"Low Key" in-club photo contest winners

The entries in the third in-club photo contest of The Ilocandia Photographic Society were exhibited at Saramsam Cafe in Laoag City and the contest has recently been concluded. Here are all the entries and winners of this "Low Key" photo competition.


"Low key portrait"

1. Ronald Macatulad, 2. Lorna Tolentino-Macatulad, 3. Joseph Andie Lamug, 4. Joseph Reginaldo, 5. Michael Ong, 6. Neil Ratuita, 7. Dr. robert Francis G. Luzod7, 8. Alaric Yanos, 9. Edwin Antonio, 10. Jose B. Orosa III, 11. Bryan Rapadas, 12. Mawie Chan



"Low Key Landscape"

1. Michael Ong, 2. Jose B. Orosa III, 3. Mawie Chan, 4. Lorna Tolentino-Macatulad, 5. Ronald Macatulad, 6. Neil Ratuita, 7. Joseph Reginaldo, 8. Bryan Rapadas, 9. Joseph Andie Lamug/a>, 10. Alaric Yanos, 11. Edwin Antonio



"Low key still life"

1. Mawie Chan, 2. Alaric Yanos, 3. Bryan Rapadas, 4. Neil Ratuita, 5. Edwin Antonio, 6. Michael Ong, 7. Joseph Reginaldo, 8. Jose B. Orosa III, 9. Lorna Tolentino-Macatulad, 10. Ronald Macatulad


AND the winners are!


1. Ronald T. Macatulad, 2. Michael C. Ong, 3. Lorna Tolentino-Macatulad, 4. Joseph Andie R. Lamug, 5. Mawie Chan




1. Michael C. Ong, 2. Joseph Andie R. Lamug, 3. Dr. Jose B. Orosa III, 4. Mawie Chan, 5. Neil G. Ratuita



1. Alaric Yanos, 2. Mawie Chan, 3. Dr. Jose B. Orosa III, 4. Michael C. Ong, 5. Lorna Tolentino-Macatulad

Huge thanks to Mr. Neil Garcia, Editor-in-chief of the best photography magazine out there: I-Mag Photography Magazine, for selecting the top photos in each category Agyaman kami unay, apo!!! ^_^

Incidentally, we also organized a photo contest for the TIPS newcomers to participate in. And the best three photos from the 18 photos submitted by the nine TIPS applicants are:

by Godwinn Vicente

by Raffy Pasalo

by Edward Bulusan


Congratulations to all of us! :-D

TIPS covers Bac-bacarra Festival

As a tribute to the extinct local fish called bac-baccara which the name of the town Bacarra was derived from, a festival celebration is being held annually. The Ilocandia Photographic Society (TIPS) went to document the said event on November 30.

Tipsters Alaric Yanos, Bryan Rapadas, Michael Ong, Dr. Edwin Antonio, Archi. Joseph Reginaldo and Andie Lamug went to experience the said festival. The highlight of the festival was the street dancing parade. There were only nine groups who participated in the parade.

Prior to the dance parade, when some of the tipsters who went to shoot dance parade participants on their preparation, they shy away from the cameras. It was learned that locals were aloof of photographers because of their experience that an old time photographer based there shoot people and let them pay for the photos.

After the event, they went on a photo op at the historical landmark of the town that is the Bacarra Domeless Tower.

TIPS receives certificates from Hawaii

On November 19, Dr. Jose Orosa III, TIPS president called a general assembly meeting with the main agendum of evaluation of the Gameng Photo Exhibit in Hawaii, USA.

Dr. Edwin Antonio who represented TIPS in the said photo exhibit at the University of Hawaii at Manoa described to the group the rigors as well as the excitement of putting up an exhibit in an international level. He presented the photos and video documentation of the exhibit.

Dr Antonio turned over to TIPS president the certificate of appreciation given by the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He remitted the sales in US dollars to each exhibitor who sold their photos. One by one, he awarded the certificates to every exhibitor.


Lastly, TIPS president Dr. Orosa gave a speech in a happy reaction to the success of the photo exhibit.

TIPS conquers Hawaii thru its Gameng Exhibit

The photo exhibit entitled Gameng: Ilocos Treasure Goes to Hawaii presented by The Ilocandia Photographic Society (TIPS) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, USA during the 4th Nakem International Conference was a resounding success.

According to Dr. Edwin Antonio who represented TIPS in the said conference in Hawaii, most of the people praised the photography works of the exhibitors. Right from the opening ceremony on November 11, 2009 where Dr. Antonio presented to the delegation the video sneak preview of the Gameng Photo Exhibit, they were amazed by the visual impact and the fantastic composition of the photographic collection that truly represents the Iloku culture.

On November 12, with the help of the student volunteers, the photos were mounted, displayed and formally opened for public viewing. Participants and student volunteers especially those born in Hawaii with Ilocano lineage admired the photos. As if they traveled to Ilocos seeing these photos. They began to reserve some photos to buy.


Consul General Leoncio Cardenas of the Philippine Consulate in Hawaii was one of the guest speakers in the conference who took time to view the photos. He appreciated the photos and reserved two photos for him.

November 13 was the last day of the exhibit and people kept on checking the photos and began paying for the reserved ones. It was a big surprise that 50% of the photos on exhibit were sold.


Dr. Ariel Agcaoili, Executive Director of the Ilokano Language and Literature Program of UH and over-all chairman of Nakem conference commended the group for contributing success to the conference and that he awarded a certificate of appreciation to TIPS and a certificate to each exhibitor.

TIPS goes International

With the initiative of Dr. Edwin Antonio, the photography works of the members of The Ilocandia Photographic Society (TIPS) will be showcased in the international scene.

Dr. Antonio will be attending and presenting a paper at the 4th Nakem International Conference to be held at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii on November 11-14, 2009. He lobbied to the organizers of the said conference the idea of putting up a photo exhibit featuring Ilocano culture and was approved by the conference committee.

He conceptualized the exhibit to showcase Ilocandia's wonderful sights and sceneries and likewise feature the rich Ilocano cultures and traditions. The exhibit is titled Gameng: Ilocos Treasure Goes to Hawaii. Gameng is an Iluko term for treasure.

The photographs of Ferina Albano, Dr. Edwin Antonio, Mawie Chan, Joseph Andie Lamug, Dr. Robert Francis Luzod, Ronald Macatulad, Michael Ong, Dr. Jose Orosa III, Anthony Ramos, Bryan Rapadas, Eng'r. Neil Ratuita, Archi. Joseph Reginaldo, Lorna Tolentino-Macatulad, Carlito Villamarin, and Alaric Yanos will be featured in this exhibit.

Alaric Yanos, made the video preview of the exhibit and was in-charge in the overall screening and preparation of the exhibit photos, Bryan Rapadas and Dr Antonio helped in the screening process and Andie Lamug designed the poster.

TIPS covers Miss Earth 2009 visit to Ilocos

In a very short notice, TIPS members composed of Dr. Edwin Antonio, Alaric Yanos, Michael Ong, and Andie Lamug went to Paoay to cover the visit of the Miss Earth 2009 beauties. The candidates planted trees at the Ilocos Norte Hotel and Convention Center then later visited the World Heritage Site Paoay Church.

They took their snacks at Herencia where they enjoyed eating empanada and the pinakbet pizza. Grand pageant coronation will be held on November 22, 2009 at the Boracay Convention Center.

TIPS conducts Seminar-Workshop

In order to update knowledge and skills of the members of The Ilocandia Photographic Society (TIPS), an in-club photography seminar-workshop was held on October 31, 2009 at the residence of Dr. Robert Luzod in Batac, Ilocos Norte. The said event was attended by 13 members.

Basic photography lecture was delivered by Dr. June Orosa with emphasis on aperture, shutter speed and depth of field. It was followed by a lecture about Macro photography by Mawie Chan. He lent his lenses to the members to try and went to the garden to shoot flowers and insects. A photo op for the group was done during one of the breaks.

In the afternoon, a lecture on Strobist and Studio Lighting was delivered by Michael Ong and Ronald Macatulad. They shared the techniques on lighting by identifying and setting up the equipments for the group’s hands on.

To cap the day, they had a fashion photo shoot with some models using the backdrop of the sunset and rock formations of Pangil in the town of Currimao.