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The Photographer

A great photographer once said "When you are actually shooting you work primarily from instinct. But what is instinct? It is a lifetime accumulation of experience, knowledge, seeing, and hearing." Based on that context , I would say that my way of taking photos has then been shaped by work practices I learned from my college and graduate studies in economics and business – like the practices of continuous learning, finding related patterns and looking at the "bigger picture".

My introduction to photography began when I got involved in business consulting jobs which entailed developing annual reports of corporations and guiding photographers to provide images of business situations and executives. Then one photographer noticed that I had the eye for photography and lent me his camera so I could  tag along in his photo expeditions. That introduction happened over two decades ago.

My photographs reflect the eye and heart of a Filipino who grew up in a farm near the edge of a forest.  I moved to the city when I reached my teens (I have lived in Manila, Jakarta, Toronto, Los Angeles and Houston but I am now based in Lake Forest, California), and the bulk of my career was mainly in providing strategic planning consulting service.  In my career, I found working on projects for non-profit organizations the most fulfilling.  But note that by some twist of fate, I also had a profound experience of managing the marketing of one of the world’s leading sportswear brands where I got exposed to the blending of technology, sports, fashion, music, and photography. 

After the span of several decades in my career journey, I truly and seriously started honing my photography skills through self-directed learning in 2009 while at the same time that I was volunteering my consulting service to nonprofit organizations in California and the Philippines.

In June 2015, I nobly and humbly said to the world that I am a ready to be a photographer when I published my photos on the streets of Metro Manila in my book, "Ating Ultimo Adios".  Since then I have been wondering, continuously learning and re-focusing on how to share stories through images that give value to the gifts of each moment and each person.

Bernardo Bacosa                                                                                                                          Master of Business Administration, Queens University

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