The Simple and the Sublime
It’s been done. Finally! And without controversy. The last (and certainly not the least exciting) monthly competition is over. Talk about saving the best for last. The theme for this month’s competition has had a lot of members holding their breath all year. For some that have sat in the competition chairman’s chair this year and the last decade, it’s been more like that movie title: Waiting to exhale.
‘Black and White plus one color’ is the theme of a most exalted kind. It was a buzz phrase for the club’s baby boomers over a decade ago. But on the first Monday last September 6 before the millennium, it was an evening of inspiring awe as well as an appreciation for simplicity itself. The technique may have been the game but artistry was its name.
Emil Davocol’s winning entry used Kodak Retouching Colors (yellow) to a single leaf amidst the B&W print of the curving lines of the trunk of a tree whilst it came.
From there, he photographed it again and printed the same in colored paper. If that’s not an art of simplicity, the second place winner’s technique is even simpler: Albert Chiu took a straight color neg shot of colored eggs in a tray, developed it and printed an entry. Coming in third, Rey Ortiz’ Lips and Neckline entry uses red lipstick (of course!) on a black and white print and redone ala Davoks.
Out of 33 entries, only 5 got the axe. So it wasn’t too bad after all. You have to try. But for the first timers (those who joined the club after 1990) it was an eye opener. Maybe its time to go for seconds.
Meanwhile, in the Kodak Cup, Kikoy Rapadas overtook Floren Bautista for second place. Bien Bautista, on the other hand, disloged Chito Madrono from 5th place. The top ten-winners circle also welcomes Joey Montalban who is now in 10th place bumping off Bo Villianueva to his previous 12th position. But hang on. There are still the best two entries from the OTSes and other bonus points to come. So this is not the final tally yet.
This article was written by Tony Lilles and was published in the Viewfinder on October 1999.