Ripples of Labours Lost (Bebet Gaudinez)

The Ayala Alabang Camera Club (AACC) presents its seventh annual photo exhibit titled “Photographic Memory: The Best of 2009.” This photo exhibit, which will run until November 22 at the Home Zone Area in Alabang Town Center, features over 100 of the club’s best photographs in 2009 from 34 exhibitors.

Photography indeed is no less than a memory in print. It was the French novelist Emile Zola who wrote, “You cannot claim to have seen anything until you have photographed it.” The memory of an event, a place or even the simplest of things as captured through the photographer’s lens comes back to life long before anyone has forgotten. The photographic images that capture life at a standstill are actually the photographer’s expression of himself – how he views life, how he feels, and what he creates out of his play of light and shadows. Reminiscent of jazz photographer William Claxton’s “Photographic Memory,” AACC’s version aims at showcasing the best of 2009’s harvest of its finest photographs. As Claxton’s photographs long outlived him, only time will tell when a perfectly-taken shot ceases to be appreciated.

The Ayala Alabang Camera Club, a premier organization of photographers, is actually made up of individuals coming from diverse profession or field – doctors, accountants, teachers, entrepreneurs, engineers, hobbyists, professional photographers, and even college students. Although its members are not only limited to the village residents and surrounding areas, AACC has also members coming from Caloocan, Cainta, Biñan (Laguna), and Cavite. The club started in 2002 and was registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2004 as a non-stock, non-profit organization.

The club conducts various activities for its members for the purpose of honing one’s craft in photography. These activities include monthly theme contests, on-the-spot site shoots, seminars, photo walks, special aid projects, and annual exhibits.

With its 50-plus members, AACC is not just a regular camera club where camaraderie is borne out of common interest and where friendship abounds. Everyone in the club believes that achieving good pictures is more than just clicking the button. A play on lights or judging the distance from the subject sometimes makes all difference.

The AACC is open to budding photographers or even professionals who wanted to create a niche in their chosen field of interest.