Photographer of the Week
Rosy Villasanta Ibay - Captivated by Photography -
by Yugel Losorata
It is common to ordinary eyes to immediately read photo captions after a glance at a particular picture. But those with eye for photography often find the glancing experience just not enough. They have to stare and take a closer look. Besides, a good image already spells out the words it wants to convey.
That’s how Rosy Villasanta-Ibay began her affair with the camera. She really did develop that eye which catches what a nice photograph is. “I used to go over my dad’s coffee-table books,” she recalls. “My favorite was ‘Natural Wonders of the World.’ I would leaf through its pages just staring at the photos and at times I would unconsciously spend endless minutes over a single photo before reluctantly reading the caption or the story.”
When Rosy stares at a certain shot, it means the photo is effective and words are just “ube on the halo-halo” as she describes it.
As a hobbyist, this former travel magazine writer finds ultimate satisfaction from street photography, with instant stories awaiting to be captured almost any time of the day. One of those she cherishes is an image she took near Binondo Church in Manila. She must have found a full story when she saw a man with a kariton beating the red light that she right away clicked her digital point-and-shoot camera.
“I have always been interested in people. Had I not taken a management course, I would have ended up with a Psychology degree,” she told Picture Perfect.
This Framed Shots Camera Club member hopes to concentrate on portraiture and fashion photography where poses and glam are ready treats. Wedding coverage will be on the side where anecdotes are plenty, as well as events, product shoots, and landscape photography. Versatility simply comes along with being a good lenswoman who can read people and scenes and has enough skill to capture them.
With her shots loaded with plots and emotions, Rosy discovered a sanctuary in photography. The medium for her is an ultimate expression of herself “where there are no inhibitions, no limitations except imagination, no buts, no what-ifs.” She was once in the corporate world where she needed photography as stress-buster.
It’s in her instinct as a writer to look for stories. Her knowledge of photography makes that more exciting as she can also deliver them without writing a word. Her most favorite landscape shot she took is one that is not postcard-pretty but conveys enough mystique which she tries to explain by way of photography.
Together with her husband Raneil, Rosy continuously deals with discovering the wonders of photography. She shared, “Photography is all about light and capturing the moment. Even if you set up a scene, it is still all about creating the perfect lighting and clicking that shutter at the exact moment it needs to be clicked.”
Many individuals have recognized her efforts as member of the photography community. The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) once gave her a plate as one of its top ten photographers. She bested bigger names in a national photo contest and occasionally beats the likes of Chito Cleofas and Edwin Loyola in Framed Shots monthly photo contests.
Rosy is not one who is seriously on the lookout over how she is competing with others. She needs to be with tough guys to enhance her nearing full-tank knowledge of photography. From time to time she checks the works of gurus for inspiration, just like what she experienced when she attended a lecture done by Joe McNally.
With photography on top of the list, Rosy also has interest in other creative pursuits like writing poetry, painting, and playing guitar. As truth has it, there are always stories out there and countless ways to tell them.
