OPIUM for Manual Magazine
These black-and-white portraits of Vivien Tan were created for an editorial for Manual Magazine, styled by Kym DeGuzman, and written by Eric Florentino. The concept of the shoot itself was inspired by the ‘East-Meets-West’ Opium Trade, and this posting is in more ways than one a celebration of the past – an ‘Anniversary’ of sorts.
The particular lens I used was a Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5 – 4.5. This year marks the 10th year that I’ve owned this lens, and also happens to be the Sigma Corporation’s 50th Year Anniversary. I bought this lens in 2001, because even then, true to Sigma’s philosophy of creating unique lenses, it was not only the best, but also the only wide angle zoom option to use with my 1.3 crop Kodak DCS 760, which was used to take these images. I have since then used that lens to shoot many magazine covers, advertising campaigns, and fashion spreads. Also, having acquired the Kodak DCS 760 in 2001, this year (2011) also marks 10 years in my using digital capture.
Of the many reasons why I switched to digital, probably the most compelling (and strangest!) is because I wanted my photographic process to be as close, at least in spirit, to the pioneers of black-and-white ‘Art’ photography such as the f/64 Group. Put simply, they shot their own film, developed, and printed their photographs themselves. It was an approach that epitomized the virtue of purist, or ‘straight’ photography, meaning that it emphasized the unique qualities of photography as a medium of expression, but at the same time remained artistic and interpretative through the visualization process and the control of black-and-white tonality in the final ‘art’ print.
I wanted a level of control of my work, from shooting to post-processing, that just was not possible or practical without a dedicated high quality darkroom. Most of my work up until that time was shot with 120 format slide film, and thus had to be sent for processing and printing at a professional custom lab. The precise control of black-and-white tonality, as outlined in Ansel Adam’s Zone System, is quite difficult to achieve if the film development and printing is handled by a third party lab. Even with a good custom lab, the process required test prints and good communication.
Today, despite using the most modern digital equipment and lenses, I still value many of the virtues of the purist or ‘straight’ approach. I consider creating beautiful black-and-white conversions from color digital capture, just like it was when shooting black-and-white film, an art in itself.
Pulp Skin – Carte Blanche
carte blanche (ˈkɑːt ˈblɑːntʃ, French kart blɑ̃ʃ)
— n , pl cartes blanches
1. complete discretion or authority: the government gave their negotiator carte blanche
On most editorial shoots, we need to carefully consider the editorial parameters, or the even the over-all ‘look-and-feel’ of a magazine. For example, the images we create for a fashion magazine meant for teenage girls are completely different from images that we create for a men’s magazine, which in turn would be different from images we create for a more sophisticated women’s fashion magazine, or from the portraits we shoot for a more edgy or conceptual publication meant for adults.
‘Carte Blanche’, however, is where the situation gets turned around. It is when a client gives us complete creative control of the shoot, from concept to execution. In this case, our client was Jag Jeans, who were sponsoring the production of a spread in PULP Magazine (Philippines) called ‘PULP Skin’. Asides from the basic concept that the shoot had to be ‘sexy’ – it was to be published, after all, in the ‘Pulp Skin’ section – the concept, styling, model selection, and execution was entirely up to us.
This situation is ideal, because then the creative team can just take the gloves off and…create. Notice that there are no jeans in these images. It does however, provide positive publicity to the brand, since the readers know who is sponsoring the production. The Pulp Skin section was quite popular, and not only to male readers (who happen to be a large part of the brand’s target market), but also among the publishing and fashion community. Many photographers and stylists use these ‘Carte Blanche’ shoots to show off what they can do when there are virtually no limits.
Styling by Millet Arzaga
Photography by Tommy Zablan
Modeled by Roisin
At Boracay, Mylene Dizon for Bare Magazine
Bare Magazine
Art Director Luis Espiritu
Styling and Make-up Chechel Joson
Model Mylene Dizon
Photography Tommy Zablan
If I were to imagine my own personal version of J. M. Barrie’s (he authored Peter Pan) Never Never Land, this would be it. Our location was the Shangri-la Hotel, in Boracay, Philippines. It’s a castle by the sea in one of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world. The beach itself is lined with bars, restaurants, clubs, and massage parlors.
To get there from Manila in the morning, we had to take a plane, a tricycle, and a boat ride and arrived in the early afternoon. I originally pitched that we were to shoot at dusk, however, Luis Espiritu, the Art Director, thought it would be interesting to shoot at night. So a night shoot it was to be. It didn’t matter, when it comes to photography – I own the night. 
It’s difficult for city dwellers to comprehend how dark a secluded beach on a cloudy night can be – without any artificial light sources. It’s totally black. Thankfully we were armed with cigarette lighters and a Hensel Porty power pack. I changed lenses by the light of my cigarette lighter and would ask my assistant to momentarily switch on the modelling lights of the Porty in order to direct, compose, and focus, and take a few frames, and then ask him to switch it off after a short period to conserve the battery.
Had a fisherman on a boat been spying on our shoot, I’d imagine it was a surreal combination of blinding flashes where he would catch glimpses of a half-naked actress rolling around on the beach for a few milliseconds, mixed with moments of total darkness as our flashes took out his night vision by forcing his irises to close.
But then, actress Mylene Dizon dressed in these swimsuits is incredibly easy on the eyes. So it evens out.
It doesn’t look like it in these images, but I spent a lot of time in this shoot in the water. The tide was high that evening, and when the waves would come crashing in, I’d be drenched right up to my chest. My camera at the time, a Kodak DCS-760, required an external battery to function for any significant amount of time, and I found that I had to pin the rather large battery pack (a Digital Camera Battery or DCB 30) on my shirt collar to prevent it from getting shorted out.
Looking back, it would seem almost foolish to carry more than $8000 in equipment while waist deep in sea water, getting hit by waves, trying to feel my way around the sand in total darkness. But then…a photograph is forever.
Fashion – A 50s Seduction
A fashion story re-creating the 50s look, shot in a building in Manila with early 1900s period architecture. I’ve always loved the look of 50s cinema. Film then was so slow that they had to use a lot of light to exposed it properly. These lights usually came in the form of focused spotlights, which created a distinct, almost surreal look that was made up of deep pools of shadows and highlights.
Styling by Mela De Luna
Photographed by Tommy Zablan
Canadian Immigrant Winter 2010
Always a pleasure to shoot for Canadian Immigrant Magazine. This is the December 2010 cover.
Alex Read Editorial
Alex Read Editorial – Images by Tommy Zablan
Editorial portraits of Alex Read, CEO of Make Anything Work and author of the Amazon bestseller Make My Marketing Work: How to Win Customers and Make More Money.
Canadian Immigrant Mariana Garcia
Canadian Immigrant Mariana Garcia – Images by Tommy Zablan
We recently had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Mariana Garcia in her Downtown Eastside Studio for the cover of the British Columbia Edition of Canadian Immigrant Magazine April 2010 Issue. Mariana runs an arts studio where Women Artists in the Downtown Eastside can create their work and provides a venue to display and sell their artworks. Read the full article here.
Find the PDF version here.
Presenting Professional Images For Immigrants
One of the things we’re proud of, is helping fellow immigrants coming into Vancouver find jobs through our photography. Working with Canadian Immigrant Magazine’s “Will you hire me?” section, we have had the pleasure of meeting and photographing highly qualified and talented people such as Cornelia Jansen from Germany and Roberto Fajardo from Spain, and sincerely hope they are doing well in their professional endeavors.
We are committed to providing the very best images to represent Immigrants and their businesses in the most professional manner possible.
Cornelia Jansen from Germany
Read Connie’s story in the full issue of Canadian Immigrant Vancouver Edition (November 2009) issue here.
Roberto Carlos Garcia Fajardo from Spain
Read Roberto’s story in the full issue of Canadian Immigrant Vancouver Edition (December 2009) issue here.
Sensei Alexei Goudkov for Canadian Immigrant (Vancouver March 2010 Issue)
Photography by Tommy Zablan
Assisted by Eri Tashiro
Shot on location at Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver
It was an honor to photograph Sensei Alexei Goudkov for the Canadian Immigrant Magazine. The full article in the Canadian Immigrant magazine can be read here. You can also download the PDF Version of this issue here.
Sensei Alexei teaches the Kyokushin Kaikan (極真会館) style of Karate that means the ‘Society Of Ultimate Truth’, due to a heavier emphasis on full-contact sparring. I am familiar with this style, having studied Shotokan Karate in elementary school and immersed myself in the various differences and philosophies of the various fighting systems, and remember the stories about how the founder of the style, Mas Oyama, perfected his techniques by taking down charging bulls with various striking techniques.
I have to admit that I have a deep love for the Martial Arts, possibly even surpassing that which I feel for photography. Case in point is that Sensei Alexei is a Fourth Dan black belt (my sincerest apologies as I previously wrote Third Dan) in the Kyokushin Kaikan style, yet during the shoot, possessed that mixture of quiet confidence, courtesy, and humility that mark a martial arts practitioner. I’m sure it stems from a mixture of individual self-confidence, discipline, and possibly something a lot more practical;
A kick, like a photograph, is a singular, fluid expression that can contain so much technique, subtlety, and nuances, for something that looks relatively simple. It has emotional content. It has to connect. Unlike Photography though, you can’t talk, network, tweet, SEO, or otherwise irresponsibly enable someone into being a good Martial Artist. It takes practice, discipline, and eventually having to get into the ring to prove it. As for us, we like to get our kicks from being happy with our work…and aiming high.
Cover Shoot: Forte Gerardo for Canadian Immigrant October Issue (Toronto Edition)
Last September, I had the good fortune of photographing Mr. Forte Gerardo for the cover of The Canadian Immigrant, Toronto Edition, October issue. For those that don’t know him, Mr. Forte Gerardo is a master ‘Trade Maker’, having been the former trade commissioner and head of post for the Philippines to Toronto and Central Canada, and entrepreneur running an established trading company. The full issue can be read here.
As for my trade, I create images. Having done primarily fashion and celebrity portraiture for most of my professional life, I’m used to having a full crew – complete with make-up and hair artists, wardrobe stylists, and models and am extremely proficient with all the editing, retouching, and post-processing that goes hand-in-hand with what’s considered a ‘modern photographic production’ (including some of the most intricate Adobe Photoshop techniques that involve layer masking, creative use of blending modes, warps and transformations, up to full 3D reconstruction and CG replacement – I’m also a 3D and Visual Effects artist, and teach Photoshop techniques). Sometimes though, I just love to do it old-school – just classical and honest portraiture, completely focusing on, and capturing the character of the person in front of the lens with no distractions. I find working this way extremely satisfying. These are some of the most honest photographs I have made – it’s all the-subject-as-they-are, light, and lens – nothing’s contrived. With the exception of the cover tear sheet above, the images you see below in this blog post, are literally straight out of my camera. Post processing zero – this is as honest as it gets.
Not that Mr. Forte Gerardo and his lovely wife, Salvacion, need any image editing help. They are genuinely wonderful people with characters that just exude positivity and an appreciation for knowledge and life. It was such an honor to be able to photograph them.
In A Flash: One Designer, Two Covers
A lot can happen in a flash. In early 2009, through Vancouver Fashion Week, we were fortunate to meet and work with Vancouver fashion designer Porscia Yeganeh. This is the cover of the style section of Vancouver Sun for the Vancouver Fashion Week press release during March 2009. The next is the cover of Reach Magazine Special Edition.
This is our image of model Alicia Crudo wearing a Porcia design in The Vancouver Sun.
This is the portrait we took of Porscia Yeganeh on the cover of Reach Magazine.
Here is the gallery of Porcia’s designs earlier this year.
Cover Shoot: Canadian Immigrant Magazine September Issue (Vancouver Edition)
Immigrants are strong people. Last August, I was honored to meet and photograph human-rights activist Bushra Jamil for the cover of Canadian Immigrant Magazine. You can find the whole issue here.
Being an immigrant myself, I love this publication because it fearlessly talks about many of the issues that many immigrants have to face everyday. I am proud to be doing work for them.
