Winner's Circle - PiPhol of the Year 2006-2007

Congratulations to our July Winner:
John Marcel Lainez

Marcel Lainez, 26 years old, submitted this image for our July theme:

Marcel first venture into DSLR photography began 3 years ago. Of his experience as a newbie learning his way into this field, he says, "I bought my first camera in Summer 2001. It was a P&S 2MP HP digicam. I just used it for snapshots and taking pictures of puking drunk friends. The first time I really got interested was when my sister came here from the States with her Rebel 2000 SLR. The only lens she had was a Quantaray 70-300. I instantly saw the difference and fell in love right there and then. The sharpness, the DOF, the macro! Man! First time I saw anything like it! So the lens stayed with me and I got my first DSLR, a Canon D30, August 2003."

He currently considers himself a "hobbyist, experimenting with different styles and subjects." He recently attended Manny Librodo's Workshop and is making use of the techniques he has learned from this.

Marcel is partial to portraits or portraiture using available light. He is inspired by his family above all, with his son as the subjects for many photographs he has taken. His number 1 fan is is wife, who also happens to be his number 1 critic. Other photographers that inspire him include: Manny Librodo, Olaf Veltman, Richard Larrios and Marc Aviles. He currently does not consider making photography his bread and butter but would be willing to take paid jobs once in a while. As mainly a hobbyist, he continues to improve his craft by experimenting and taking pictures he like.

Asked to describe the winning photo he submitted he says, "I took this photo during the Fiesta ng San Juan, at my family's ancestral house in Balayan, Batangas. After the fiesta and the parada ng lechon, everybody comes to this house to eat, mingle and watch the show outside while the old folks sit on one corner watching the clouds, waiting for the party to finish. When I saw this scene, I knew immediately this was going to be a great photo."

Of Pinoy Photography Org, Marcel tells us: "PinoyPhotography has been a big part of my development in photography. The critiquing, the articles, the contests that keeps me up on my feet, has been a very big help in improving my skill. People here are very friendly and accomodating. I'm happy to have met some of them personally."

Our congratulations to you, Marcel. You have a shot at winning the Piphol of The Year award on Pipho's 2nd Year Anniversary in June 2007.

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