My Photography Journey (So Far)

A child's toy

Our story begins with Pizza Hut.

More specifically, Pizza Hut in the Philippines. I was around 6yo and remember that one day, my dad and my sister came home from Pizza Hut with a delicious sausage-stuffed crust pizza... and a disposable film camera. My sister said they had a promo and showed me the bright red thing.

She then proceeded to show me how it worked, and it became the coolest source of fun in the house for a while.

Yes, it's real! Had to dig in the internet for a photo.

Through the lens of a kid

My childhood was spent in the Philippines, between attending school in the city and spending the summers at my dad's native island playing around in the grass and chasing waterfalls. A love for nature stemmed from biking around the beautiful island, where every road you took would eventually embrace the sea.

I wish I could say that my love for photography started then, but it was still just a casual tool to document school festivities and friends. It's still a core memory: having to ask an adult to help get my rolls developed and printed at the local camera store.

Years passed by, my family moved to the USA and the enjoyment of documenting life events was as strong as ever except it was now digital. My grandpa had gifted my sister and I each an Olympus point and shoot, which would document many school events and family outings from middle school to high school.

My big sis and I enjoying the tropical great outdoors

High school Ari and the old Olympus point and shoot. Someone's provincial home.

A brand new era

A decade later, I decided to buy my first DSLR. "To improve my selfie game," was the main reason. Looking back now, I feel that it was a vain reason. I had entered my era of cosplay and makeup, with a side of chasing validation through likes on Instagram. There was a hole inside of me, and the validation of "likes" was the currency that filled it up. Creation became a game of, "How cool would this look? How cool would I look?" I believe it was a classic case of Middle Child Syndrome, feeling invisible and completely inadequate, and this was my way of feeling seen for once. I did create some shots that I'm still proud of, but deep down inside it was insecurity that fueled my creativity (which is unsustainable, a lesson later learned).

Aside from those early creative self portraits, I also brought my camera along to travels. Shooting was still a documentary process, but I was starting to develop a more artistic approach.

The makeup and cosplay photography era

Sunset in Paris. Florence skyline.

Introspection and intentionality

I eventually experienced an ego death and felt the notion of self portraits to be lackluster, internally cringing from my own vanity and human ego. I desperately wanted to improve my photography, a hobby that has always brought me joy and that I am proud of. A hobby where you can visually see progress over time.

With any skill you want to improve, I went back to the basics. “Light and shapes,” I thought to myself. So in January 2022 I started a Black and White Photography Challenge. Everything was stripped down, no need to worry about colors or anything, just black and white. Light and Shapes. The challenge was supposed to last a year, but I barely lasted a month. But in that initial month, I reclaimed an eye for light and shapes, contrast and composition, and the will to go out of my way and explore new places to photograph.

It was in 2022 that I started taking photography more seriously when the fog of depression was at its darkest.

I was 26, unsure of my direction in life even after going back to school to chase a career in the creative field. I had already been battling depression for years following a series of very unfortunate and traumatic events.

"Inner Turmoil," 2022

Come Spring, I started birdwatching. It began as an idle way to pass the time by identifying which birds were outside the suffocating bars of my window, then snowballed into day trips to capture new birds with a camera. It helped immensely with my depression. There’s something beautiful about how wildlife photography detaches from the ego: These animals are out here surviving in the brutality of nature and don’t know or care about the concept of having their pictures taken. It was just so wonderful and poetic to me, to contrast that darkness with beauty. This started pulling me out of the dark pit long enough to live, and I decided to take photography more seriously.

These photography adventures led the way and I found myself in different places, places old and new: streets frequented without a second glance, nature trails covered in ice and bunny tracks, a sunset blanketing an urban cityscape. I used photography as an excuse to go outside and experience life once more, from the familiar safety of being behind the lens.

With a newfound vigor, I got a job as a newborn baby photographer. This allowed me to connect with other photographers, ask a lot of questions, learn from others and from experience, and even have a reason to upgrade my kit. With better gear and the skills that I picked up from that wonderful job, I continued exploring photography.

These early birding photos saved my life.

And now...

2023 was a turbulent year.

But amid all the chaos and small beautiful moments was still the person who wanted to grow and improve on their craft. I started shooting monthly creative self portraits as a way to love and appreciate myself again after hating myself for so long, this time as a form of creative self expression and celebration. It was also a great way to document the year while improving my storytelling and creative process. Each month correlated with a theme tied exclusively to how I felt or what i mused about in that time period: A visual diary.

Most of these shots were taken in a cozy home studio the size of a closet, but provided opportunities to show creativity with how the particular "theme" of the month was presented.

With the success of the reinvigorated self portraits comes a transition into capturing the life around me once more. There is no end to learning, and there is no end to improving on whatever media of happiness you choose to follow. This year's focus is on capturing the vibrant world that we live in through my personal lens, and no moment is too small to capture.

In addition to photography, this is the year I want to also dip into videography. The start to truly improving on something is with the intentional choice of becoming better, and all the lessons learned with photography so far can be applied to all other aspects in life.

I hope to share a lot more of it with you!

If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading about my journey! I truly appreciate your support.

Care to check out those self portraits and birding photos in a new light?