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Crested Serpent Eagle
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In just a short span of about a year and a half, Romeo M.
Ocon, Jr. has taken more than 40,000 photos of Philippine
birds. Of the 572 known species of birds in the country,
he has accumulated images of 174. Today, almost 2000 of
these pictures are posted on his website.
By doggedly pursuing his hobby, prolific photographer Romy
Ocon is not only elating fellow birders at the Wild Bird
Club of the Philippines (WBCP) but is doing Philippine ornithology
a favor as well.
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In
the definitive book, A Guide to the Birds of the
Philippines, the authors state that: “Despite
the efforts of numerous scientists and, more recently,
birdwatchers, the birds of the Philippines are still
among the most poorly known in the world”.
All efforts therefore, that contribute to the documentation
of local birdlife are most welcome.
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Romy did not always shoot birds with a camera. Like
most boys growing up in the province, the young
Romy used to hunt them with slingshots and airguns
either in his father’s hometown of Bacnotan,
La Union or while vacationing at his mother’s
native place of Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Among the
common game then “when Mt. Makiling was still
pristine (in the ‘70s)”, says Romy were
red jungle fowl (labuyo), a quail species (pugo),
a rail species (tikling) and even the monitor lizard
(bayawak).
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Dollarbird |
Until a couple of years ago, Romy admits that
he still had a hunter’s mentality. He had
bought a BB gun for his then 6 year old son. This
all changed however, when he started shooting
birds with a camera instead in 2004. He says “
I found that taking their pics is more challenging
and rewarding”. More than just aiming and
squeezing the trigger, the photographer focuses,
frames and composes along with ensuring the right
exposure. (Add to the challenge of photography
Romy’s condition of being acutely color-blind.)
He states further “ a shot game bird can
only be enjoyed by a few people in a meal. A bird
pic can be enjoyed by countless people, especially
when posted on the internet or published. The
bird flies away free after the photograph, unharmed
and able to breed future subjects as well. It
can itself be a photographic subject again in
another setting, perhaps by another photographer
or birdwatcher”.
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Blue-naped
Parrot
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Romy
credits the WBCP for opening “my eyes
to realize the rapid destruction happening with
the environment, and the need for conservation
measures” to preserve the natural beauty
of the local flora and fauna for future generations.
Fully aware of the endangered status of many
Philippine birds, he would like to photograph
all that he can before some of them become extinct.
Romy does not want to pressure himself however,
by setting deadlines for this project. After
all, he says, “this is a hobby, a break
from the rigors of entrepreneurship”. |
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When not taking photographs, Romy Ocon , a civil
engineer by profession runs a company he set up
in 1997 – Maxikrete Philippines, Inc., now
one of the leading makers of construction chemicals
in the country. Only 40 years old, he’s had
experience in the last 20 years in the diverse fields
of concrete technology, construction, advertising,
journalism and local government service. He is also
one of the organizers of 300D-ph, a loose e-group
of Canon 300D users in the country put up in 2003.
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Today, Romy uses a Canon 20D as his main camera, and a
350D and 300D as backups. His long lenses are the Sigmonster
(Sigma 300 – 800 DG), Canon 400 5.6L and Canon 100
– 400 L IS. For close up shots of natural subjects,
he uses a Canon 100 2.8 USM macro. For scenics and other
subjects, a 50 mm F1.8 prime and 18 – 55 mm kit
lens comes in handy.
When
encouraging hobbyists to take up nature photography,
one’s equipment need not be very expensive
at the start, Romy advices. “Some point
and shoots with at least 4 MP, 10x or 12x optical
zoom and with image stabilization are now available
at just over 20T. Properly used, these cameras
can already produce professional quality results”
he notes.
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Romy
Ocon in action |
Readers can view more of Romy Ocon’s works at www.pbase.com/liquidstone
WBCP website is at www.birdwatch.ph
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