Ferdz’s Living by Water exhibit
Lone Fisherman on a Mangrove, my favorite image in the exhibit.
Last 24 and 26 May, I visited fellow travel blogger Ferdz’s first monochrome exhibit entitled Living By Water at the Filipinas Heritage Library. It is his tribute to, in his words:
“…water and its significance to how and why people live by the water. “
What piqued my curiosity most were the locations where the images were taken: stilt villages in Basilan and Zamboanga, Itbayat, Lake Sebu, Siquijor and Iloilo. Except maybe for the last one, the rest of the places, especially with Itbayat is something that I must see and want to travel to one day. I would want to know these places and how others perceive these areas let alone interpret it in photographs.
There were memorable images. I especially liked the above photo with its pleasing contrast, composition and subject matter. Technically, I admired his other image titled Home at Sea with really good tonal distribution and impact.
After having said these, I do have comments. Three things:
- Tighter editing. By this, I mean, there are images that are redundant and some, good images notwithstanding, do not fit the theme.
- Tonal variation and contrast. Some images still need to be handled in a way that the full range from the deepest black to the whitest white are present. The relationship of dark and light areas need to be enhanced also as some images looked flat. There are several techniques on going about this.
- Lastly, especially for landscapes, horizons are always important to be straight.
For a first time exhibit, I should say, not bad at all. It takes a lot of courage to have a photo exhibit and present one’s work formally to the world and at the same time put it under scrutiny. Mistakes are also common. In my first major group show, I committed a major blunder in the processing in one of the photos. Now, I look back and learn from that experience.
To Ferdz, I will be looking forward to your next show.
Estan Cabigas is a multiawarded blogger, freelance photographer and writer based in Makati City, the Philippines. A true blue Cebuano, he makes stunning images and meaningful photo stories. He has contributed to local and international publications including CNN Go, National Geographic Magazine, Geo (Germany), Sunday Times Magazine (London) and other publications.To know more about him and his photography, visit estancabigas.com.
