au.was.here.

last week, i encountered a post about an upcoming nude photography seminar: SPPP Nudes--The Artist's Way. hmmmm...title pa lang, sounds interesting already. especially to one like myself who has been scouting around for a nudes photo opportunity ever since I saw OWG's very first Nude seminar which i missed by a few days. problem was, that week was so busy at work and i wasn't sure if i'd be available on the Saturday that the SPPP seminar was scheduled.

however, i knew i wouldn't sleep well if i let this by. i just had to go. especially since it costs so little. i thought the P1000.00 fee was just too cheap to let it pass. so just a day before, i decided that i would have to go. i managed to reshuffle schedules and there i was at 9am on Saturday at the Philippine Columbian. it was being taught by another distinguished photographer, Mr. Ibarra Deri who teaches a similar course for P7,000 at PCCI. i knew i would kick myself if i missed it.


the day started out with some light lecture, some samples of Mr. Deri's amazing work and demos from Ynzal and Digiprint. i couldn't help but feel it was a promotional stint. but hey, what can one expect from such a low price. besides, even their promotions were informational. just before lunch, the models arrived: 1 male (yey! finally!) 2 ladies and 3 snakes! woohooo! super exciting. but apparently, not for the 2 lady models. they were deathly scared of their reptilian counterparts! well,at least, at first. Mr. Boy S., president of SPPP, had funny magician antics that eventually put them at ease. it seems he has more than photography talents under his sleeve! "wag ka mag-alala" he'd say, "di naman ito totoong snake, may batteries ito e." he'd also squeeze the snake's body gently and an unseen squeaky toy sounds off in unison! how he does it is a mystery to me. but it was totally hilarious.


we had lunch, a choice between a fish or a chicken dish. and it was a complete meal at that, it started with soup, the main meal, and there was a sweetened fruit dessert. again, not shabby at all for a P1000K tuition. the photoshoot was set to start after lunch. there was chatting for a while as we waited for the models make-up job to complete. the first model to pose for the eager photogs was Ivan, the male model. i would have to say he was my favorite among the 3 models (not including the snakes). he was very professional and had poses that would truly inspire any photographer. even his shaved head adds to the drama!


the 2 lady models followed but i think they were too distracted with the snakes to really cultivate their full potential. but nonetheless, i think the shots still came out pretty good and they still truly inspired the male photographers :-D


all in all, it was an absolutely exciting photography day. too bad for me i had to go back home early since i had to get ready for a good friend's party. i knew i'd be skinned alive if i missed it or came too late for it so i missed the on-the-spot photo contest where some nice prizes were at stake too. i didn't feel bad at all for leaving early, though, because i got what i came for in the first place: the chance to see if i had the guts to shoot bare-naked models and to add some of fine art nude photos to my portfolio. truly a day (and P1K) very well spent!



i shot in RAW this time just to try it so it takes longer for me to process. will upload them on my Multiply and Flickr sites as soon as i sort and process them.

below are some more photos from my totally cool "nude and snakes" day: