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[Editor's note: This article was originally posted on September 7, 2009, here, Virgie Tano Galang's blog. Virgie was with Batch 22 of the FPPF Basic Photography Workshop.]

Last night was a restful evening.

The best laid back rest that has been deprived of me for over a month. It was a peaceful and uninterrupted relief.

The FPPF Basic Photography Class I attended has ended. Finally, the winners were revealed. I did not win. At least my entry was chosen on the Top Ten against 22 finalist. I was on 7th Place.

As expected, all photos were amazing!

Even the FPPF Chairwoman (Eduviges Y. Huang) hardly believed it was only the Basic Class. She almost confused herself if she was talking in front of the Advanced Class. The committees told her the best class was the one prior to ours; but upon seeing our works she’d like to believe she was given the wrong information.
Her remarks were flattering. Winners were all deserving.

The pride of winning was evident.
I felt how efforts were exerted; all of us had the same exertion;
but theirs were exemplary. Maybe we still need to see beyond what they saw.

My classmates would agree, if I say “all of us were winners”.
We learned substantially. The experience was simply beyond our expectations.
Most of all we gained new friends. For me that made us all champions.

Ma’am Cecilia Angeles would say our batch was the most “bungisngis” of all classes.
A single joke would collapse the entire FPPF Chamber by the outburst of our laughter.
I am guilty of it. I admit I was one who giggled much.
I cannot control myself with such a joyful group.

Ma’am Cecil was right when she told us “if you love photography you would not need a hospital, because you will never be sick. Taking photos will make your life easygoing. Every time you look at the viewfinder you will see that everything is beautiful.”

The short term course is done.

I have mixed emotions. Happy yet sad.
Happy of the immense occurrence. Sad of the short period of friendship.
We will miss the resonance of glee.
The coming Sunday will be different; but the the chuckle will continue to tremble.

Our photos will be a reminder that I’ve been a part of this “Bungisngis” batch.

Undeniably, it made me felt so proud.

[Admin's note: Batch 21 winning photos have been posted in the Gallery.]

More than just look, your eyes can now see. Time freezes into eternity. Your senses come alive, and suddenly, you can taste without moving your tongue, hear without turning your ear and smell without the aid of your nose. You feel your stomach erupt like a volcano, with emotion as your lava. Your eyes now become windows, through which your soul enters to live for a moment within the frame of a created universe, and this becomes your everything. And everything is beautiful. Eventually, you realize you need to let go, and thus you return to just looking, but now you know the world a little bit better because of the beauty of a photograph.

If you look closely, a photograph ceases to be just a photograph, it becomes part of your reality. This is what I have experienced after I decided to take photography seriously, and ever since I graduated from the FPPF Basic Photography Course a couple of weeks ago, I have had this experience more often and in a stronger degree. The Basic course combines decades of experience of seven master photographers, whom we have come to deeply respect in the five weeks we’ve spent with them. The practical tips given on camera operation, lighting, portrait photography & post-processing are not to be found in your camera manual, nor in stiff books on photography, because these little snippets of knowledge come from something that cannot be immediately acquired but must be cultivated through years and years of trying to be better—it’s called wisdom. The photo critiques were very humbling. It was like being transported back in time when I was just in Kindergarten, sweat on my hands and skips in my heartbeat. I would shiver with excitement and anxiety whenever my teacher posts the best projects on the bulletin board, hoping that my work would be chosen (We never grow up, do we?). I am amazed by the vast talent of my batchmates, and I am awed at the diversity of our pictures. Photography is a big proof that God made us all different; no one is alike. But the shared love of taking pictures unites us in the batch, and we revel in the distinctiveness of each one’s work.

The class of FPPF Basic Photography Batch 21, Saturdays, Aug-Sep 2009 at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila.

More than the technical aspects, the most important lesson I took home from this course is that photography is not just a personal experience but a communal one. Passion becomes stronger when it is shared with somebody else. It is with this premise that we immediately formed our own photography club after our graduation—the f21 club—which is an avenue for us to share our craft with each other, learn from one another and have fun in the continuous process of discovery. We start this group with huge inspiration from our idols—Ka Lito, Sir Ador, Ma’am Cecile, Sir Vic, Sir Manny, Sir Dennis and Sir Chris—for we see in them not only true artistry but genuine generosity in sharing what they know. And a little bit of what they know is a good start in this precious journey of capturing the beauty of the world. These people have taught us to do more than just look…our eyes can now see.

The author, Emmanuel Paras is from Batch 21, Saturday Class, of the FPPF Basic Photography Workshop. He won 4th Place in Still Life in the photo contest for their batch. He is one of the active organizers of their group, now called the f21 club, composed of members of Batch 21.

The FPPF encourages contributions from students and graduates relating to their experiences with the workshops and about photography in general, for publication on this website and in Frame One, the FPPF print magazine.