Masters Of Imaging - Magsaysay Press Release & Gallery

Vics Magsaysay, Ph.D. - Travel & Fine Art Photographer, Mixed-media Painter, Sculptor and Graphic Designer, on March 21, 2010 - presents:

Up-close with Flowers

A Seminar on Close-up Photography

By Vics Magsaysay, Ph.D.

Close-up photography is an exciting way of discovering what we don’t normally get a glimpse of in details of everything that surrounds us. It’s a lot of fun being focused on something that fascinates us. Imagine all the details we’ll get, and the process of discovering all those things we have taken for granted of just by using a close-up lens (most point and shoot digital cameras have them built-in) in our cameras.

In this seminar, Vics will present two slideshows. One is about floral images he has compiled from his backyard and outdoor pictorials. These images will inspire you to move into action with your camera in tuck. The second is about his ineffable romance with a sunflower that just grew in the middle of his backyard not long ago. For over a week he monitored the flower’s growth—from a bud to a majestic bloom—with his digital camera. He explored ways and means of using simple lighting techniques that bring out the stunning beauty of that yellow flower. Vics will explain and show the value of simple yet creative lighting. This translates to savings that can be used for your field trips…instead of buying expensive gears. Having been immersed in photography for over three decades, this is what he can say: “What’s important is how you give ‘life’ to your subject; and the joy, the feeling that you infuse on it are the things that really matter. The exhilarating experience you find ‘connecting’ to your subject is what truly counts—it’s meditative.”

Vics Magsaysay studied chemical and civil engineering but because of his love for art chose the latter for his vocation. His conviction and enthusiasm to learn about graphic design and photography was intense - prodding him to study through continuous book reading, practice and analyzing works of art masters. He worked as an art director at a five-star hotel in Manila and in 1974 started photography to complement his graphic design. In 1977, he put up his own design and photography studio conceptualizing logos and designs; shooting food, advertising and architectural photography while still being retained as a consultant for the said hotel. In that same year, because of his interest in photography, he was recommended by the hotel to assist a photographer from the popular German magazines Stern and Geo. After a few weeks of shooting extensively in the Philippine rainforests, mountains, valleys and cities with that photographer, the experience left an indelible mark in his consciousness. This new-found interest influenced him to explore the Philippine natural beauty and peoples on and off through cross-country motorcyling with cameras and lenses tucked in his backpack for two decades. His dirt bike had allowed him to go deeper into areas where even a four-wheel drive vehicle could not negotiate because of the rough terrain and narrow trails. His penchant with trail riding in the boondocks had slowly made him closer and closer to nature. There were times when he camped alone deep in the forest to commune with nature.

Vics traveled extensively to Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Canada and U.S. to compile his stock shots which he sells to ad agencies, hotels and travel-related industries. His photos have been published in travel magazines and coffee-table books in Asia. "Place of Tides: Visualization Using Nature's Energies" was published a few years ago featuring his nature photographs. He was also a contributing writer espousing environmental awareness in the Philippines.

While still new in this country, he had a photo exhibit June/July 2003 in San Diego's Philippine Library and Museum highlighting UNESCO's World Heritage Sites (and Peoples) in the Philippines. One of which is the world-renowned Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras now listed as a World Heritage in Danger. As an artist, he has had several one-man painting and sculpture exhibits in Asia. Aside from that, he conducts workshops in acupressure and other forms of indigenous healing practices. Vics recently published a booklet entitled "Love Thoughts: A Prescription For All Our Worries" and is now in the process of writing a coffee-table book about the same subject: love.