Butch Baluyot’s Zen and sensibility

In some primitive societies, the taking of one’s photograph is considered the stealing of one’s soul, an act of sorcery and powerful magic. Butch Baluyot makes no bones about his intentions. His photography is aimed at capturing his subject’s soul.

"It’s still the landscape of one’s face that fascinates me," says Butch. "When I photograph, I’m after that special moment, the one split second right before a smile breaks, the unguarded moment when there is a distillation of the essence of the subject. Degrees of success may vary, but this philosophy is a constant. And it doesn’t matter whether I’m doing straight portraiture or whether I’m doing my documentary-style street life vignettes. The objective remains the same."

Butch has been pursuing this objective for some 28 years. In 1984, he dropped out of the local scene when he packed his bags and left for the United States. It was a time of national upheaval. Ninoy had just been assassinated, and personal problems and demons compelled him to make the move. Turning to a monastic life at the San Francisco Zen Center, Butch led a quiet existence with photography as one of the constant passions of his new life.

Returning for the first time in January last year, Butch ran face first into the days of EDSA 2.

"For me, it was a reawakening of sorts, like a catharsis, the rekindling of my pagka-Filipino! The last night of EDSA I told my sister and her friends to go home and I would sleep there at the capilla at the Shrine. Early the next morning, we were praying the Ama Namin and when I looked around, I was amazed, puro mga Makibaka na, the sosyal set had stayed home na. So I joined them all the way to Mendiola, the stand off at Malacañang. These form part of the body of photos I’ll be presenting on March 14," he says.

There’ll also be portraits of a wide range of people. Vintage photos of special friends, some taken in the ’70s and ’80s and juxtaposed, when possible, with photos of the same person as shot by Butch last year. Some photos are from his life at the Zen Center and others come from the various assignments and projects he’s worked on over the years.

"The challenge will be for my uncle, Arturo Luz, to mount these 70 photographs on the walls of the Luz Gallery. There’s only so much space available. And he’ll have to arrange them all – colored photos, black and whites, street life, society people. I don’t envy him. It’s a tall order that’s in store for him. In fact, for the EDSA photos, there are some I’ve arranged as series or triptychs."

We then joked about how after a more than 17 years hiatus, we now have Butch on our shores twice in two years. One primary reason is a son who’s now 14 years of age. Born in the United States, he’s now growing up here in Manila, and Butch intends to spend at least a month or two every year with him. Also, Butch was very much encouraged by the reactions to his portraits from the Zen Center show last year.

"There was a book where visitors would make their comments, and so many students and photography buffs would come and be very enthusiastic about what they saw. These are the people who come on the regular days and for them it was the photos in their purest form that they were reacting to. There was no sosyalan factor of ‘Look, this is the son of ano,’ or "So this is what she looked like in 19-whatever.’ So, I was very pleased that the show with all these faces of unknowns was getting such strong and favorable reactions," Butch says.

Besides, reality always dictates. Butch has now left the Zen Center. Living on a stipend and hoping to accomplish in photography what he still aspires for was just not feasible. While still a believer in the principles and teachings that brought him to Zen, he’s made photography a career again. And believe me, we should all be thankful.

So mark the date. It’s March 14 at the Luz Gallery, an exhibit of recent and vintage photographs of Butch that runs until April 6. It’s a small retrospective that allows us a glimpse of the genius that is peculiarly Butch’s.

Renowned for his black-and-white portraits, Butch sees this as an opportunity to show the diversity of his work.

"It’s a popular misconception that I work exclusively in black and white. In fact, a lot of the street life work I’ve amassed over the years is in color. Nowadays, I’m especially taken by the work of Nan Golden. Documenting the lives of transvestites and prostitutes, all of who form part of the subculture this photographer is very close to, makes for a fascinating body of work. I love the use of color, the way the Cibachrome makes the photographs so vivid, highlighting contrast and making some of the work so grainy," he explains.

Just so long as you’re back behind the camera again, Butch.