How did you discover photography?
Back in 2010, some friends from the office encouraged me to join their photo walks. I initially joined only because of the accompanying food trip. My boss lent me his spare camera one day and I realized how fun it was to preserve memories in an artistic manner. I bought my first camera in 2011 and the rest is history.

What made you choose landscape and cityscape as your preferred genre?
Portraiture and macro photography were my initial interests. However, that changed when I had my first mountaineering experience in Mt. Pulag, back in 2012. The awe-inspiring beauty of the sceneries made me realize that landscape photography was for me.

Capturing cityscapes became interesting for me as I liken it to photographing mountains or being at the summit documenting the landscapes around me.

How important are filters in your photography? What is your preferred setup?
Filters make it possible for me to balance my shots and improve the dynamic range. More importantly, filters enable me to be creative in situations where conditions are not ideal. For example, a cloudy weather on a coastal area may make for a dramatic long exposure seascape shot through the use of a neutral density filter.

I often carry with me a NiSi V5 Pro filter holder, NiSi CPL, and a NiSi 3-stop Soft GND. Since I'm also quite fond of long exposure shots, my NiSi 6-stop and 10-stop ND filters never leave my filter bag.

What are 3 important tips you can share to those who would like to try landscape and cityscape photography?

It’s ok to be terrible!
Everyone started with zero knowledge. It is expected of you to fail miserably in the beginning. It doesn't matter how many ugly shots you took or if you rely on sheer volume to get decent shots. As long as you have the passion and the willingness to learn, your progress and improvement are inevitable. Enjoy the process. Embrace the suck. Progress, not perfection.

Study the Masters
I find that one of the easiest ways to improve one’s skills is to imitate the masters. Study their creative processes, artistic preferences, and their visions. When you are able to understand what makes their images great and visualize shots on your own, that’s when you try to develop your own artistic style.

There's no such thing as ideal light
Of course, this isn’t true! Great dramatic light is undoubtedly a significant component of well-executed landscape images. However, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to only waiting for that perfect light. I learned the hard way that if you limit yourself to photographing only during the best situations, you hinder your growth. And you waste precious time. You will not always be presented with the most dramatic settings. Therefore, learn to adapt. Find a way to maximize what you have. Train your eyes to see interesting angles and compositions instead of chasing only the ideal situations. As one of my mentors said, “why wait for the moment when you can create one?”