AFTER rigorously screening a total of 7,389 photo entries from all over the country, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has finally chosen the 24 grand winners of its 3rd Pagcor National Photography Competition.
According to Maricar L. Bautista, Pagcor’s Assistant VP for Corporate Communications, the 24 grand winners came from diverse backgrounds yet they were all brought together in one occasion because of their love for photography and the opportunity to showcase their innate talent.
“We are glad that in this year’s photo contest, practically people from all walks of life took interest in Pagcor’s photo competition. We have a housewife, a call center agent, government employees, students, professional lensmen and an award-winning photographer who has mounted his exhibits abroad. The oldest photographer who joined was a 79-year-old foreigner residing in Quezon City,” Bautista said.
The entries came from as far as Batanes, Zamboanga, South Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Misamis Oriental and Camiguin.
Of the 24 grand winners, 12 comprise the Mobile Category winners and the other 12 made up the Conventional Category winners. The Mobile Category includes photos that were taken using all types of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets while the Conventional Category includes photos taken using traditional or conventional cameras like SLR or Digital SLR, compact cameras and the like.
“Just like in our previous photo competitions, the winning entries this year went through an exhaustive evaluation process. The fact that they got the nod of our panel of judges and stood out from thousands of entries mean that they are indeed outstanding photos,” Bautista said.
Pagcor President and COO Jorge Sarmiento, who served as the chairman of the photo contest’s board of judges, shared that they had a hard time choosing exceptional photos since all grand finalists from which they selected the 24 grand winners are visually appealing.
“All the images we viewed were really impressive regardless of whether they were taken using conventional cameras or mobile phones. Every photo has a distinct story in it. Unfortunately we only had to pick the ones that were really outstanding in every sense over the others,” Sarmiento explained.
Each of the 12 grand winners for the Conventional Category received P75,000 plus trophy, while the 12 grand winners for the Mobile Category took home P30,000 plus trophy. The winning photos will be featured in the 2016 calendar of Pagcor.