By Edd K. Usman
One of the country?s top photographers, Billy Mondo?edo of Leica Club Manila, gave journalists recently a photography workshop in Manila in collaboration with Huawei Philippines.
The event, held at Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros, drew a number of journalists who were eager to learn from one of the masters. It was part of the Huawei?s launch and promotion of its flagship Huawei P9 smartphone, which sports a dual-camera with Leica lens.
Mondo?edo said photography is essentially “painting with light” and that while painting is addition, photography, on the other hand, is subtraction, referring to the elements contained in a canvas and a picture.
He said when he started, his photographs were sold on their artistic merits. Later on when he made a name in the photography world, his name was enough for collectors to buy his photographs.
Mondo?edo is also a member of the Camera Club of the Philippines.
He said he does still life, landscape, portrait, and other forms of photography, showing many of his collections that are now hanging in many offices across the country.
The top-rated photographer said like others, he also marvelled at the works of the famous photographer Ansel Adams, whose black and white picture entitled “Moonrise” was one of the world’s most admired and collected photographs.
Huawei Philippines and Leica Club Manila launched the three-part ?Photography Workshop? series with Mondo?edo and Dr. Benjo Campomanes, another master lensman.
They conducted the first two sessions in Davao City and Cebu City recently as Huawei introduced the P9, “a brainchild of the partnership between Huawei and Leica.” It was launched in London recently.
“P9 is Huawei’s new flagship device that disrupts the world of smartphone photography with its dual-lens camera co-engineered with Leica, the iconic camera manufacturer,” the technology firm said in a statement.
Mark de Joya, marketing director of Huawei Philippines, said P9’s camera is better than other smartphones’ camera.
“Many claim that they have the best camera phone, but once you get your hands on the P9, you will see the clear difference. The P9 blurs the line between smartphones and professional cameras,” he said.
De Joya described the P9 as “a real game-changer in the world of smartphone photography.” He added that they wanted Filipinos to experience their flagship smartphone beyond the usual camera phone.
At the Intramuros photoshoot, participating journalists learned to practice smartphone photography through the P9’s unique camera feature and a Leica lens signature: true monochrome (or what is usually called black and white photography).
Corinne Bacani, senior marketing manager of Huawei Philippines, was equally optimistic of the P9.
“The arrival of the Huawei P9 line in the Philippines signifies a shift in the standard of phone photography. Now, the game has changed and we are confident to stand out from the norm,” she said.
Bacani said that as a Leica photograph is a standout, so does the users of the P9 because of its “perfect tool for creativity and self-expression.”
The China-based company said their P9 family of devices is armed with a state-of-the-art industrial design with the perfect blend of straight lines and curvatures that reflect the P-series’ minimalist design concept.
Huawei’s P9 is powered by the new 2.5GHz Kirin 955 chip and upgraded fingerprint sensor as the company continues to lead technological innovation concerning speed and security as exemplified by its new flagship device.
The company is offering P9 and P9 Plus at Huawei Experience stores and partner-retailers nationwide at P23,900 and P29,000, respectively.
Part of the series is the P9lite, also a powerful model but minus the dual-lens camera co-engineered with Leica. It sells at P12,490.
