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Day 30 | My Writing Buddyship

My Journal, 1998

It is Day 30. 

Quite a journey this has been. I stop and take stock. Thirty days of blogging that started here.  My most consistent and successful run so far in this writing life.

So what have I learned in the last 30 days of blogging with my wruddy*, Charina:

Day 29 | the one where i say "holy canon camera!"

©KatShotsPhotography, 2008

Flashback: 2008

Thornhill, ON. April, 2008 :: in between the hundred and one chores and just trying to make life work, i still try my best to squeeze in the grab-camera-and-snap-away-at-the-kids routine. it's a strong pull.  stronger than the pull to the laundry room.  i follow it because it makes me happy.  

they're more makulit* now that they're older.  it's a challenge to keep them in one place.  they're hardly stand still.  when they were babies you could just plop them down in a corner and presto...photoshoot in session! now it's more an aerobic activity photographing them: kneel down, chase them around, holler for them to "please, guys, just stand on that spot on the big rock for one more minute...just one more photo...one more.......".

of course it's never just one more. and they don't ever stand on that rock for an entire minute either.

i think it's worth the effort. the grow so fast i can hardly keep up with the way their hands (and nails!) look. one day i was wiping the remnants of timbits off of the little guy when it suddenly hit me: those hands!  when did your hands get so much bigger?!

and i'm thinking to my self: whose hands are these and where did all the baby fat and pudgy fingers go?

snap-snap-snap-snap ::

©KatShotsPhotography
Pudgy

Fast-forward: 2013

Brampton, ON. May, 2013: I am so darn grateful for following that pull.  For obeying Joseph Campbell's words to "Follow your bliss".  Yes, even when you can hardly keep your eyes open and your legs are cramping from chasing them around too much.

I may not be able to bring back this time but, holy canon camera, thank you!  Thank you for being there to help me capture these moments.  They give me so much joy and a gentle yet powerful reminder that "It's all good, Mom.  It's all good."

This I say to you, dearest new mommy (or daddy) reading this post:  It's all good.  There'll be days when it feels like you just won the heavenly lotto max and then sometimes it feels like it's all sh*t and stones.  It's okay.  Just remember to grab that camera and keep snapping.  Yes, even the ordinary everyday moments.

Like Jojie said, "Chiqui’s biggest accomplishment as a photographer is creating unforgettable pieces infused with love and spontaneity, which she refers to as Everyday Magic. Her hope is that her images will carry over through the years and invoke the same feeling when you first looked at them 20-30 years down the road."

It isn't 20 down the road yet, thankfully.  But the feelings I have looking at these photos right now make the burden of this day lighter.  It gives me faith in knowing that no matter what happens today, I'll have these precious memories and will continue to make them for as long as I can.

Courage in creativity,

*makulit = rowdy

Day 28 | That Everyday Magic, A Guest Post

©KatShots Photography
"what should have been chocolate brownies"

This is the full, unabridged version of the article.  Thanks, Jie, for sharing it with me! - CP

That Everyday Magic

By Jojie Alcantara 

(Note: this is going to be on a more personal level since the subject happens to be this writer’s classmate since Kindergarten)

KatShots Photography is a product of Chiqui Pineda. Familiar name, you say. This person was born in Davao City, made her way to Manila as a college student and became a professional singer, joined a noontime TV show, launched the immortal song “How Did You Know?” still being sung in videoke bars, and performed brilliantly in the lauded musical Rama at Sita.  It is the same person who chose to slip away from the limelight to settle quietly in Toronto, Canada with her family. Being the artist that she is, she opted to explore another passion close to the heart.

Day 27 | Tickled Picture-Perfectly Pink!

It's a very exciting day at KatShots Photography today...and I have a feeling for the rest of the month!

All because of this feature in the Manila Bulletin's Picture Perfect for today, May 28, 2013.  An excerpt ~

When Chiqui Pineda, the voice behind the famous song “How Did You Know,” decided to slip away from the limelight to settle quietly in Toronto, Canada, she opted to explore another passion close to her heart – photography. 

In the same way she tackled her singing career and as a theater performer (Rama at Sita), photography for this native of Davao City was self-taught as she was the family’s official photographer at a young age during special occasions. Chiqui has attended various workshops in Toronto and back in Manila, shadowed and observed photographer friends in action, read tons of materials, and browsed through websites.  Eventually she put up KatShots Photography based in Canada.  

For the rest of the article, please click HERE. 

Ms. Jojie Alcantara, an excellent artist*, freelance writer and award-winning  photographer for almost all the major publications in the Philippines and around the globe and most importantly, my classmate since Kindergarten gave me a most delicious compliment and mega-validation as a photographer!  She asked to feature me as Photographer of the Week for her column!  My YES couldn't have been more resounding.  Echo jud siya hangtod Davao City...abot saTagum pa!  :D

Thank you kayo, dai!  Like I said, it's a birthday-mother's day-christmas all rolled into one kind of day!!!

Grateful and ticked perfectly pink.

Picture-picture,

Chiqui*Kat

For more Defining Moment shots, come visit my photo blog :

www.katshots.com