Photographers capture ‘life at your leisure’

MANILA, Philippines - He patiently waited until that brief moment when the flock of birds flew into his frame, and he took the perfect shot.

“When I saw the birds approaching from the left of the frame, I begged them to fly a little higher to break the horizon. They did not disappoint,” Fr. John Cordero recalls. The photograph captured the birds’ flight as the sun set over a placid lake in Hacienda Escudero, one of Landco’s leisure property developments in Quezon.

“Three of my favorite elements — water, the setting sun and birds… an entire flock of egrets — make this a cherished photo,” Fr. John noted.

Another photograph he took was at another Landco property, Playa Azalea in Samal Island, Davao. It was totally unplanned, Fr. John recalls. “A rare typhoon had rolled the waters between Davao City and Samal Island where Playa Azalea is located, thus I had to improvise. The small patch of mangroves along the beach provided the anchor of this image, which reminds me of the saying: ‘Peace is not the absence of storms, but the serenity in the midst of one.’”

“I could be who I am as a photographer — a simple, eager and curious storyteller,” Fr. John remarked. Photography had been a serious hobby even before he became a priest.

As a member of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross (MMHC), Fr. John Cordero works with high school youths and prisoners. He had also been officiating at Masses and blessings of projects for Landco Pacific Corporation, the leading developer of “high-end leisure communities and purveyor of resort living experiences.”

With the Landco properties as natural backdrop, Fr. John, together with two other professional photographers, Marvin Dungao and Stanley Ong, photographed scenes that captured Landco’s philosophy: “That leisure is not simply an escape into frivolity, but also the freedom to explore new experiences.”

Marvin Dungao is a successful wedding and events photographer.

“Shooting landscapes in black and white without subjects was hard for me, but I wanted to express the feeling of a scene without color or persons,” he shares.

One of his photographs captured “a brooding sky reflected in a tranquil pool” at Landco’s Leisure Farms in Lemery, Batangas.

Another captivating photograph by Dungao is entitled “Inverted Reality.”

Taken in Ponderosa Leisure Farms in Silang, Cavite, Dungao noted: “Ironically, this snowy cold wonderland was shot during extremely hot weather.”

Stanley Ong’s specialty is family and children’s portraits. His works have earned praises from his clients “for his fun  photo shoots and effortless ability to connect with the youth.”

In his photographs taken at the beaches of Playa Laiya and the hills of Terrazas de Punta Fuego, he transformed the setting to “evoke classic children’s tales, from Tom Sawyer and Alice in Wonderland, to fairies and castaways.”

For Ong, leisure is literally child’s play. “It’s playtime with my kids — family time and not thinking of work.”

View these photographs and experience Landco’s “Life at Your Leisure” in “Leisure Through Three Lenses,” which is on view until tomorrow on the third level of  Shangri-La Plaza, EDSA corner Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.