Shooting Pinatubo -2

Rain dance

"The pictorial was a test of patience and endurance on our part. It was humbling.

Everything was beyond your control. You couldn’t get the shot of what you

wanted even if you had nice gowns, good models and a good photographer,"

says Ramos.

"I was in awe of Mother Nature. You have to work with Nature just to get a

good photograph. If the sun hadn’t come out we wouldn’t have shot anything. It

was awesome. In all my years we’ve done crazy pictorials. You get a different

feeling there. Pinatubo is larger than life. When you are going up there, you see

raw nature. It contrasts with a beautiful woman and a gown."

Peralta literally rendered a rain dance so that the pictorial could be accomplished.

He sang and danced to humor the models.

"It was frustrating because of the rain was coming in and out all the time. Instead

of thinking about the creative part, you worry about the weather," said Mossige.

He didn’t shoot in the crater since the water level varied and space for the shoot

was difficult. Yet he still finds Mount Pinatubo as one of his favorite locations.

The changing silhouettes of the canyons and cliffs created various possibilities for

a fashion pictorial.

Caralde and Nepomuceno deserve a trophy for enduring the rough conditions of

this pictorial. So does Peralta for organizing the models and designers and most

especially for buoying up everybody’s damp spirits.

Crazy pictorial

The team shared their packed meals of burgers and spring rolls with the guides

who ate nothing but banana and white bread.

The pictorial ended at 3 p.m. When they drove down the volcano taking the

same route, nobody could recognize the landscape. Everybody was back in the

Clark resort by 7 p.m. The models stayed in the hotel to rest while the others

went out for dinner in Fortune restaurant, hosted by hotelier Richard Tang.

When the designer returned to Manila, they all expressed that they had never

encountered such a bizarre pictorial. A fashion team would have to withstand the

rugged conditions, fickle weather and tempers.

If a fashion team would like to shoot there again, we suggest they consult an

astrologer to pick an auspicious date to scale the volcano and make peace

offerings to Apo Malyari.

For details about Mount Pinatubo, contact Department of Tourism Region III

Office, Paskuhan Village, San Fernando Pampanga, 045-961-2665/2612 or

email at dotr3@mail.irnet.net.ph.