The "Camera-less" Photographer

The Camera-less Photographer

By Mary Ann T Vallente

(2nd place, LMS- Concentrix Essay Writing Contest; category: Gadgets of Santa or gadgets you wish from santa)

Timepieces are as old as mankind. They evolved from sundials, hourglasses to digital clocks. But I want to differ history by including cameras as tools that measure time. The history would be incomplete without photographs that amplify every written narration of the past events. A lifetime would be dull and boring without picture takings in between from infancy to maturity. Take a look at the picture you had with one missing tooth grinning innocently and the picture you have now with your better half. Worth keeping, isn’t it?

Camera, whose name came from the Latin word camera obscura or dark image, had also proven its worth in journalism and fashion. It’s the color and motion of newspapers and the keeper of glamorous strides, poses and angles of every model. For the designers, it is the treasure box that accounts their creativity. Indeed, it’s a memory keeper- a timepiece.

Aren’t all my explanations enough Santa? I hope you’re reading this and for once receive a present from you.

In my entire life, I have never received a gift from somebody close to me. Yet I give no heed to it. I left childhood without any memory of believing you bearded man. Now that I am on my 19th year of celebrating Christmas, I’d like to bring my childhood back. Nope, I wouldn’t wish for a time machine! I want that digital single lens reflex that captures and stores still images.

I am just another person trying to draw the artist in me through photography. Don’t worry Santa; my dream won’t go as far as joining the Camera Club of Davao, earning a position at National Geographic magazine or winning a Pulitzer Prize . All I want is to enjoy every decisive moment with every click; every unpretentious smile of street children as the camera flashes and the funny candid moments that I put together in a picture. These made me think of life’s unguarded facets that sometimes went unnoticed by the naked eye but can be captured by a device that was designed for projecting images.

I am a camera-less photographer. I managed to take photos by just borrowing camera from our school publication so I can have something to paste on my photo-journal. I am very much fascinated with the art I see from the science of light traveling into its aperture as I press the shutter button.

Well, that’s too much of a verbose delay. I want to have a camera of my own and may it be a DSLR (if it is not too much to ask) Santa. I’ll promise to give you photos of the less fortunate little kids who need the most of your attention. I’ll be your agent. May you let me prove the world that photography is not about the glitz and glamor they see on fashion magazines; it’s all about telling the world about the wonders of humanity and how far it has already traveled. I hope your red bag Santa is spacious enough to accommodate mine. But if there are still unfortunate souls than me waiting, just prioritize them. I can still wait for another December for this gift. Merry Christmas!

Mary Ann Tuga- on Vallente, Product Support Representative, Linksys by Cisco, team Cadillac.