Skywriting by Word of Light

In exhibition of photographs by celebrity stylist Jenni Epperson, fashion maverick Ino Caluza, and visual artist Igan D’Bayan marks the debut of the NX10, the first in a new generation of digital cameras from global electronics leader Samsung. A testament to the unique eye and storytelling style of each participant, as well as the many intelligent features of the DSLR, the photographs are on display at the Rockwell Mall North Court of the Power Plant Mall from August 11 to 15, 2010.

D’Bayan, who is also a Lifestyle sub-editor, columnist and graphic artist of the Philippine Star, highlighted the versatility of the NX10 in both colored and black-and-white images. His centrepiece, “Sanitarium” used McFarlane action figures and employed the NX10’s Gloomy and Retro settings together with the Custom and Classic colors .

He also toyed with the NX10’s shutter speed to shoot “Skywriting by Word of Light,” and captured great detail in a dried up bouquet (“Power, Corruption & Lies”), a labyrinth of roots on a tree at Mandaluyong’s National Center for Mental Health (“The Bends”), and the havoc caused by Typhoon Basyang (“What the Weather Painted on my Garden Wall, Last Night”).

Striving for “black humor, irony, and cute and quirkily gothic” images in his social commentaries, D’Bayan pronounces the NX10 “handy, easy to use, and an essential instrument for art.”

Caluza combined his passions for fashion and ultra-modern architecture in dramatic black-and-white diptychs. Though the pairings were random, they still capture what Caluza hoped: the subtle references of a building’s details with some of the designs of his jeans and jackets. “The power of photography is in creating a certain mood through the use of available lights, good composition, and a perfect subject,” he says. “When all these three aspects are in good harmony, that certain amount of balance will eventually achieve great images.”

Going for a raw, unpredictable, and more artistic representation of the typical fashion shoot, Epperson got exactly that in the NX10’s multi-shutter feature and her 14-year-old daughter Aryanna. Capturing Aryanna in Cosplay mode, the stylist made her teenage muse “move” through frame-by-frame photographs of her skipping down a sidewalk or standing on a swing in outfits ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Japanese Anime.

Achieving vivid colors in natural light, meanwhile, was seen in her snapshots of sumo wrestler dolls and “treasures” in a lunchbox. Epperson, who is comfortable with cameras (she shoots the photographs that appear in her website www.jenniepperson.com and blog ichigoandbuko.blogspot.com, and is the better half of professional photographer Tom), says the NX10 is not an intimidating instrument, even for first-timers. “You only need half a day’s reading of the manual to understand how it works, and you learn as you go along,” she insists. “If you’re looking to upgrade your camera, this is one of the best to use. It’s easy to figure out and the learning curve is low.”

Available in noble black and titan silver, the Samsung NX10 has the capabilities of a professional camera inside the compact frame of a digital camera. Portable, high in quality, and lightweight enough to take anywhere, the NX10 features a large 3.0” AMOLED screen, offering easier viewing even in bright sunshine and at acute viewing angles, thus freeing users from the need to shield the screen with their hand.

The NX10 also includes in-depth manual controls and a Smart Auto function which automatically detects the surrounding environment of the shot and selects the right shoot mode.