“Tatak Pinoy” PAGCOR unveils 3rd National Photography Competition
Friday | December 12, 2014 | 2:30 PM
As part of its continuing commitment to help promote the country’s tourism, culture and the arts, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) today unveiled the launching of its 3rd National Photography Competition. The contest theme is “Tatak Pinoy”.
Maricar L. Bautista, PAGCOR’s Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications said the theme highlights the things, places, food, culture, traditions and way of life that are distinctly Filipino.
“The Philippines is already known for its breathtaking tourist destinations. Other than these sceneries, our third photo contest will highlight a different aspect of our beautiful country. That is the unique Filipino traditions that were handed down through generations,” Bautista explained.
Seasoned and amateur photographers can join the contest. “They can use their traditional cameras or mobile devices in capturing the best ‘Tatak Pinoy’ images. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words. I am sure that participants will have a lot of exciting stories to tell through the pictures they will submit in our photo contest,” Bautista added.
The 3rd PAGCOR National Photography Competition comes on the heels of a very successful nationwide photo contest conducted by the state-owned gaming firm during the first half of 2014.
Bautista said PAGCOR has been conducting its annual nationwide photo contest to further help develop the art of photography. “Filipinos are among the world’s best and most creative photographers. They can capture a moment of history that can only be seen through their perspective. We want to give them this venue where they can let others see their talent,” Bautista said.
PAGCOR’s annual photo contest has also piqued the interest of photography enthusiasts, according to Bautista. “We have been getting feedback that the PAGCOR photo contest is one of the most anticipated competitions in the country. This contest became an annual event because there was clamor for it. We hope to surpass the 7,500 photo entries we received during our last nationwide photo competition,” she added.
Submission of entries
Those who are interested to join the 3rd PAGCOR National Photography Competition can visit the PAGCOR website (www.pagcor.ph) for the complete details. All photo entries can only be submitted online through the agency’s website.
The competition has two categories: the
Entries to the photo contest will be accepted from January 15, 2015 to May 15, 2015.
The competition will have four regional screenings (Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao). The panel of judges will be composed of renowned visual and graphic artists, photographers and gallery owners. The winning entries will be judged based on adherence to theme, creativity and originality, photographic quality and visual impact.
Big prizes at stake
PAGCOR will be giving away a total of P1.46 million in cash prizes to the winners and grand finalists of its 3rd National Photography Competition
The 16 non-winning grand finalists will also get consolation prizes. The eight finalists in the conventional category will be given P20,000 each. Meanwhile, the eight finalists under the mobile category will each receive P5,000.
A special cash prize of P5,000 will also be given to each of the “Most Popular Photos” in the conventional and mobile categories. The winners of these special awards will be selected via online voting at the PAGCOR Facebook page.
The photos of the grand winners will be used in PAGCOR’s 2016 calendar and other collaterals of the agency.
PAGCOR photo contest provides opportunities
The big cash prizes given away by PAGCOR to some the previous grand winners provided budding photographers the big break that they deserve.
One of them is Robo Formacion who was one of the 12 grand winners during the 1st PAGCOR National Photography Competition in 2013.
Robo Formacion was able to put up his own photo studio using the P75,000 prize he won from the PAGCOR photo contest.
Formacion was able to set up his own photo studio in his hometown in Cebu City a month after receiving his P75,000 cash prize from the PAGCOR photo contest. The wedding photographer related that he wanted to invest in something long-term to support his future family.
Formacion recently married his long-time girlfriend, Caroline. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity that PAGCOR gave me. Kung dati ginagawa ko lang na hobby ang photography, ngayon, business na,” he quipped.
Another grand winner of the PAGCOR photo contest is Norman Posecion who submitted the winning entry “Salt Farmer” during the 2014 competition.
“I used part of it to buy new accessories for my small photo studio (Create and Capture Photography Services) in Iloilo City. Pang-dagdag investment din sa business. I also gave a portion of my cash prize to three salt farmers in Miag-ao, Iloilo. Para makatulong sa kanila kahit paano”, Posecion said.PAGCOR photo contest. The wedding photographer related that he wanted to invest in something long-term to support his future family.
The 3rd PAGCOR National Photography Competition hopes to discover and help more promising lensmen like Formacion and Posecion to pursue their passion in photography. Through the contest, PAGCOR also hopes to motivate both professional and amateur photographers to help promote the country by capturing the best of the Philippines using their cameras.