I was recently interviewed by a friend of mine for an online resource for photography enthusiasts... just wanted to share some excerpts from it...

Jay Tablante's works are almost everywhere - from EDSA billboards, TV commercials, to prominent glossy mags. He's also been working with some of the biggies such as Uniliver, the GMA Network, and even Microsoft. We can all say that he's reached any photographer newbie's dream of living and earning while passionately clicking away. Great thanks to his natural, inner geek: He's been profusely reading, tireless in his tinkering and he's also been mad-science experimenting, until finally, he's gotten to where he's at right now. But the trek to becoming the 'IT' photographer wasn't such an easy task. "You also have to live with people who would diss your own up front without any remorse, " says Jay. "And it was something that pushed me to improve my craft actually." The slow climb, never made him impatient. It was the deadly combination of perseverance and sponge-like learning that could have been Jay's secret to shutter success.

CC: What've you been busy with lately?

JT: Most of my recent work now revolves a mixture of advertising, editorial and some personal experiments.

CC: What's the lens that gets the chores done?

JT: My Canon 24-70L. Most of the work revolves around that mid-range lens. Not really a favorite, but it's the lens that gets me the most results in the work.

CC: When shooting, what's your weapon of choice?

JT: I have two bodies. I use a 1Ds-Mark 3 and a 5D Mark 2. But to choose between the two, it would be the 1Ds-Mark 3, mainly because of the ruggedness of the body. I take it around anywhere, and could handle a good beating of work.

CC: If there's one thing you can't ever leave the house with?
JT: A light meter. Must have a light meter.

CC: You follow a work flow?

JT: Contrary to perceived regular practice, I don't have any. It really depends on the concept of the shoot and that determines the way I process the shots after.

CC: How did you find your way into photography land?

JT: It was quite semi-accidental. I had several brushes with it during high school, but I never really bothered to get into it until college, when my cousin was interested in it to begin with. She took a summer course in UP Theater on photography and I ended up reading the books and hand-outs she had. It was still a hobby back then, until a client of mine - since I did freelance web design back in college, which pushed me to take the gamble of doing photography professionally.

More of the interview here: [link]