Caffeinated Photographers Magazine (May 2012) by Caffeinated Photographers

May 2012

Caffeinated Photographers was founded in Dipolog City, Philippines on November 4, 2011 by Mario Dandi Romano and Paulina Uy with the active participation and support of Camellia Alferez, Miracle Romano, and Rose Alferez. Caffeinated Photographers was initially just a temporary moniker for the group that was inspired by their shared love for coffee and photography. However, the name was an instant hit with the fans and the official Caffeinated Photographers page eventually spawned a Facebook group that now has thousands of members.

Six Months of Caffeination / May 2012 CAFFEINATED PHOTOGRAPHERS MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 Editor and Publisher: Mario Dandi Romano Assistant Editors: Paulina Uy, Miracle Romano Email: caffeinatedphotographers@gmail.com Web: www.facebook.com/CaffeinatedPhotographers

Images published in the Caffeinated Photographers Magazine are the sole property of the contributing photographers and are copyrighted material. No image may be reproduced without the express written permission of its owner.

Cover Photo: The Young Artist by Mario Dandi Romano

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical without the prior written consent of the publisher.

Printed on demand by MagCloud http://www.magcloud.com/user/caffeinatedphotographers

ÂŠ 2012 Caffeinated Photographers

Join us for a daily dose of Coffee, Photography, Art, Music, Literature, Travel, Food, and Adventure! 500px: http://500px.com/CaffeinatedPhotographers Fotoblur: http://www.fotoblur.com/people/caffeinatedphotographers

CONTENTS... 56 Cafe Diem: Seize the Coffee!

83-91 Caffeinated Profiles: Paulina Uy, Mario Dandi Romano, Camellia Alferez Miracle Romano, Rose Alferez, Travis W. Forbear Jacques Chevalier, Ralph Nordstrom, Giò Tarantini

57 C8 - H10 - N4 - O2 by Miracle Romano

94 Featured Photographers

59 The Readers by Miracle Romano

95 Art Wolfe

60 Camelia Alferez

97 Joshua Holko

61 Ode to the Nature of Inspiration by Miracle Romano

99 Ina Forstinger | Gerald Berghammer

62 Camellia Alferez

101 Alexander Martirosov

63-64 Rose Alferez

103 Kevin McNeal

65 I Have To Go To Stay by Miracle Romano

105 Alexandre Deschaumes

66 Miracle Romano

106 Patrick Di Fruscia

67 Camelia Alferez

107 Mark Lissick

68 Miracle Romano

108 David Hemmings

69 Rose Alferez

109 Sean Bagshaw

70 Miracle Romano

(96, 98, 100, 102, 104) Mayur Davda Kicki Sundberg Richard Childs Francesco Cosi Sebastien Grébille Svetlana Peric Dennis Buchner Evgeni Dinev Amandine Desjardins Cheyenne L. Rouse Hengki Koentjoro Tejas Soni Silviu Pavel Christopher Rimmer

8-55 Paulina Uy and Mario Dandi Romano

72-75 Travis W. Forbear 76-77 Jacques Chevalier 78-79 Ralph Nordstrom 80-81 Giò Tarantini

“Does not the very word ‘creative’ mean to build, to initiate, to give out, to act - rather than to be acted upon, to be subjective? Living photography is positive in its approach, it sings a song of life - not death.” - Berenice Abbott

SIX MONTHS OF CAFFEINATION http://www.facebook.com/CaffeinatedPhotographers

“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.” -Lord Byron

“Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents. Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness.” - Kahlil Gibran

“Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.” - Washington Irving

“Faith is the pierless bridge supporting what we see unto the scene that we do not.” - Emily Dickinson

“You just have to live and life will give you pictures.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

“To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.” - William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” - Isaac Newton

“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.” - Pamela Hansford Johnson

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beauty is an all-pervading presence. It unfolds to the numberless flowers of the Spring; it waves in the branches of the trees and in the green blades of grass; it haunts the depths of the earth and the sea, and gleams out in the hues of the shell and the precious stone. And not only these minute objects, but the ocean, the mountains, the clouds, the heavens, the stars, the rising and the setting sun all overflow with beauty.â&#x20AC;? - William Ellery Channing

“Would not the child’s heart break in despair when the first cold storm of the world sweeps over it, if the warm sunlight of love from the eyes of mother and father did not shine upon him like the soft reflection of divine light and love?” - Max Muller

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” - Henri Bergson

“And the voices in the waves are always whispering, in their ceaseless murmuring, of love - of love, eternal and illimitable, not bounded by the confines of this world, or by the end of time, but ranging still, beyond the sea, and beyond the sky.” - Charles Dickens

“I would not fear nor wish my fate, but boldly say each night, to-morrow let my sun his beams display, or in clouds hide them; I have lived today.” - Abraham Cowley

“Not by age but by capacity is wisdom acquired.” - Titus Maccias Plautus

“Kind hearts are the gardens. Kind thoughts are the roots. Kind words are the blossoms. Kind deeds are the fruits. Take care of your garden, And keep out the weeds. Fill it with sunshine, Kind words and kind deeds.” - Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

ÂŠ MARIO DANDI ROMANO Breakwater, Dipolog, Philippines

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more.â&#x20AC;? - Lord Byron

“Sit in reverie, and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.” - Albert Schweitzer

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“There is a fountain of youth: It is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring in your life and the lives of people you love.” - Sophia Loren

“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.”

“The rays of happiness, like those of light, are colorless when unbroken.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“That perfect tranquillity of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, a faithful friend and a good library.” - Aphra Behn

“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.”

“Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.” - James Allen

“It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin

Mee Chai Chà-Nà Dèk Hài Bpen Kong Kwan Jàak Prà Jâo (Victorious Children as Gifts of God) at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon (Great Monastery of Auspicious Victory)

“Love’s soul that is the depth of starry skies Set in the splendor of one upturned face To beam adorably through half-closed eyes; Love’s body where the breadth of summer days And all the beauty earth and air comprise ... Whereon the shafts of ardent light, far-flung Across the luminous azure overhead, Ofttimes in arcs of transient beauty hung The fragmentary rainbow’s green and red. Joy it was here to love and to be young, To watch the sun sink to his western bed, And streaming back out of their flaming core The vesperal aurora’s glorious banners soar... Tinging each altitude of heaven in turn, Those fiery rays would sweep. The cumuli That peeped above the mountain-tops would burn Carmine a space; the cirrus-whorls on high, More delicate than sprays of maiden fern, Streak with pale rose the peacock-breasted sky, Then blanch. As water-lilies fold at night, Sank back into themselves those plumes of fervid light...” by Alan Seeger

“The simplest things are often the truest.” - Richard Bach

“As I gaze upon the sea! All the old romantic legends, all my dreams, come back to me.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. They are engines of change, windows on the world, lighthouses erected in the sea of time.” - Barbara W. Tuchman

“May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow. May the soft winds freshen your spirit. May the sunshine brighten your heart. May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you, and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.”

“If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.” - James A. Garfield

“How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank. Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony.” - William Shakespeare

“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” - Samuel Ullman

© MARIO DANDI ROMANO “Only those who truly love and who are truly strong can sustain their lives as a dream. You dwell in your own enchantment. Life throws stones at you, but your love and your dream change those stones into the flowers of discovery. Even if you lose, or are defeated by things, your triumph will always be exemplary. And if no one knows it, then there are places that do. People like you enrich the dreams of the worlds, and it is dreams that create history. People like you are unknowing transformers of things, protected by your own fairy-tale, by love.” - Ben Okri

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” - Pablo Casals

Last Sunset of 2011, Dipolog City “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” Rabindranath Tagore

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.” - Crowfoot

“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” - Rabindranath Tagore

“Be like a headland of rock on which the waves break incessantly; but it stands fast and around it the seething of the waters sink to rest.” Marcus Aurelius

“Ah, Hope! What would life be, stripped of thy encouraging smiles, that teach us to look behind the dark clouds of today, for the golden beams that are to gild the morrow.” - François de la Rochefoucauld

ÂŠ PAULINA UY Guimputlan, Philippines

All vanishes! The Sun, from topmost heaven precipitated, Like a globe of iron which is tossed back fiery red Into the furnace stirred to fume, Shocking the cloudy surges, plashed from its impetuous ire, Even to the zenith spattereth in a flecking scud of fire The vaporous and inflamĂ¨d spaume. O contemplate the heavens! Whenas the vein-drawn day dies pale, In every season, every place, gaze through their every veil? With love that has not speech for need! Beneath their solemn beauty is a mystery infinite: If winter hue them like a pall, or if the summer night Fantasy them starre brede. -- Victor Hugo 54

“Art trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.” - John Lubbock

CAFE DIEM! SEIZE THE COFFEE!

C8 - H10 - N4 - O2 There’s Absolute Certainty In Coffee, Me, and You It’s Chemistry!

Coffee falls into the stomach … ideas begin to move, things remembered arrive at full gallop … the shafts of wit start up like sharp-shooters, similies arise, the paper is covered with ink … -Honoré de Balzac

A Reading Woman A reading woman Knows she is in love when she Discovers that the Best part of a book Is that page where her thoughts stray To you come what may.

Man Reading Nowanights you read by the moon-spangled sea As evening hums a wounded melody And in the island of your thoughts your dreams you dandle You dream you read to me You’re reading me By the undulations of an eternal candle

Woman Reading …and because life Has taught her about books, She reads To recover from you. How then shall she heal If the books Break her heart, too?

Written by MIRACLE D. ROMANO

One With a Doppelgänger Reads One surrendered in words, to find; the other, to dispossess. One read to fulfill the heart’s proddings; the other to abnegate it. One turned pages to nourish the mind; the other lost it. One bent over a book to partake; the other to withhold. One embraced sentences with an intent; the other, aimlessly. Betwixt the covers one pursued a question; the other, an answer. One discovered the way, the other wandered. Within a book the other is the one, the one is the other. ‘Twas a strange but beautiful sight, when he read – the one with the doppelgänger, with the woman reader, and she too, with her doppelgänger. They read, leaning their backs against each other. But alas! No book was to tell (who became lovers or who remained readers) the further story of the reading man and woman and their doppelgängers.

“Through loyalty to the past, our mind refuses to realize that tomorrow’s joy is possible only if today’s makes way for it; that each wave owes the beauty of its line only to the withdrawal of the preceding one.” - Andre Gide

ODE TO THE NATURE OF INSPIRATION In a moment, you Confiscate all faculties Of my senses. And then you Move me, And I Become Alive, Mobile, Fluid, In a perpetual motion â&#x20AC;&#x201D; That stops. For in the next moment You forsake Everything In a parched cup, As coffee dregs Which foretell Emptiness, Nothingness, Drought. And then, you Seize me again, Breathe awakenings Into my pen. Influences, Creative omens, Into my fingers, again. And I Shall not complain Of your comings Nor your goings. For I Have come to accept That such is The nature of Inspiration.

Words and Photo by MIRACLE ROMANO

ÂŠ Rose Alferez

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf. - Albert Schweitzer

I HAVE TO GO TO STAY by Miracle Romano When you gather that I have ebbed from my entity, or ceased from what we on earth call “caring,” You shall find me in the wind, in the air. Feel my sentiments touch your face, and breathe me into your life. Find me in a cloudburst, in every raindrop, quenching thirsty crevices of your soul. Find me in hopeful auroras and enchanting gloamings, in fanfaring rays of the glorious sun. Find me in the sky, in hues of blue and scintillating stars. Find me in the ground you tread on, in grains of sand, and plant what’s left of life to grow. Read me in a book, in a riddling sentence, in a puzzling character, that only you can decipher. Listen for me in a cry, in a loving whisper, in chimes of laughter, in music; music of angels, music of men, music of time, music of nature, and sing me. Sing us. Find me in a pause, in ripples, in silence. Find me in eternal time, in the future, present, and past that are one. You shall find me in your shadow, your umbra… Find me in you.

THE CHILDREN’S HOUR Galas Beach, Dipolog City

“Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning to lower, Comes a pause in the day’s occupations, That is known as the Children’s Hour. [...] And there will I keep you forever, Yes, forever and a day...” *

*from The Children’s Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

TUTUBI “If then, your world be such a baffling riddle, it is because you are that baffling riddle. And if your speech be such a woeful maze, it is because you are that woeful maze.” ~Mikhail Naimy~

“True love is like a pair of socks: you gotta have two and they’ve gotta match.”

It’s not so much about the shoes but the person wearing them.

Shaping Dreams in the Sunset: What we both are doing the little boy in the pic and the little girl behind the camera.

MARRIAGE “…to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.”

Maybe the old songs Will bring back the old times And make her wanna stay.

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.

“The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands.” ~ Benjamin Franklin ~ (Papa’s hands crafting frames for his paintings.)

The Children’s Hour

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.â&#x20AC;? Ernst Haas

ÂŠ Travis W Forbear http://teedubbaus.blogspot.com/

It is our great honor and privilege to present to you the work of an honorary member of the Caffeinated Photographers - a great photographer, a good friend, and a wonderful mentor in the Caffeinated Photographers group. Make sure to visit his blog for high resolution photos and all the really juicy stuff! Caffeinated Photographers Admins Mario Dandi Romano Paulina Uy

© Travis W Forbear http://teedubbaus.blogspot.com/ “A little over 8 years ago, my grandfather noticed this tree in a corn field behind the church Rebecca and I got married in. He admired it so much he wanted the photographers to take a picture. It wasn’t a very flattering image. I’ve photographed this field and tree several times since that day. I’ve watched the seasons change as often as the crops, but I’ve never been able to get the photograph I feel must have matched the image my grandfather saw all those years ago. The other day, I noticed the shifting light as the clouds were pushed through the sky by a small breeze. I waited a little and watched. When the time seemed right I made a few photographs. Within a matter of minutes the light changed and the field darkened. I can only imagine what my grandfather saw that day, but if it was as peaceful as the one I witnessed, I know why he wanted to capture the moment back then.”

“You must become simple, before you can become complex.” -Bruce Lee The other day I was reading The Magic Of Black & White Part 1- Vision, by Andrew S. Gibson, an e-book, something I never thought I would ever do ( I also thought digital photography and blogging were things I would never find myself enjoying). As I read, I kept coming back to the notion of simplification. The technique itself is not foreign to me, but I started to think about the negative space it creates. I’ve been playing with negative space as a way to get back some the vision I feel like I’ve lost. Some of my frustration comes from the fact we live in a world flooded with digitally enhanced photographs, oversaturated colors, and photo sharing sites that become virtual dumping grounds for talented and non talented alike, it’s easy to lose sight of the goals you set for yourself, when faced with these challenges. So how do I deal with it? I go out and I find things that are interesting to me. I ignore the little voice in my head that says: it’s been done before. Instead, I work beyond the joint pain, the sting of sweat in my eyes, and the realization my finger tip is so numb I might not be able to press the shutter button again. I push myself harder to lay waste to the fears that once haunted me, all so I might capture a moment of time unique to me. It’s not a quest to get “likes” or comments on social network sites, I was doing this long before all of that. It’s the passion that drives me and countless others who follow a similar path everyday. We do it, because we have to.

“I have this special place in my heart for old run down places. I love the dirt and dust build up of years passed. There’s a connection to the past, a mystery to be solved about the inhabitants of the space. Sometimes though, we know a bit about the history involved in the place. In the shadows and musty air we imagine the person still moving, still working, still giving the place a life all it’s own. Recently, I had an opportunity to visit a place full of history, unique stories, and an essence unlike any I’ve visited for some time now. I learned the history and heard the stories from a wonderful family friend. She walked with me, told me all about the man and woman who shared a simple life on the property, and let me go off to explore the spaces for myself. Standing in the workshop of this man I’ve never met, I could almost see his hands working wood and tools. I imagined the many things crafted on the workbench and the items lining the shelves along the walls. In the corners, rusty reminders of items once so important, collecting more than a few seasons of change. As I moved from workshop to basement, the coolness of the stone foundation, the remnants of morning light streaming in from the small windows lining the east wall, made visible by the unsettled dust, create a fairy tale atmosphere for the unfinished works. A place of faded dreams, patiently waiting to be picked up where they were left off. When I stand in a place like this, I see both light and life. I see possibility amid the webs of the forgotten. I see something as simple as an idea, patiently awaiting the call to shine.” http://teedubbaus.blogspot.com/

ÂŠ Jacques Chevalier It is our great honor and privilege to present to you an honorary member of the Caffeinated Photographers - a great photographer, a good friend, and a wonderful mentor in the Caffeinated Photographers group. Caffeinated Photographers Admins Mario Dandi Romano Paulina Uy

ÂŠ Jacques Chevalier

ÂŠ Ralph Nordstrom http://www.facebook.com/RalphNordstromPhotography http://ralphnordstromphotography.com/

It is our great honor and privilege to present to you an honorary member of the Caffeinated Photographers - a great photographer, a good friend, and a wonderful mentor in the Caffeinated Photographers group. Make sure to visit his site for all the really juicy stuff! Caffeinated Photographers Admins Mario Dandi Romano Paulina Uy

ÂŠ Ralph Nordstrom

ÂŠ GiĂ˛ Tarantini http://www.giotarantini.com/ http://www.facebook.com/GioTarantiniPhotography http://www.flickr.com/photos/giotarantini/

It is our great honor and privilege to present to you an honorary member of the Caffeinated Photographers - a great photographer, a good friend, and a wonderful mentor in the Caffeinated Photographers group who wholeheartedly supported us back when we had just founded Caffeinated Photographers. Make sure to visit his site/page for high resolution photos and all the really juicy stuff! Caffeinated Photographers Admins Mario Dandi Romano Paulina Uy

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.â&#x20AC;? - Edward Steichen

© Paulina Uy I’m from the Philippines and I was raised in the small city of Dipolog. After graduating secondary school, I resided in Cebu City and I only visit Dipolog a few times each year. My passion for photography started when I was 15 and my parents gave me a digital camera. I brought along my camera anywhere and anytime; and whenever my photos got printed, my parents encouraged me and told me how beautiful they were and that I had the eye of a photographer. However, in college, I took up Computer Engineering – but I stopped after 7 semesters, realizing that it wasn’t my passion. Thinking of another course to take up and considering my dad’s application for immigration to Canada for our whole family, I decided to take up and pursue photography. I am currently studying under the New York Institute of Photography’s distance learning program (The Complete Course in Professional Photography), learning more and more things to hone my skills. Now with a digital SLR (Canon EOS 450D) in hand I mostly do landscape photography. I also enjoy shooting macros both for fun and for the love of exploring minute things we don’t normally see in our daily lives. I dream of becoming a wedding photographer in the future. Other fields of photography I would like to be involved with are photojournalism and wildlife photography. Speaking of photojournalism, I’m all set to pursue this field of photography this coming September in Canada. I can’t wait!

© Mario Dandi Romano I was born in Dumaguete City, Philippines but I spent my childhood in Dipolog City in a house full of art and music. For me, life started when my mom taught me to read at the age of three. I was insatiable – I read and read for hours and cried when my mom told me the lights had to be turned off at night. I finished reading the whole Bible by the time I was 7, by eight I read the unabridged versions of Huckleberry Finn, Oliver Twist, Moll Flanders, The Three Musketeers, Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and other classics – by 10 I was reading novels by Norman Mailer and John Steinbeck along with heavy classics. While reading these books I always used to picture each scene in my mind – I imagined how each scene would have looked if someone had taken a photo at that time. Because of this, I didn’t pay much attention to my dad’s black and white photos – he used to print all his photos in his darkroom when my sister and I were around 7 and 8 years old and even though I found the process quite interesting I was more taken with colored photos. It wasn’t until years later that I fully appreciated the art in black and white photography. Even though I took up Computer Engineering and studied classical piano from the age of 7, I ended up doing something quite different – I work as a freelance Graphics/Logo Designer and Consultant although I teach piano in my spare time. If anyone were to ask me to describe myself I would say that I’m a hybrid. A cross between the nerdy type and the sporty type, the serious type and the goofy type, the mature and the immature, a bookworm and a computer gamer, serious and happy-go-lucky, levelheaded and hot-headed, hopeful and yet a bit of a cynic, an introvert and an extrovert, an idealist and a romantic but also pragmatic, a realist...an oxymoron? - maybe, but not an ox and a moron. =) “Life is like a piano...What you get out of it depends on how you play it.”

ÂŠ Camellia Alferez I am currently living in Dipolog City, my birthplace. I took up Accountancy and I work as a Copywriter. For as long as I can remember I have loved sports - especially Table Tennis. It will come as no surprise to those who know me that I also ended up being a Head Coach in Table Tennis. I also love music, I love to travel, and I also love playing Darts, and Badminton. Photography is one of my main passions and I love learning new techniques to enhance my knowledge of the craft. I look forward to another year of coffee and photography!

© Miracle Romano There are many ways to describe oneself. There are many, but the same self-indulgent prattle. Anyway, let us indulge... If I were to reveal myself in technical terms, I would simply relay what my birth certificate warrants; that my real name is Miracle Romano and that I was brought forth into this world in 1984 (a rather significant year in literature). If I were to do so philosophically, I’d ask you, dear reader, “What is Self?” and I shall be conveniently released from the necessity to supply an answer. If I were allowed to borrow the words of sages and poets, I would quote Plato and say, “I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge,every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with.” Or I may usurp a most befitting line from Walt Whitman and declare that “each part and tag of me is a miracle.” I may also speak as a musician and maintain that I am one who lives life as a musical process. Indeed, there are many ways, and yet I feel that through the following titles, I am able to successfully summarize what I perceive myself to be: A Little Girl, a Woman, a Daughter of God, a Sister, a Free Spirit, a PageTurner (whether they be book pages, music pages, or life’s pages), a Kape-Writer, a Polybibliogamist, a Traveling Minstrel, among other fancied things.

© Rose Alferez I grew up in Dipolog City, Philippines. I spent my college years in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, where I studied Psychology and Secondary Education at Silliman University. For almost 9 years, I taught Psychology in the tertiary level in Dipolog and Dumaguete City. With my interest in understanding human behavior, both the common and the uncommon, I wish to finish my master’s degree in Special Education. Presently, I work as a freelance Online Copy Editor and as a Consultant for Leadership and Life Skills trainings in nongovernment units. With this kind of work that leaves me more leisure time, I am able to engage in my interest in photography. I got my inspiration for most of my photos from my fellow Caffeinated Photographers. My work varies from people and emotions to playful subjects and colors. I would say that I need to work on my perspective and develop a vision to get great photos. I am with the quote that “if you want to get better in photography, you better start shooting and get to know the gear you have.” To have a good photo, first of all, one must need a vision because seeing is a requirement before anything. You can’t shoot what you don’t see.

© Travis W Forbear “When I was a kid I always thought I’d grow up to be a film director. I loved movies, they are filled with so many beautiful images, places, and stories - I wanted to create like that. While taking film classes in college, I had a professor who showed us the film “La Jetee” http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc id=4536409644066983943. Its story is told mostly with still images. I fell in love with the idea of still images to tell stories. Soon after I purchased my first 35mm camera, and started to learn everything I could about photography. I bought my wife a digital camera in 2004, but I wasn’t sold on the idea. I loved film way to much. I finally bought a digital body in 2008, but it took almost a year of shooting and some playing in Photoshop elements 5 to convince me of the true power of digital imaging. I do miss film, but digital opened so many doors for my creativity. Once I upgraded to Photoshop CS4 the floodgates opened and I haven’t looked back. Inspiration comes from all over. I love the outdoors, I love to hike, to explore, and just get lost for a few hours. I love macro photography, especially super macro, there’s just something about seeing a subject beyond the normal closeness. I’m inspired by other photographers’ work, but I seldom shoot what I see others making. I might see a pattern, a color, a texture, or some other part of a photograph and think I want to do something with that. I love colors and textures to create moods. It’s kind of like seeing in monochrome, it takes practice, but eventually you see a subject and tell yourself “that would look so cool with a stone texture or a scratched film plate overlay”. I’ve been told my work is moody, sometimes it’s full of color and light, while other times it’s filled with a surreal darkness. I just create with what I see and inspires me through my daily learning. I spend a lot of time learning new techniques, perfecting and honing my skills. No matter what I create, I always feel there’s something around the corner that will be better. That’s what keeps me learning and shooting. I think I’ll always be a student, that’s where I feel the most creative.” http://teedubbaus.blogspot.com/

© Jacques Chevalier I’m a “hobby photographer” and more or less self-taught. I took my first photo when I was about 10 years old with my father’s Exacta. He taught me the basic rules of composition, lightmetering – ASA/DIN-value and DOF rules in combination with the f-values and shutter speed. My first camera was an Agfa ISO-Rapid (I was 12 when I got it). I liked taking “street shots” because observing people is very interesting for me and I loved playing the “journalist”, posting my photos in the school newspaper. Between ages 21 and 35, I played with Chinon and Zeiss-Ikon and concentrated more on nature and portraits, weddings, etc. I was then inspired by the photos and photographic style of the 50s and “Bilitis” using (way too much) the Cokin filter. For about 15 years I took “zero” shots – my work (teaching) and my main hobby (old electronics) were taking all my attention. Then I discovered Flickr and André Govia – I was “photo-triggered” again. This time into URBEX photography and editing – but I couldn’t compete with the other photographers who had “heavy” digital cameras, editing techniques, with access to all sorts of sites. But I discovered many new possibilities with digital photography. I like “poetic shots” – shots with (some) feeling. For me, the subject is sometimes not the most important – the “moment” is. I also like “well-balanced” shots with nice expressions. I also like to experiment (HDR, etc) – the possibilities are endless especially with Photoshop. Photography for me is “freezing time” – once a shot is taken it belongs to the past. Probably, my schooling (Masters in History, French and Latin) are emphasizing this starting point to “Take a Shot”!

© Ralph Nordstrom “Photography is my passion. I guess I’m not so unique in that regard. I love to be alone in the desert before sunrise and experience the gentle breeze that always greets the day just before the sun majestically rises into the heavens. That timid announcement of such a royal entrance is one of the many wonders to be found on our beautiful Mother Earth. But for me photography is more than a passion. It is a journey, a journey of self-discovery. Sometimes I wonder if my photography is an escape from the tortured world we live in. But looking deep inside, I understand that it is a rebellion not an escape. I choose to seek out what’s right with the world. And I choose to engage the land and share the wonder I find there. The journey continues; the passion grows. What’s waiting at the next sunrise?” http://www.facebook.com/RalphNordstromPhotography http://ralphnordstromphotography.com/

© Giò Tarantini I am a self-taught photographer based in Bassano del Grappa, in the northern part of Italy. I cover a wide and varied range of subjects – from portraiture, wedding, sport, reportage, to wildlife and landscape. I enjoy the finer things in life, the ones that really matter to me – my family, my friends, a good book, a glass of wine, or a good meal with the right person.

www.giotarantini.com/

I discovered my passion for photography so late – or maybe photography discovered me to help me in this time of my life. To give you a glimpse of how I think of photography there is a line from Richard Avedon that I really feel is “mine” – “If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.” Now I will let my photos do the talking.

www.facebook.com/GioTarantiniPhotography www.flickr.com/photos/giotarantini/

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” - Elliott Erwitt

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK

Less than two weeks after the inception of Caffeinated Photographers, Paulina and Mario

conceptualized a weekly feature for the official page â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Featured Photographer of the Week. They aimed to feature the work of dedicated photographers to serve as an inspiration for other photographers from all walks of life - young and old, amateur and professional alike. This new development was enthusiastically received by the members of the Facebook group and the fans of the page â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it was so popular that within a few weeks the Caffeinated Photographers page was able to feature many International Winners and well-known photographers. Award Winners and World-Renowned photographers like Nature/Wildlife Photographer Art Wolfe, Fine Art Photographer Joshua Holko, Landscape Photographer Kevin McNeal, Fine Art Photographers Ina Forstinger and Gerald Berghammer, Nature Photographer Mark Lissick, Photojournalist Silviu Pavel, Landscape Photographer Alexandre Deschaumes, Fine Art Photographer Hengki Koentjoro, Fine Art Photographer Alexander Martirosov, Landscape Photographer Patrick Di Fruscia, Fine Art Photographer Christopher Rimmer, and Wildlife Photographer David Hemmings all graciously gave their support and sent their personal stories and biographies along with their work to be published in the Caffeinated Photographers Official Page.

www.ArtWolfe.com/

“I was born about a mile from where I currently live in West Seattle. Both of my parents were wedding photographers so it was only natural that I would want to be a fine art painter. I never had photography on my radar, I received my degree in fine arts from the University of Washington however in 1984 I was invited to join the first American Everest exhibition being allowed in through Tibet. I took the challenge wanting to see the world and Tibet in particular and although I’d taken photos prior to that time it was on this trip that I made my mark as a photographer and I’ve never looked back. In the last 30 plus years I have published over 65 books, photographed on every continent and had my own TV show, Travels to the Edge. Growing up in the woods and ravines behind my childhood home I have always had a strong connection with nature, plants and animals and as I have traveled the world in pursuit of the same I have developed a strong connection with the different cultures of the world as well. I have always drawn inspiration from the work of painters, be they masters or contemporary artists, you can see their influences in my images and I continue to learn from them myself and teach photographers to appreciate and draw influence from their work today. In early 2012 I am excited to unveil a new body of work where I have returned to my roots as a painter drawing upon my work with remote tribes in Ethiopia, patterns in nature, animals in camouflage among other elements. It will be a very exciting and important body of work in the art world and I look forward to sharing it with all of you.” “It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.” - Art Wolfe

Featured Photographer of the Week (November 20, 2011 - November 26, 2011) Mayur Conserveorperish Davda (Mumbai, India)

Featured Photographer of the Week (January 8, 2012 - January 14, 2012) © Richard Childs (Argyll And Bute, United Kingdom) www.richardchildsphotography.co.uk/

Featured Photographer of the Week (February 26, 2012 - March 3, 2012) © Francesco Cosi (Rufina, Italy) www.facebook.com/FrancescoCosiLandscapesPhotography

Featured Photographer of the Week (February 19, 2012 - February 25, 2012) © Joshua Holko (Melbourne, Australia) “I am an Australian born Fine Art Photographer specialising in Landscape, Nature and Wilderness Photography from around the world. Wilderness, Nature and Landscape Photography is my passion. I have been interested in photography since I was around ten years of age (that seems an awfully long time ago now….). I began by shooting 35mm chrome slide film (primarily Kodachrome, Fujichrome Velvia and Provia) before switching to digital somewhere around late 2002. Back then I was mostly shooting Rock Climbing and Landscape. I primarily made the decision to switch to digital because Canon began offering a reasonably priced full frame 35mm DSLR that far exceeded the quality of traditional 35mm film in every respect. I really enjoy getting out into the wilderness with my camera and try to spend as much of my time as possible in the field making photographs. Much of what I do in the field involves hunting for the right subject matter in combination with the right light and I frequently return to favourite locations to chase good light. I have studied at Australian Photography Studies College in Southbank with Distinction and hold a diploma from the Australian college of Journalism in Photography. I was appointed as Australia’s first and only Moab Master photographer in 2011 by Moab and Legion paper in the USA. I am officially represented byPhilip Kulpa and the Source Photographica gallery in Brighton Australia and by the Wilderness Gallery at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. My photography has also been exhibited in the United States of America at international shows and expos through Moab and Legion paper. I have also exhibited at Montsalvat Art Gallery in Eltham Victoria, featured in the Nillumbik Prize in the Nillumbik shire and I have been published in many different magazines. My work has also regularly featured on the ABC news weather segment and has won numerous awards including the World Extreme Environment Photograph of the Year People’s choice Award, GOLD and SILVER at the Australian Professional Photography Awards. For a complete list of past and recent media please visit my website at www.jholko.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (January 1, 2012 - January 7, 2012) © Sebastien Grébille (France) www.sebastiengrebille.com/

Featured Photographer of the Week (January 15, 2012 January 21, 2012) © Ina Forstinger | Gerald Berghammer (Vienna, Austria) “We have already been a team for years privately, and shared a passion for photography for an even longer time before that. During our joint worldwide travels, we always wanted to preserve what we experienced together. In 2010, we decided to make our hobby into our profession. After Gerald successfully got his professional photographer’s certificate, we launched our project: SILVERFINEART.com. Since then, we have been spending just about every free minute we have with our cameras outside in nature. It can often take days until we have the perfect motif, lighted in just the right way. Our method for getting the perfect image, is first to recognize the right way to look at something beautiful, to have technical grasp of the right equipment, and time. The digital equipment we used to begin with, has been exchanged, step- by- step, for large- and middle-format analog cameras. Our favorite tools are our Sinar P2, our Toyo AII Field Camera, and our Hasselblads 500 but also our homemade Pinhole Camera is always ready to use. Landscape, Cityscape, Travel and Objects in Black and White are our favorites. Photography is so much more than just pressing the button – it is a handicraft with thousands of possibilities, and every negative becomes something unique. Developing the film in the darkroom is our reward at the end of a long day. Every picture we choose is then scanned at high resolution and digitally processed, so that we really enhance our pictures’ expressive effect. For us, this is perfect photography.

www.silverfineart.com/

Featured Photographer of the Week (March 4, 20120 - March 10, 2012) Dennis Buchner (Michigan, USA) www.denniscurlybuchner.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (April 8, 2012 - April 14, 2012) © Evgeni Dinev (Burgas, Bulgaria) http://evgenidinevphotography.com/

Featured Photographer of the Week (April 15, 2012 - April 21, 2012) © Cheyenne L Rouse (Scottsdale, Arizona) www.CheyenneRouse.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (January 29, 2012 February 4, 2012) © Alexander Martirosov (Saint Petersburg City, Russia) I was born in 1968 in the village of Shebekino in the Belgorod region. I currently live and work in St. Petersburg. I graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Technology Lensoviet, majoring in Radiation Processes in Nuclear energy. Photography is my long-standing hobby, which in the past few years has gained professional form. My genres of preference are portrait, fashion and fine-art. My first exhibition in Russia took place in October 2010 in the famous St. Petersburg Hotel Astoria. The second exhibition was opened a month later, also in St. Petersburg, Art Gallery Shop Artists. In 2010 I formed a professional team and started working in my own studio. I also took part in various competitions throughout 2010, held under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP, www.fiap.ru) and became a finalist in several of them. In January 2011 I was acclaimed “Photographer of the Month” by the influential Hasselblad Owners Club (www. hasselblad.com) AWARDS * Nominee for the 5th Annual Photography Masters Cup in the genre of commercial photography. * Winner of FIAP (2nd International Salon of Art Photography “Photovernisaj na Pokrovy”) - Gold Medal * Winner of FIAP (6th International Salon-Circuit of Art Photography “With Love to Women”) - Gold Medal * Winner of 93 Salon International d’Art Photographique de Pessac. (Club Photo Espoir Pessacais 23e Salon National - France) * Photographer of the Month (Hasselblad Owner’s Club, HOC) * Winner of the 2nd Gia Dinh Photo Club International Exhibition. Vietnam.

www.alexandermartirosov.com/

Featured Photographer of the Week (December 11, 2011 - December 17, 2011) ÂŠ Hengki Koentjoro (Jakarta, Indonesia) http://koentjoro.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (January 22, 2012 - January 28, 2012) ÂŠ Tejas Soni (Ahmedabad, India)

Featured Photographer of the Week March 18, 20120 - March 24, 2012) © Kevin McNeal (Olympia, Washington, USA) Kevin is a photographer from the state of Washington who focuses on grand colorful landscapes that reflect the most unique places on earth. Capturing moments of magic light and transferring this on print, images behold a combination of perseverance, patience, and dedication to capture the images in ways unseen before. The stories of how these images are rendered come across in the feelings the images convey. Traveling all over North America with his wife by his side, shooting diverse landscapes and finding remote places to bring the message to the public that this Earth is worth saving. His award winning images can be seen in galleries and showings across the United States, and was recently selected to the Art Wolfe Art Gallery for the Environmental Photography Invitational. Kevin was also the grand winner of the Landscape category for the Natures Best Magazine and was selected for the Smithsonian National Museum of History in Washington D.C. He has been teaching workshops for the last couple of years including private and group classes. He also specializes in post processing of digital photography and teaches Adobe Photoshop classes. He has been published in several magazines including Outdoor Photographer, Nature’s Best, Digital Photo, Photo Plus, and National Geographic. “I believe that the Earth shares secrets with us that only can be discovered by trying to understand our position on this planet. We are never fully intimate with the planet but are given brief moments that make our souls want more. These glimpses of nature’s power are fleeting and never the same twice. I also believe it is important to share with those who want it. The treasures that await us given the patience that is out there. What I try to do is bring some of that magic to my images to share with the rest of the world. Each of my images tells a story that everyone can relate to in some way whether is was success, fear, or challenging oneself to overcome obstacles.”

http://kevinmcnealphotography.com/

Featured Photographer of the Week (December 18, 2011 - December 24, 2011) ÂŠ Silviu Pavel (Bucharest, Romania) www.silviupavel.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (March 25, 2012 - March 31, 2012) ÂŠ Christopher Rimmer (Melbourne, Australia) www.christopherrimmer.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (December 4, 2011 - December 10, 2011) © Alexandre Deschaumes (Bonneville, RhoneAlpes, France) Alexandre Deschaumes is a self-taught French photographer who captures the magnificent beauty of ethereal landscapes by exploring through the manipulation of light and shadow the reflections of his emotional state. He depicts the landscapes of our world with a dreamlike and artistic vision. A photographer of the digital generation, he learned the techniques through self-study before ultimately becoming a professional photographer and teacher. Alexandre is also an avid guitar player even playing up to 6 hours a day. He is both a photographer and a musician (composer and teacher). “I think my work shows my personal vision of nature through photography. It’s a sort of abstract study of evocative and evolving atmospheres.” “I spend a lot of time looking for new inspiring places, seeking new hiking areas, a special point of view, a new lake, a forest or a stream. Then in the field, I try to allow me enough time to feel the atmosphere and to reach a special point of view and keep a sense of spontaneity.” “Most beautiful captures seem to comes out from an unspeakable, floating feeling. It comes when my soul is disconnected from reality. It comes with a strange inner pain and with the desire to behold a sort of hope.” “When I am in nature, the environment makes me feel humble about all that surrounds me, opening a new abstract door of inspiration, making me very grateful about these fantastic benefits. And the most important aspect that I like about the abstract photography quest is that when I am in nature, I feel home and I feel alive.” “I find my inspiration in my hope and fears, through a simple mix of elegant curves , line and color harmony.”

www.alexandredeschaumes.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (March 11, 20120 - March 17, 2012) © Patrick Di Fruscia (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) At the age of 17 I met a guy who got me in the fitness industry and started working also as a graphic/web designer for a sport supplement company in Montreal and later on became the Marketing Manager for that same company. One day, the owner of the supplement company came to me and asked me to undertake the task of learning photography. He purchased my first camera, which was the Minolta XTsi, and there I went, trying to learn this great tool. I literally started reading everything I could find about photography and quickly this task became a hobby. My hobby really turned into a passion the time I did a road trip across the charming province and Quebec and ended up on top of Mt. Ernest Laforce in the Gaspe Peninsula. I knew then that this was my calling. That day it hit me like some sort of divine intervention…I wanted to experience, see and feel the beauty of our beautiful planet and photography was the perfect medium to do so. Since then I have set my lifelong goal to always perfect my craft. I know that this will be an endless curve and I will only have myself to blame if I don’t live up to my full potential. At one point in my life I was going through some pretty rough times. Hitting rock bottom really helped me, It made me see life in a way I had never seen before. One day, it dawned on me…Life has to be more than that. There has to be a reason why I am here and it certainly not to be miserable over all the things that are happening to me that I have absolutely no control over. I then decided to go on a quest to find out more about purpose. I took the exact same approach as when I started photography. I started reading everything I could find on the subject and became obsessed with the matter. This is now a big part of my life and I have to admit I have not mastered the subject yet. I often receive very touching message by followers and you have no idea how these make me feel. I have had tears roll down my face reading some of their emotional statements. Knowing that I can make a positive impact on someone else’s life means the world to me. At the end it is all about this - how much better have you made your life and the lives of the people around you.

www.DiFrusciaPhotography.com/

Featured Photographer of the Week (April 1, 2012 - April 7, 2012) © Mark Lissick (California, USA) “To lose the power of wonderment, and with it the passion, is to become old, no matter how old you are. To have this power is to be forever young. After 20 years as a nature photographer I hope I never lose that sense of wonderment and passion. Trained as a scientist and engineer, I have been immersed in the visualization and creative processes most of my life with the last 18 years making use of them as a freelance nature photographer. My landscape and wildlife images have won numerous awards from organizations such as Nature’s Best Photography and the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA). I have authored a number of articles and my work has appeared in a variety of publications including, Outdoor Photographer, Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, Expressions (NANPA), and Smithsonian Magazine in addition to a number of books and calendars. My limited edition fine art prints have been successfully shown as part of larger gallery exhibitions and have hung in the Smithsonian Institute. I have authored two books that are currently waiting publication. The first, The Inner Artistry of Outdoor Photography, is an instructional work that focuses on the role of creative visualization in image making. The second, and companion to the proposed exhibit, is Bending Light – The Art of Flower Abstraction, is a fine art book incorporating 155 images gleaned from four years of abstract photography work in the estate gardens of Claude Monet.”

www.wildlightnaturephotography.com

Featured Photographer of the Week (April 22, 2012 - April 28, 2012) © David Hemmings (Ontario, Canada) David G. Hemmings is a world-renowned bird and nature photographer. His work is known throughout the nature photography world as some of the most dynamic and impressive bird in flight images anywhere today. His work has been published on the cover of National Geographic, Canadian Geographic and has also appeared on the cover of numerous nature photography publications. David is one of seven world famous bird photographers that have their work in a published hardcover book entitled “On Feathered Wings”. He is also one of four photographers whose works are currently on display as part of an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History Ornithology Department in New York City. David is the president of Nature’s Photo Adventures, a photographic learning travel adventure company specializing in teaching others all about nature photography at many locations around the globe. “The world must become more aware of the importance of conservation and respect for the natural world. As a planet we are losing species at an alarming rate. It is my hope that through my photography I can share my passion and love of birds with all who care to look. Raising awareness of nature through the appreciation of my work is all I can ask.” www.davidhemmingsbirdphotography.com

“Sean Bagshaw is a widely recognized photographer... [he] has made his mark by taking steps away from the more staid, traditional landscape scene...The torch is passing.” -Outdoor Photographer Magazine Sean’s work is about isolating defining moments of light, geometric relationships and a dramatic sense of mystery and exploration he finds in the natural world. From grand landscapes to intimate natural and urban scenes, Sean strives to create images that draw the viewer in with a hyper-realistic style that borders on the surreal. He wants his images to connect with a person’s experiences, memories and emotions. Sean’s work is published nationally and internationally and is featured in numerous private and corporate collections across the country. Sean’s photos have appeared in galleries and exhibits along the west coast and, as a category winner in the Windland Smith Rice International Awards, as part of the Nature’s Best Photography exhibit in the Smithsonian. Sean’s photos have also been honored in the International Conservation Photography Awards and the NANPA Expressions competition, among others. “In my photography I remain acutely aware that the human eye and cameras don’t see the world the same. Since its invention we have been conditioned to accept that photography portrays a “true” record of the world, but any photo is only a two dimensional, static representation a scene. Human experience is fluid and affected by emotion, perception and the synthesizing of input from all five senses. In my photos I struggle to express something beyond a simple record of the scene. Through the use of traditional photography techniques as well as cutting edge digital processing I strive to project my own human perception, experience and imagination through my photographs.” www.outdoorexposurephoto.com

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham

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Six Months of Caffeination / May 2012 http://www.facebook.com/CaffeinatedPhotographers

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