MANILA, Philippines — His photos have launched a thousand cars, motorcycles, light bulbs, sodas, canned goods. That’s the topnotch advertising photographer in him.

But this past couple of years, John K. Chua is more loved for being a beacon of inspiration — to persons with disabilities and their families, to lensmen who try to find meaning in the work that they do, to animal lovers, to dream flyers, or to just about anybody who appreciates his boundless energy, his endless sense of adventure, his relentless enthusiasm, and his passionate leadership.

A hobbyist first, Chua turned professional photographer when his wife Harvey decided to knock some sense into his head. “She told me to either give up photography or make it our business because it was getting to be an expensive hobby,’’ Chua recalls.

What Harvey did next was to go to advertising agencies with Chua’s portfolio. “The clients would ask, do you have lights? No, John is expert in available light. So when we got our first assignment, we were shooting shoes, we didn’t have lights. We had to borrow money for the lights. We never said no. ‘Yung aggressiveness ko noon kasi when the client asked, can you shoot this? Yes, I can do it,’’ Chua recalls the beginnings of his company called Adphoto.

Today, no self-respecting ad agency could resist a John Chua handiwork. With aerial and automobile photography as his specialty, Chua is reputed to make every car look sexy, attractive, and therefore saleable!

Yet at 63 years-old and amid the success he has already attained in the field of photography, Chua still dreams big. One of his accomplished dreams is Photography With A Difference (PWD), a series of workshops where amateur and professional photographers are paired up with children with disabilities such as autism, visual and hearing impairment, Down Syndrome, Rett’s Syndrome, or with illnesses such as cancer and leukemia, for a day of fun and activity. The resulting photos are then showcased in exhibits that create awareness about special children. PWD has snowballed to include workshops in different provinces and even in Singapore.

“I thought if one photographer could make a difference, then more photographers could touch more lives! We’re not promising miracles, we’re not promising cure, we’re just saying that we would like to have one day, when it’s all worry-free when you have a time with your kid. And the photographer’s role is to capture that moment. That is the goal of the photographer and it doesn’t go beyond that.’’

But Chua is not one to rest on his laurels. His packed schedule does not hamper him in thinking of new projects and worthwhile advocacies. He has sent children with cancer flying aboard Philippine Navy planes. He has paved the way for sick kids to marvel at the colorful sea creatures at the Manila Ocean Park. Just last month, he organized photographers to revive Hidalgo Street in the Quiapo district as the mecca of lensmen.

He gets tired too, of course. And when he does, he usually drives off to the Manila Zoo to commune with his beloved pet, the elephant Maali.

There is no one advocacy that is closest to Chua’s heart. But he says the best combination is flying and still, photography. ‘’The thrill of doing it is priceless,’’ he exclaims.

In this 60 Minutes interview, photographer John K. Chua bares his heart, passion, enthusiasm, his pure love for adventure, and his incomparable zest for life. (Ivy Lisa F. Mendoza)

STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES BULLETIN: You are a photographer, an advocate for people with disabilities, a defender of Maali, the Manila Zoo elephant, a pilot, an organizer, a Facebooker. What can’t you do?

JOHN K. CHUA (JKC): The kind of work I do, parang walang limit. I can be shooting cars, or I’ll be shooting food, products. I connect people through Facebook for projects. But the bottomline is, dapat mangarap ka. Nothing should stop you.

SCB: How did you become an advocate for people with disabilities (PWD), the acronym of which now also stands for Photography with a Difference?

JKC: It started one Sunday, when as an advertising photographer, I was looking for locations to shoot. I went to the CCP Complex and a lady came up to me and asked what was I doing? I said I was trying to take pictures. She said “I have to ask permission from my son.” “No, I’m not going to your yacht, I’m just going to take some shots.”

While taking shots, we were talking and I looked at her face, mabigat. Sabi niya, “I have a special child.” I said I know it’s difficult to have a special kid, it’s a long-term commitment.” Then I said: “I have a pet elephant, maybe I can invite you and your child to the zoo and feed the elephant.” Sabi niya, “That’s nice, do you want to meet my child?” I said: “No, I’m doing this for you”, then I left.

The next day I went there, ang laki pala ng anak, 26 years old, his name is Ian Po. He wanted to take pictures. What I did was teach Ian how to simply turn on and off the camera, how to press the shutter and how to view it. We went to the Kinder Zoo, and then the mother said, “Ian, can you take a picture of me?” Sabi niya, “Yes, mama.”

I was behind taking pictures, recording the event. I noticed na ‘yung camera angle mababa, it turns out he was shooting the turtle. He was not interested with his mother, he was interested with the turtle! So while autistic kids have a hard time expressing their feelings, but through images we are able to look at how they see the world.

SCB: Were his photos good?

JKC: Walang cropping, eksakto kung ano ‘yun. Nung naglilibot kami, I noticed that the mother was interacting with him. They live on a yacht, they used to live in a condominium but her son has this tendency to jump off the building.
So they moved to a yacht where there is water all around. There, he has 365 days of sunset, ang dami niyang magagandang sunset photos, bandang huli nagsawa na siya, sabi niya, I want sunrise naman.

On Autism Day, I called Ernie Sarmiento, chief photographer of another broadsheet. “Ernie do you have something for Autism Day?” “None.” “I have something for you. I have this boy who can shoot.’’ The photo looks good but the editor doubts the shot. Sabi ko, “No, wait, I’ll go there and explain everything.” Nalagay sa front page, and the mother bought many copies and gave it to friends. Sa Manila Yacht Club, inaavoid siya kasi when you have a special child, kasi makulit. All of a sudden, dahil nasa front page siya, people were talking to him. His confidence was built up, bitbit palagi ‘yung camera niya so kapag may kursunada siya, “Can I take a picture of you?”.

SCB: How did it change the mother’s and son’s lives?

JKC: Even the mother started shooting. I saw the change, I saw how the mother and child bonded doing photography. I started receiving a lot of letters. The first one I got from Linda Choy from Parent Advocates of Visually-Impaired Children (PAVIC). She asked why blind children stoop down when they are being photographed. I told her “Give me your children and I’ll make sure that they will not stoop down because I will have one photographer to one child.”

I thought if one photographer could make a difference, then more photographers could touch more lives! So that’s why you all saw those succeeding workshops. The first workshop was with the blind children. I got 20 photographers at that time. Then ASP (Autism Society Philippines) came in. Since we have no venue I used my Manila Zoo connection.

Then came an exhibit of photos by Ian and other autistic children. Nagustuhan nila, and Bien (Mateo, of SM Committee on Disability) said if we can do this outside Metro Manila and they would give us the venue for free. We did it in Davao with ASP and I talked to photographers there through online forum Pinoy Photography.

SCB: How many PWD workshops have you had since you started?

JKC: About 30 and with different camera clubs, even in Cebu, Iloilo, and other provinces.

SCB: What is the main purpose of these workshops then?

JKC: We’re not promising miracles here. We’re not promising cure, we’re just saying that we would like to have one day, when it’s all worry-free when you have a time with your kid. And the photographer’s role is to capture that moment. So one day when you feel down, you see the photo and you could say, at least one day, we had fun. I’m sure that photo will perk you up. That is the goal of the photographer and it doesn’t go beyond that.

SCB: Did you know a lot about special children prior to meeting Ian Po?

JKC: I learned as I went along.

SCB: What personal learning do you get from all this?

JKC: Patience.

SCB: ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) ka pa naman (laughs)!

JKC: Ngayon ko lang nalaman, at 63! When I look back, I think so because I tend to avoid people and my interests I could not sustain it. When the ADHD society said “Are you willing to be a spokesman?” I was so upset. So I went there to attend the meeting, I grabbed one of the posters, symptoms of ADHD and I said, “Look, I’m not an ADHD person. Here are the symptoms. I’ll prove to you I’m not.” Tapos nabasa ko, sige na nga! (laughs).

Love affair with the camera

SCB: What was your first camera?

JKC: A Canon QL17, it’s a range finder. I was 18 years old. I borrowed it from my brother-in-law. You’re fascinated with this range finder so you keep on holding it. Natutulog ka na hawak-hawak mo.

SCB: Did you go to a formal school for photography?

JKC: It was all trial and error because there’s no school then. Today, everybody’s happy because you have workshops left and right. But at that time, when you want to learn something, you read the information sheet that came with the film. You learn. Anything that moves you shoot. I remember shooting a frog. Hindi ko makunan dahil masyadong malikot. So nilagay ko sa loob ng freezer for five minutes, paglabas hindi na siya masyadong gumagalaw.

SCB: What was your first big break?

JKC: It was in Asia Magazine. I was featured there twice, “The magic eye of John Chua.’’ When it came out, I knew then that my role in my life is to be a photographer. I have my wife Harvey to thank. She is the person behind me, supporting me.

SCB: At what point did you gain that confidence that yes, you could really become a professional photographer?

JKC: It was a slow build. I’m scared of people. I sweat. I’m not very comfortable dealing with people. Kaya nga this PWD also helped because it helped me to talk to people. But there are times na talagang I shy away especially when I was starting. Just leave me alone to shoot.

SCB: One thing that we noticed is that you generously share your knowledge with young photographers.

JKC: There’s no secret really. If you’re confident with yourself, there’s no secret. There’s no stopping other photographers, kung umasenso ‘yan hindi niya kasalanan ‘yan, kasalanan mo ‘yan kasi hindi ka nag-iimprove sa sarili mo.
There’s so much to do, why stop learning and improving?

SCB: Is photography a lot easier now because of modern technology, particularly Photoshop?

JKC: They should know Photoshop. It’s half the fun if you’re into digital photography. Sabihin mong purist ka, kapag black and white noon, merong polarizing filter, red filter, it’s the same thing. In the later years, when they analyze the history of photography, I think this is the best part of the history because the photographer is now in full control of the image, from the time he pressed the shutter up to the final product.

SCB: What can you say about people who already label themselves as photographers just because they have DSLR cameras?

JKC: I just gave a lecture. I said that chances are the reason why you got a camera was because you saw somebody got a beautiful shot. Ang gaganda ng kuha mo, unang tanong mo, anong camera ang ginamit mo. So let’s say Canon, so what they do is they buy Canon.

Then after that, bakit iba ‘yung kuha mo at kuha ko. They think, once you have a camera, everything’s automatic. But it’s not. Most important thing is you read the manual. Next find out kung ano ‘yung capability ng camera. Then you go to a seminar. There are the things to know to make a good picture, like the combination to get the right exposure, the composition.

Ang disadvantage na nakita ko ngayon, nakikita mo kung sino ang may digital, pag nag shoot, tinitignan agad ‘yung likod. Pangit, kuha ulit. Walang discipline because you can’t really think you’re happy.

Holding on to his dreams

SCB: You are so into a lot of things, how do you relax?

JKC: By doing all these things.

SCB: How do you handle frustration?

JKC: By thinking of another idea (laughs). By moving on. Naka back-up 'yun.

SCB: Of all the projects that you've done, what has been the most challenging?

JKC: “Reach for the Sky” because I had to work with so many people and had to get aircraft. We had to make the wish of children with cancer come true, and take them to fly with the Philippine Navy. Just to get all those people and to have them do it for free, that was the hardest.

SCB: You were telling us that nothing is impossible. Can you tell us some of the “impossible” things that you've overcome?

JKC: My first cross-country. I was dreaming about it. I thought it was so easy. Kaya galit na galit si Harvey. Madali ako mag-isip, pero down to the details and logistics, hindi ko naiisip 'yun. When I say I want to fly, I want to fly!

It was so hard and really difficult because everyday we had a problem. In fact, kapag may dumating na problem, ang sinasabi ko na lang is “Ilinya mo na lang 'yung problema.” Ganun na lang. One time Harvey was crying, it was four o' clock, and I told her not to cry kasi may five o' clock pa, there must be some good news coming (laughs).

SCB: Are you always this optimistic?

JKC: Just lately. Sometimes there are certain things that are impossible, but when you have that passion, kapag hindi puwede ang isang bagay, puwede naman ito, ito at ito. Lulusot at lulusot naman 'yan.

SCB: It seems that you don't take no for an answer.

JKC: Oh yeah!

SCB: Do you push people around?

JKC: I do (laughs)! I know I'm doing it and that's when I stop.

SCB: You are into many advocacies. But what is closest to your heart?

JKC: I cannot just speak about one. After I’ve done my part, nakita ko na maayos na, I don’t go back. Iniiwan ko na kasi tapos na ang istorya ko eh. While I love PWD, if they don’t need me, I will move on.

SCB: Do the initiatives that you move on from continue to flourish even after you're gone?

JKC: Some of them they flourish, some of them they die down. They say they cannot sustain. One example is in Banaue. When I was learning photography, there’s no school so what I did I happened to meet William Bayer, who is the son of American anthropologist Dr. Otley Bayer. I went to Banaue and I fell in love with the place, in 1972. Every time I go there I bring my camera, I shoot only black and white. I still have some of them. So I started learning about the life of the Ifugao, their traditions. During that time William would talk a lot about the rituals and history and I learned so much.

So we started the Imbayah festival in 1979 where they celebrate the Ifugao culture and they're still doing it. That's good. If I go to Banaue and I said I have this idea, can we all meet, I bet you they will all come to me because they know that anything I say, may sense. May posibilidad na it's going to be good. They tell me that they miss me and that I should drop by and visit them.

SCB: Is there anything else you dream of doing?

JKC: Kapag me dumating. The one thing I want to do is to take a flight on the micro light to Laoag and see what's going to happen. I'll sell that idea to whomever is going to listen. What if you have three crazy 60-year-olds who want to do this thing? I'll supply the photographs and you supply the story.

SCB: You're relentless!

JKC: Yes, hindi tumitigil until you get it right. Vision is the big difference. Kailangan marunong ka mangarap, that can move mountains!