To express one’s view of the world through wonderful pictures is the work of a true-blooded visual artist, not just a plain photographer who can take shots but cannot score.
The man from Bulacan Nestor “Nes” Santiago has spent practically his entire life with an artist tag. He already earned that reputation even at the tender age of 12 – he was named “Artist of the Year” during his graduation from elementary school in 1960. Almost five decades after that, the artist in him perked up all the more where he received the title as “Photographer of the Year” of Zone V Camera Club from which he is a regular member at present.
“An effective photograph must have an impact, well-composed and has adequate dramatic lighting. It communicates visually,” shares the Obando native who also dabbled successfully in other artistic endeavours like drawing and acting during his student years.
His artistic inclination easily hooked him up to photography, prompted by his use of a point-and-shoot camera that his eldest sister bought for their big family back in the ‘60s. They were nine in the family and the fun of it was captured by that old school camera. For Nes (as he is fondly called), the sentimental value of that tool exceeds its purpose of having frozen the emotions and faces of those times. It was that instrument which led him to playing good music. In his case, it is music in the form of mute-but-loud images which embrace human stories and the world at large.
Nes’s work sends a strong message of how he fully understands the beauty of the art. Whether images of nature, of people’s faces that have so much to say, and things travellers want to document, the bottom line is always creating art through elements captured by the camera.
“In photography,” the 62-year-old lensman pinpoints, “there is a quick result of your artistic pursuit, even during the film days. Now that we have the digital means of capturing images, it is very gratifying to see instantly the result of your work. You move on from there.”
In the early 1980s, Nes learned so much about the medium. He had his first single-lens reflex (SLR) camera which encouraged him even more to take the craft seriously. Thus, he read about lighting, composition, and anything about camera.
At the latter part of that decade, he attended a photography workshop conducted by the Camera Club of the Philippines. As fate would have it, he got a chance to seat beside photographer-philanthropist Jaime Zobel de Ayala who was one of the speakers. Their conversations no doubt helped in his desire to be a better shooter, apart from the celebrated hobbyist even giving him copies of some of his coffee-table books.
Nes became a regular member of Zone V Camera Club in 1987. It took just three years before he was chosen as club president. He received its equivalent "Photographer of the Year" label in four occasions: 1991, 1993, 2003, and 2008.
With his latest first-place victory in a photo contest promoting Earth Day Consciousness in 2007, he shares some pointers: “When you get into the world of creative photography, you are in for some adventures as you let your photographic vision prevail. Each of us comes from a different mould and sees and interprets the world differently.”
Throughout the years, Nes has managed to reap special distinctions in various competitions he participated in. He was the Philippine representative to Images Hong Kong and the Big Shoot Photo Contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was also given the Honorable Mention Award (for two times) in the Canon Asia Pacific Photo Contest, as well as a travel awardee in a Northwest Airlines’ “Paradise Captured” contest.
According to this Bulakenyo, the challenge as a creative photographer is twofold: one needs to perceive a subject in his own way and execute interpretation of it technically.
“There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your work appreciated not only by your loved ones but also of your peers and by other people who share your passion,” Nes shares. “As you get into the realm of things photographic, don’t forget that one of the rewards of picture-taking is fun. So get out and shoot. Try to make your personal expression an exciting endeavor,” he concludes.
Every image that Nestor Santiago has captured through the lens of his camera is his ticket to opening communication with other people. Once he hears praise from a viewer, it means that his message has been sent well enough.