The Pinoy Photography Organization recently held its 5th Anniversary event entitled “PiPho 5x: The Passion Lives On” last Saturday 9th October at the SM City North EDSA Cyberzone.
This event was the culmination of the organization’s 5th anniversary celebration, which started with two PiPho photography exhibits held at Eastwood and Shangri-La malls months before.
Good-sized crowd before event started.
More than 500 PiPho online forum members (known as “PiPhols”) had signed up for PiPho 5x, and there was a big crowd in attendance on the day itself. There was an entrance fee of P300, which was inclusive of snacks, booth services and entry to the raffle and model shoots (more on those later).
Those who put themselves on the online list prior to the event were given priority to receive a goodie bag with the following items: PiPho 5x ID and spiffy PiPho ID strap, black PiPho 5x shirt, a thick Lowepro 2010 catalog, a rigid document holder emblazoned with Tenba, Lenspen and Benro logos, discount coupon from Henry’s camera shop, a Canon Pixma pen, Canon brochures, and a canvas Canon Pixma bag to put it all in.
Canon provided free camera cleaning.
Suppliers also had booths at the event. Lowepro had their products on display, and Elinchrom had a studio strobe set-up at theirs. Canon had the biggest display booth which not only featured their camera and PIXMA printer display units, but also offered free camera cleaning and free photo printing in 4R and A4 sizes to those who had picture files with them.
The event proper began with long-time PiPho member Karl Orteza A.K.A. “KNJO” in the forums and his co-host, someone I recall as being a DJ in a local radio station (I did not get his name) opened the proceedings. They also introduced PiPho founder Regie Fernando, and the organization’s officers who were elected for 2010, led by President Mon Corpuz.
Host Karl Orteza ("KNJO" in the forums) interviews the cosplayers.
Mon Corpuz then gave a presentation on what the Organization has accomplished so far, which was mainly the rekindling of PiPho’s passion for photography, which had been cooled following the disaster that was Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. Among these activities were the Organization meetings which they had opened membership to more new members, photo contests, out-of-town photo trips and other PiPho gatherings.
The event had several talks/presentations:
Attorney Rod Vera, an intellectual property lawyer gave an interesting talk about protecting one’s images from theft or improper usage. Atty. Vera provided information about copyrights, and differentiated the ownership and licensed use aspects of photographs. He also busted some myths regarding copyrights and provided some steps for protecting and asserting one’s ownership rights. Just a couple of days before this event, the photography community was stirred when it was found out than a photographer allegedly got another photographer’s image, removed its watermark and passed it off as his own in Facebook; Atty. Vera’s discussion turned out to be very relevant because presently there has been an increase in the theft/improper use of images without the owner’s permission.
PiPho Org Officers (L-R): Secretary Arvi Ferrer, Business Manager Adrian Tecson, Founder/Chairman Regie Fernando, President Mon Corpuz
Travel photographer Anton Sheker recounted his experiences and gave tips on travel photography. He shared his experience as a beginner and how he grew to specialize in travel photography and Philippine festivals. Mr. Sheker then gave tips on how to shoot in festivals, and described the way he captures the emotions in a festival. As the victim of several of the higher-profile image theft cases, he also recalled his experience with having his pictures used without permission, and how he resorted to the legal system to protect his rights.
Events photographer Raffy Yllana talked about his experience in making videos with DSLRs, starting with his stint with a then-prototype Canon 5D MkII and elaborating on the challenges of doing videography with a DSLR. Mr. Yllana discussed the advantages of shooting video with a DSLR compared to traditional video cameras, and how he transitioned from shooting stills to shooting movies. He also showed clips of his works, highlighted by the one he has made for a local broadcasting giant.
Cinematographer J. A. Tadena discussed making videos with HD-DSLRs but I missed this one as I had to leave early for another engagement.
Antonni Cuesta of Canon helps out a user.
Sponsoring vendors like Digital Walker Zoom, Water Plus and Canon Philippines also gave talks about their products. Canon, in particular, had two presentations. Antonni Cuesta of Canon Philippines’ pro gear talked about the brand’s DSLR technologies and products, and also gave the audience a glimpse of the Canon Professional Services, which provides service and gear assistance to photography professionals. Ace Porlet from Canon’s Printers group gave a talk about PIXMA printers.
As with events like these, there were photo shoots during PiPho 5x. Those who paid the entry fee got the chance to shoot models and cosplayers who were invited to the event. The first general photo opportunity was when the models came on stage and paraded clothes by Folded and Hung while carrying camera bags by Lowepro. Afterwards, the attending photographers were separated into groups that would be shooting individual models and cosplayers.
PiPhols doing what PiPhols do best
A much-awaited part of the event was the raffle were the Benro tripod and Benro camera bag. I missed the major prize part of the raffle so I don’t know if they had other major prizes. Other prizes being given away throughout the whole event included Banana Republic discount cards, memory cards, copies of the 200+ page Canon Lens Work hardbound book.
The included snacks given out were supplied by KFC, which was actually quite filling because each person got a pack with fried chicken bites, fries and a cup of softdrink. It actually served as my dinner. 
It was my first time to attend a PiPho anniversary event since I joined their forum in 2007, as I had missed the previous ones because of other engagements. I have to admit that I was quite impressed with how the event was ran, and it had engaging speakers, interesting topics, and great incentives. A very good experience overall and it was with great reluctance that I had to leave before the event ended.
Congratulations to the Pinoy Photography Organization on your 5th Anniversary and for a great event with the PiPho 5x!
Note: Sincere apologies for not having pics of the speakers. This writer left his SD card at home and had to use his camera’s built-in memory which fit only 12 pictures.
Technorati Tags: event, philippines, photography, pinoy, seminar
