Pushing Boundaries: Veejay Villafranca

Veejay Villafranca is a classic example of how talent, passion, hard work and perfect timing all come together to build a highly prolific photography career.

He started out as a staff photographer for a news magazine in the Philippines. He has also worked with various news agencies, his photos published internationally in esteemed titles such as The Guardian, International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Sunday Times. He has worked with Greenpeace, UNICEF, U.N. World Food Program, U.N. FAO, UNFPA and other aid organizations.

Veejay’s assignments have allowed him to explore communities and social issues, as well as the lives of people who would otherwise remain faceless and and forgotten in society. Regardless of how destitute the conditions are, however, Veejay is able to find beauty in his subjects and to depict them in a way that pleases the eyes and stirs the emotions. The realities he presents may be harsh and painful but are so beautifully rendered, that viewers are able to stare and ponder on documented truth, helping them understand.

Veejay’s work is shot mainly in black and white. He shoots both digitally and on film, and quite amazingly, he uses the Horizon Perfekt and the Belair, among other cameras, for his documentary work, some of which are included in this magazine feature. He also answers a few questions regarding his passion and profession for almost 15 years.

Please introduce yourself to the Lomo community and the readers of the Online Magazine.

Hi I’m Veejay Villafranca and I’m a photographer based in Manila, Philippines. My photography is focused on visual reporting issues and topics in and around the Philippines and Asia.

How did you get started with photography?

My father handed me a Nikon F and a 50mm during the second People Power revolution in 2001. That was my first exposure on what images can actually do and achieve. More than one year after, I applied as a staff photographer for a national news magazine (Philippines Graphic) using the same images I took during the revolution in 2001. After 6 months, I got regularized covering most of the major news events in the Philippines.

How would you describe your style as a photographer?

The core of my photography is still very much in-line with documentary photography and news photography. The values and discipline that these type of visual reporting are still very much present in my work. With regards to aesthetics, I try and use differing styles and push visual boundaries by trying out different formats (35mm, 6×6, panoramic, etc)

What subjects do you particularly like to take photos of?

Issues that are very much relevant to my base now, The Philippines. I have been following environmental issue for the past 7 years and also focused on stories that affect communities devastated by extreme weather occurrences. Another long-term project I have follows several religious practices in the Philippines that traces its roots from pre-hispanic times. It is quite interesting to see how Filipino faith evolve and adapt through times.

What would you count as your greatest achievements?

I wouldn’t call it great, but the fact that I have a little leverage on what I want to shoot and what stories I want to pursue is already a feat. I worked on that earlier in my career and continuously work to be able to produce stories that Im interested in or be assigned to cover stories that I’m interested in.

Digital or analogue? Does it matter which?

Doesn’t really matter to me.

Are you familiar with Lomography? Have you used Lomography products? Any favorites?

Yes very much familiar with Lomography as my friends used it a lot for their personal photos. I was hesitant at first to use it for my work but then when I started to shoot more personal projects, I began using a lot of this ‘toy cameras’ that provide an interesting visual perspective for my projects.

Any tips for aspiring photographers?

Remember that each image should tell a story. If it doesn’t, you’re better of using words and sound to narrate the message of the image.

Do you have ongoing or upcoming projects that you would like to tell the community about?

“Signos,” where a good number of images was shot with Lomo cameras, will be published in a book later this year. Please check it out and message me if you are interested to know more. there will be a dedicated website for this in the following weeks.

All photos by Veejay Villafranca

Learn more about the Veejay and his work on his website, on Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter.

geschrieben von Jill Tan Radovan am 2016-07-11 in #veejay-villafranca