Fig. 1. Photography '88 Cover - Photograph by Nap Jamir I. Image from Roderick Javier Archive
It has been two years since seven photographic and related organizations, for the first time since National Photography Week was decreed by Malacañang, came together to share their time and talents in the projects and programs marking the observance of this annual event in Manila.
Before 1986, the organizers of the Manila celebrations had to contend with limited human resources, limited funds, and limited industry support. Not that the first four NPW celebrations failed; considering the limitations and sacrifices the organizers faced, they were qualified successes.
For this reason the current organizers now extend their deepest gratitude and heartfelt congratulations to those who first brought National Photography Week from presidential paper to reality: gratitude, for seeing the promise and value of such annual celebrations when many others did not or preferred not to; and congratulations, for succeeding against difficult odds, and in the process laying the foundations for the future growth of photography in the Philippines.
It has been two years since NPW '86, and a long way from the photo exhibitions the first NPW celebrations were largely limited to. Every year since then we’ve had more and bigger trade exhibits; daily seminars and demonstrations conducted by professionals, advanced amateurs, and photographic dealers; and, most heartwarming of all, greater following among practitioners and the public alike.
Now the foundations laid in earlier NPW celebrations have begun to see structures rising over them. One of these structures, organized by some of the leading lights in the industry, and receiving the full support of the trade suppliers, is the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF).
Fig. 2-3. Photography '88 Inside Pages 10 and 11. Images from Roderick Javier Archive
The next logical step after the cooperative endeavors of NPW, planned for in 1986 and finally brought to fruition in 1987, the Federation is a grand umbrella organization that aims to gather together, in a creative, collaborative matrix, the diverse organizations and individuals in the industry for the purpose of promoting Philippine
photography.
Its membership comprises groups, not individuals, practicing the hobby or profession of photography, including suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors of photographic equipment and materials, and cinematographic associations.
This landmark organization seeks not only to open lines of communication and education among practitioners of the craft, but also to make representations with the government on improving the status of photographers everywhere in the country and reclassifying photography from luxury to necessity, thereby removing onerous
taxes and duties on imported photographic materials.
Toward this end, two of the programs envisioned by the Federation aimed at professionalizing the industry are putting photography under the supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission and establishing a school of photography.
Current membership in the Federation, which has received the support and encouragement of the industry, includes the country’s major photographic associations, namely, the Professional Photographers Association of the Philippines (PPAP), Press Photographers of the Philippines (PPP), Government Photographers of the Philippines (GPP), and Camera Club of the Philippines (CCP).
The PPAP was organized in 1946 by Bob Razon, Arsenio Veluzar, Regalado Montemayor, and Escobar Ovejas with the principal objective of breaking the monopoly of suppliers on photographic materials and easing import restrictions.Â
The PPP was formed in 1950 by Filemon Tutay of the Philippine Free Press, who was elected its first president, to improve the working conditions and professional status of press photographers, following what they considered unfair treatment during the inauguration rites of President Quirino.
The GPP is an aggrupation of professional and amateur photographers working in government offices. It was organized in the 1960's by Manuel Bulaong of the Malacañang Press Office and subsequently reorganized in the 1970’s by Rudy Sakdalan and again in the 1980's by Emil Gilbang and Nel Hernandez.
The CCP, the country's oldest and most prestigious camera club, was organized in 1928 by a motley group of government officials, brokers, bank executives, and photo dealers at the initiative of Manuel de Cartagena.
(An interesting footnote, tracing the historical continuity and direct lineage of the NPW and the Federation, is that these individuals and groups have either been given the NPW Most Outstanding Achievement Award or currently continue to work for the betterment of the industry, under the aegis of NPW and the Federation.)
So where does Philippine photography go from here? After a hundred-odd years of development, is unity and industry-wide cooperation just around the corner? Can photographers hope for a more respected and more understood role in society and business Will we see faster and deeper growth not only of photographers individually, but of photography in and of itself?
Fig. 4. (Left) Photography '88 Page 75. Fig. 5. (Right) Back Cover - Photograph by Nap Jamir I. Images from Roderick Javier Archive
Only time will tell. But perhaps with the Federation, one of the possible vehicles for such growth and at present the one most likely to succeed, it won't be such a long and winding road ahead. This, after all, is what the National Photography Week was created for.
This text was first published in 1988 in "Photography '88: A Commemorative Journal of National Photography Week '88". This article is republished with permission from the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation, Inc. (FPPF).Â
A Foundation for Growth. "Photography '88." Photography 1, no. 1 (1988): 13-15.
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