One of Negros Oriental’s newly-appointed Regional Trial Court judges is a photo enthusiast.
Maria Myla Rae Santos-Orden, who will soon assume as Executive Judge of RTC Branch 65 in Bayawan City, was not just a corporate lawyer of an international hotel and resort company based in Manila. She is also a visual artist and a gifted writer.
“I’ve always drawn and painted; I used to draw with charcoal pencil, then did some watercolors, and then tried oil painting as well,” she told the MetroPost.
Her entry into the world of photography was serendipitous. Orden was vacationing in Batanes some six years ago, and saw a lady in the group who had a DLSR camera.
“She took amazing photos! I was fascinated, which led me to enrol in one photography workshop after another. I found it also as a great alternative to painting — less messy, and I could enjoy the same freedom of imagination.”
Orden started shooting street scenes and colored landscapes. Eventually, she focused on conceptual portraiture, and black & white minimalism.
“These two genres challenged my imagination best,” she said, explaining that her goal in conceptual photography is to transform ordinary photographs into fictive and imagined pieces.
Soon, she was unstoppable, lugging her camera wherever she went. Her ever-supportive husband, Ferdinand Jose Orden, her elementary and high school classmate during her Silliman days, would often carry all her photography gear, switch lenses, and assist her in making perfect portraits, making him literally a part of every image that she takes.
Orden soon began submitting her images to international magazines, and compete for the editors’ attention from a vast field of photographers from varied countries. Before she knew it, her photos started coming out in Vogue Italia and other international photo magazines.
Orden has had three photo exhibits. The first one is a permanent exhibit at the Taal Basilica, whose images are themed around the Basilica. She did this with her photography group.
The second exhibit was done with four other women photographers that featured black & white minimalist pieces.
Her latest exhibit took place last week when Shangi-La Plaza asked her to mount a solo conceptual portraiture exhibit, along with renowned designer Don Cristobal.
Entitled Dream Chronicles, it ran from Nov. 25 to Dec. 8 in two venues at the high-end mall.
“When this idea was broached two years ago, I dismissed it as next to impossible. Until about four months ago, a magical confluence of events brought everything together, culminating in this exhibit,” Orden said.
Said one writer of her photos: “This concocts a perfect spell of everything that is beautifully-bizarre.”
But ever the lifelong learner, Orden says she is into photography just for the love of it. “I am not a professional photographer — far from it — only a passionate hobbyist. And there are so many other photographers out there whom I doff my hat to. I’m just too lucky to have been gifted with this opportunity.” (Alex Rey Pal)