Digital Photographer Philippines, the country’s leading photo magazine and has been hosting the On Assignment competition since its inception four years ago. This year, they upped the ante for those wanting to be included; those that have been chosen for the previous OA’s can now pitch for OA7, talk about competition eh?

The one-week, all expenses paid shoot co-sponsored by Caltex and Nokia would take place at the southern part of Luzon, the Bicol Region. It would be a whirlwind of shooting and eating from Albay to Camarines Sur. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

This is my first time to campaign for On Assignment, and to my total disbelief, I was one of the lucky eight photographers who got picked for this year’s amazing journey. With all the of DPP’s heavy hitters pitching, I totally brushed off my chance to get in for OA7. First timer’s luck I guess!

Below is my pitch for this year’s On Assignment. Wouldn’t have made it without my mom’s support, thanks again mom!
 

“Oh yes nice place, I’ve been there.”

That’s my 5-foot tall, 60-year old, soft-spoken mom with her usual line whenever I ask her about a place or have just been to a photo Safari and showing off my photos. From the run-of-the-mill tourist ridden locales to the virtually unknown rough-road/no-road places, she’s been there. I literally feel like a little kid whenever I talk to my mom about traveling, she seems to be the ultimate wanderer. Point anywhere on a map of the country, and again she’s been there.

I spent more than twenty years of my life lazily flipping channels over our couch or cooling off at the malls; the wanderlust has never really turned its mysterious eye over me until the year I bought my first camera. Everything changed after that.

Never did a month pass that I wouldn’t be out of the house, my camera slung about and tripod towed. Exploring everything from the small park near our house, the gritty streets of Manila, the usual weekend-getaways, the far-off places of the countryside; I'm taking it all in with a new eye. My television became rusty, the hours of flipping through the tube was replaced by my computer’s Photoshop; my favorite channels, now photo websites; my toy collection, now cameras and lenses.

It has been three years since my life did a total turn-about and it was not about to wane down.

Inspired by a talk given by master traveler Ferdz Decena over DPP’s 3rd year anniversary, I finally decided on opening up my own travel site, Lakad Pilipinas. Online barely six months old, it already boasts of more than sixty entries; that’s almost ten entries a month and I haven’t even gotten to post my prior travels yet.

This is what I will bring to the OA7 team. My fiery passion for the craft, my gift of seeing what others cannot, my eagerness to journey where no one dares to go. My heartfire for Photography and lust for Travel.

Let me have the opportunity to listen to my mom say even once that I have traveled where she has not and hear her utter “I’ve never been to so many beautiful places in just a week’s time.”

Pick me and make my mom proud. Choose me and I will make DPP and Lonely Planet proud.