Photographer of the Week

Jojie Alcantara - A Lenswoman’s Artistic Journey–

Jojie Alcantara feels like she’s had multiple personalities all these years. As a proud true blue Dabawenya, she has created a niche for herself in the city with all the works she has achieved, but in different fields imaginable. She has gone from being a dance choreographer, a ramp and commercial model, a beauty titlist, a target shooting champ, then eventually a local TV personality, having had 2 variety shows in 1996 and in 2003 (ABS-CBN).

 

In the mid-90s, she started as a young and feisty newspaper columnist (“Witerary”, in Mindanao Times and SunStar Davao, and a short stint in Today, with an apt title,”Promdi’s Corner”). Almost a computer geek, this English Major graduate curls up in her room churning poetry, stories, websites and digital art and devours self-help photography and creative art books.

 

She turned to photography for convenience since she began getting invitations to cover events and travel. Learning photography through trial and error, and mentors who became good friends (Mindanao artist Kublai Millan, Rhonson Ng, Manny Librodo, and George Tapan), she was hooked into serious photography before she knew it. Her travel to Indonesia in 1995 opened her mind to possibilities. She then made an easy transition from painting to capturing images.

 

“I had to learn photography on my own. I was the first media person in Davao to use a digital camera (Kodak) with only a 640×480 output, and a memory card of 128mb! When I became a frequent traveler, my cameras were gradually upgraded until my first Canon DSLR cam in 2005. My opinion column evolved too. From pure text and ramblings, I lessened my words, to provide space for my images. For a writer who turns into a photographer, the dilemma is how to shorten your article to give way to your photos,” Jojie said.

 

 

Her path from a hobbyist to a professional took some humorous turns, though. Her website used to house popular funny signs, which became a “viral email attachment” through emails around the world when someone compiled them. “It was fun therapy for me. I while away my time in transit taking photos of funny signs whenever I travel, which trained my quick reflexes on shooting,” Alcantara explains. The signs became so popular, her website (www.witerary.com) was featured on Boy and Kris, Mel and Joey, Saksi, and other TV shows as well as publications. Blogs would talk about her collections (some of them thought she was male). Her favorite funny sign? “The one I took in an ukay ukay in Lanao del Norte, they were selling bedsheets, and the sign says: DED SHIT.”

 

 

Today, she has replaced her websites with serious photography (“but will in time post my new collection”). Her images and stories are featured in magazines, newspapers, websites, print ads and tourism materials. She contributes for several publications like Mabuhay Magazine, Zee Magazine (Cebu), M Magazine (Mindanao), Mango Magazine, Digital Photographer Philippines, Inquirer’s Urban Living, and Cebu Pacific’s Smile Magazine. Her very first solo exhibit was a digital art caricature of personalities. “I don’t paint much anymore, only on commissioned projects,” she said. Now, she’s had several photo exhibits, the recent one of which is “MY DAVAO, MY MINDANAO”, a back to back month-long collection of destinations in Mindanao with partner and mentor Rhonson Ng.

 

Jojie created brochures for the Department of Tourism in Davao Region, and her personal advocacy is to promote the beautiful islands of the Philippines, in particular Mindanao and her beloved Davao.

 

“As a photojournalist, I like my photos to tell many stories at a glance. However, being an artist, I love composing images in my mind, and they are often in a serene, dreamlike mood, the way I want life to be. I love to shoot anything of human interest, particularly with humor and play of emotions.”

 

“For me, an effective photograph is an image that stirs the soul, makes you think and look again, and makes you feel. Many photos are simply postcard pretty, but they don’t strike an emotional chord in you. The photos that make you smile are the ones you remember most. I get writer’s block and moody spells, but photography always cheers me up, except for sudden low battery experiences in crucial moments.”

 

 

Alcantara seldom joins photo contests (“am too lazy to submit entries and fill up forms”) and would rather organize them. She has won finalist in a PAL and Canon competition, and was included in 2005 and 2006 coffee table books (Epson Epix Best 200 Images of the Philippines). She is however, an 11-time winner at BetterPhoto.com, an online international photo competition with 30,000 monthly entries. “It’s quite a helpful and inspiring community when other fellow photographers let you know they like your work too.” (http://betterphoto.com/?jojiealcantara)

In 2007, she was the first female along with four other male photographers to be featured in “On Assignment: Boracay” for Digital Photographer Philippines Magazine.

Today, she still continues her quest in promoting beautiful but yet unexplored destinations in Mindanao. Her passion for travel and photography has brought her to places around Asia but her most rewarding trips were the unknown islands in her country where she encounters enchanting places, queer folks, strange rituals and inedible-looking food.

 

As for her seeming varied persona, one quietly stays in her room, post-processing images, designing webs, and promotional materials for clients, while updating on Facebook. Her other extroverted self is up on her toes organizing activities, hosting weddings and big events, doing  TV appearances, or making TV commercials in Visayan. But you guess it right, she lugs her camera bag and lenses all the time. During a Kadayawan Festival parade, she can be seen holding a microphone and camera on both hands, while the TV crew follows her around. She also shares her skills through art, creative writing, and photography workshops.

 

What is her ultimate dream in her field today? With a twinkle in her eyes, she replies, “A photography book, a travel assignment in a far off exotic place, and an opportunity to be a female endorser in a camera company.”

 

You can view her images in the www.witerary.com, http://jojiealcantara.multiply.com and www.dabawenya.com.