BEST IN FILIPINIANA - Bien Bautista (3rd Best Photographer), Rudy de Leon (Picture of the Month and 2nd Best Photographer), Patrick Fong (2nd Best Picture), and Francis Rivera (Photographer of the Month). Not in Photo are Roberto Asis and his entry which won 3rd Best Picture.
It was a relatively “bloody” night and there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. 27 out of a total of 70 entries failed to make “passing” grade; in other words, only 60% of the entries made it. While such a low percentage was not unusual in past years, it has been unusual this year which has seen relatively lenient panels of judges.
The subject was “Filipiniana,” and the medium color prints, for the seventh regular monthly meeting of the club last July 2, 1984, at the Skytop of Hotel Inter-Continental Manila.
Rudy de Leon, a consistent monthly winner this year, emerged with the “Picture of the Month” title with his banca on a deserted beach against a double-Cokin-filtered afternoon sun at Matuud, Batangas.
Patrick Fong’s wide angle rendition of a gaily decorated house facade and window during the Pahiyas fiesta at Lukban, Quezon, took 2nd place among the entries, while Bobby Asis’ worm’s-eye view of an old church briefly won 3rd place.
It was Francis Rivera, however who harvested the highest total for two entries for the title “Photographer of the Month,” with his early dawn riverside view (also with Cokin filter) of the nipa resthouses and bamboo rafts at Villa Escudero and his pole-top view of a typical palo sebo event. Rudy de Leon had the second highest total, and Bien Bautista the third highest.
The evening’s panel of judges were composed of Mrs. Carol Stratton, a much travelled art scholar who has done considerable research and writing on Thai and other Asian art; Mr. Pablo J. Victoria, founder, first Director and now Professor Emeritus of the University of the East’s School of Music and Arts, and a practicing professional painter; and Mr. Joe Gabor, former photojournalist and art gallery proprietor, and now merchandise exporter.
The evening’s contest decided the final standings for the Color Print Photographer of the Year for 1984. This particular race depended on three competitions: March “Child/Children Portrait,” the May “Still Life,” and this month’s “Filipiniana” competitions. And the final winners for the year are: Ramon Marcos (1st Place), Pancho Escaler (2nd Place), and Rudy de Leon (3rd Place).
In the overall Shell Trophy race for Master Photographer of the Year, however, Bobby Paterno with two qualifiers in “Filipiniana” managed to hold on to the No. 1 position for the seventh straight month, while Judes Echauz, with one failure, fell to 3rd place, with Ramon Marcos taking his place at 2nd. The 4th to 10th places are now held by Jaime Zobel, Francis Rivera, Bien Bautista, Ely Santos, Rudy de Leon, Sonny Cruz and Pancho Escaler.
Trivia:
As announced this edition of the Viewfinder, the theme for the 1984 Anniversary party (56th year) was “punk” and “funk” costume party.
On July 8, 1984, the OTS was in Manila. The coverage was Luneta and Rizal Park and the area along Roxas Boulevard from Rizal Park to Baclaran, including the Cultural Center complex.
This article was originally published in the July 1984 issue of “The Camera Club of the Philippines Viewfinder”