all! A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kindest Regards,
Jay

Christmas is all about love

If our greatest need is information, God would have sent us an educator..

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist..

If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist..

But since our greatest need is forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.

Christmas cards. Punctuated promises. Phrases filled with reason we do it all anyway.


He became like us, so we could become like Him.
Angels still sing and the star still beckons.
He loves each one of us like there was only one of us to love.
-When God Whispers Your Name.




Sharing some thoughts for you during this season of love. Taken from the book of Max Lucado, Grace for the moment.

Merry Christmas, and may God's peace be with you.

Cheers,
Jay


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From La Salle to Ateneo

Nope, this is just an intriguing title but would not tackle on the rivalry between the two. I would like to invite all photojournalists for an event to shoot our dear farmer countrymen. These people are responsible for preparing the food in our tables. The farmers hail from Batangas and are here to march from La Salle to Ateneo, then join mass with Cardinal Rosales tomorrow, Dec 5. They are here I think not for the DA issue but for another purpose which I cannot recall. Sorry for my poor memory. Nevertheless, I would like to support them for their galant act by photographing them as I have so much disgust in the current events that has happened in the DA (Department of Agriculture).

Farmers are our heroes. In other countries, they are most loved. It's about time we do the same.
Please join in, I think the event would start at 8am at De La Salle University and will be capped by a mass at 12 in ADMU by the Cardinal himself.

Mabuhay ang mga Pilipinong Magsasaka!

So little time, So many photos

There is really so little time for me and yet I have thousands of photos. My four month old Nikon D60 already has 7000+ of shutter actuations. So little time, so much to shoot. So little time, so much to post-process.

Since I have experienced the power of a RAW image, I have seldom shot in jpeg and this has caused my laptop to run so slow due to the bulk of photos that I have. This made me buy an external hard drive which works well for me. Again, this has given me so much more reason to shoot. From my point and shoot days, I have shot so much during my travels but then it has increased so much more since the arrival of my DSLR. It's as if the camera is already a part of my body. A 12.2GigaBytes of raw image backlog is probably more than enough of how passionate I am to this craft. I owe a lot of friends, colleagues and you my viewer or reader that much of photo data. When will be the time I'll finish San Pablo's seven lakes where I am under pressure from my work colleagues? When will be the time I can share the photos to the shutterclickz group our climb to Mt. Pulag? Perhaps, I need a vacation to finish all these but wouldn't it cause my backlog a lot more GigaBytes? Should I just shoot in jpeg then? I don't want to, raw is the best thing that happened to during the shot and after the shot.

Going back, I even skipped post processing my Halloween Shoot because it's passe. Oh well, what can I do..I guess the best thing is to make people wait more and more! **evil grin**

So long, anyway I showed my colleagues their jumpshot! Hahahaha! Btw, you can also see a photo of mine by Alvin (our team leader in Mt. Pulag climb) here: http://ajjfaustino.multiply.com/photos/photo/25/1



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