Baldemor in Digital
Trying to carve your own niche in an industry where almost every nook and cranny has had your family’s own unique etchings can be both a challenge and a blessing, depending on which way you look at it.
But Charing Baldemor, daughet of renowned Paetean sculptor Charlie Baldemor, there were no two ways about it. It was either she became a painter or sculptor.
“I was asked to choose between painting and sculpture,” laughs Charming. “It was like choosing between tennis and badminton. Well, I choose painting mainly because I didn’t want to develop any muscle.
Hailing from a family of artists, it is not surprising that Charming would soon be bitten by the artist bug. In her case, she was bit very early in life.
Hailing from a family of artists, it is not surprising that Charming would soon be bitten by the artist bug. In her case, she was bit very early in life.
“Ever since I was a kid, I was always into the arts – handicrafts, sculpture, painting – mostly oil paintings,” shares Charming. “It was in oil painting that I developed the discipline. I learned all about lighting, shadows, highlights, texture.”
Although she admits to having painting as her first love, Charming eventually discovered where her true passion lies.
“I was painiting until I was in high school. I would paint right after school. I would paint right after school,” she reminisces. “My whole room smelled of paint that time. I was so into painting talaga before. Then eventually, I realized that in order to survive, I gotta have a fallback, In painting kasi, unless you’re already known, dun ka pa lang kikita nang ganu’n. I needed to survive.”
Little did she know that her fascination with lightning and shadows would open more doors and opportunities for her.
“I had a graphic design company before. And I would always hire photographers on a per project basis,” she explains how her now budding business, Charming Baldemor Photography and Digital Imaging, came to be. “The problem was they didn’t always live up to my expectations. Not to mention they were expensive. So I thought, i might as well study photography myself to see if my demands were still realistic.”
A crash course in photography introduced her to a whole new meaning of digital arts. “While there, I started to enjoy it,” she shares. “I started buying more and more gadgets already. And the rest is history.”
Grateful for her mentors in photography, especially for Mark Floro, who, according to her “ is the most generous mentor I have ever had,” Charming started her digital imaging company in 2000.
“Although we are quite flexible with our services, I really like dabbing in food photography,” she confesses. “ It challeges me as a photographer and as an artist as well. Then attention to detail, light and shadows is part of what makes food photography an art in itself.”
As it turned out, taking the road less traveled was worth the risk for Charming.
“You can’t be an expert at everything; you have to have a focus.” And food photography is it for her. “There are no rules in food photography; that’s what I like about it. I can do whatever I want. I can play with angles.”
But if you think photographing food is the least complicated of all, think again.
“You need to create a scenario that will instantly make the food look enticing. One look at the photo should already trigger the imagination; it should elicit different mounthwatering adjectives.”
And so began her love affair with food and the art of digital photography.
Restaurants, the likes of Chef d’ Angelo, Don Henricos and Lime 88, and other establishments such as Dentista Inc. and St. Paul’s College, Pasig, became her exhibit venues, with their menus and brochures carrying shot after shot of her masterpieces.
Her arts may be different from her father’s, but just the same, Charming’s chosen medium delights the senses in more ways than one
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