CARAMOAN X 6 ] Just imagine an Andok's by the beachfront

Jun de Leon captures the early morning of Caramoan Island, inspired and reminiscent of a Juvenal Sanso. “Photographs capture a precise moment in a still image. How you take the subject the second you click on your shutter will not be the same the second after. There are numerous moments to be captured in such a breathtaking island.”

As long as they preserve its beauty, and not turn it into Boracay, we're all for promoting Caramoan as the next big destination. Jun de Leon, together with Camsur poster boy L-Ray Villafuerte, recently gathered five of the country's most prominent young photographers to capture their own visions of this prized island. The works will be on exhibit beginning this Thursday at Greenbelt 5. Left photo (from left): Jake Versoza, Paolo Pineda, Jo Ann Bitagcol, Jun de Leon, Sara Black and Mark Nicdao.


Jake Versoza uses blacks, grays, and whites in his docu-photo treatment. “I wanted to document the daily lives of the people there because they thrive off nature’s bounty both in land and sea.” How do you capture warmth on film? He answers,” I was there during a strong typhoon but found peace hanging out with the locals. That’s warmth.”

“As a photographer, whenever I go to a place, I always observe how the light there falls and how that affects the color of everything," says Sara Black. Caramoan has its own color palette and I enjoyed tremendously photographing that in its simplicity… the color in the little things. For me, it’s such a sincere joy to appreciate something as miraculous as color.”


“It’s the emotion and feeling of the place. It’s a rollercoaster ride. Caramoan has the balance of things you need when you’re on vacation mode. It has a bit of everything you want.” A natural portraitist, Mark Nicdao captures smiles, gleeful eyes, and innocence in his photographs.

Jo Ann Bitagcol, on the other hand, captures everyday scenes in the island. “Everywhere I go I make it a point to discover its beauty, life, and soul. And I saw all of this in Caramoan,” she says.

“We rode the chopper going to Caramoan from CamSur," says Paolo Pineda, and seeing it from that vantage point was just surreal. I wanted to capture the island like a classic painting… timeless.”