Point and Shoot: Who's Who at DPP8

With DPP8 fast approaching, would-be photogs from all around charging their batteries, cleaning their lenses and sunscreening up for 12 hours of Photography workshops, camera deals and the like.

This year, DPP announced through their website that 13 of the best photographers from will offer practical and technical advice (for free) from their levels of expertise.

Like any basketball loving fan, you have to know the members of the team or you are not a fan. Coming from that point of view, heres a take on who's who at DPP8.

ERIC KIM

Eric Kim is a world known street photographer based in Los Angeles with a South Korean heritage. If you are a fan of Kai Man Wong's antics in their online channel Digital Rev, you can find Eric Kim on their AnalogRev feature where he shows his street photography prowess using an analogue Leica camera he got from a fan.

If you watch the video you'll see that he's pretty smooth with the ladies too.

JUN DE LEON

Jun de Leon is known as the Philippine's bad boy of Photography. The hair, the stare and the the cigarette always clasped between his two fingers with smoke blowing out in most of his pictures does wonders in giving you the bad boy look. If Pepe Smith took up photography, you would wind up with Jun de Leon.

He is an old-school photographer and one who can tell you his war stories during the film days. Many photographers now opt to go film, this man lived through it.

You can learn more about Jun de Leonin an article about him here.

PILAR TUASON

Pilar Tuason is a renowned wedding photographer and the only filipino wedding photographer to learn classical technique from none other than the late Monte Zucker himself.

She specialises in black and white fine art portraiture.

RAYMUND ISAAC

Another photographer to have the bad boy monicker attached to his name, Raymund Isaac was known both popularly and notoriously for his nude and risqué photography. A style he has been doing long before the pregnant and naked Demi More cover photo in Vanity Fair made it cool.

The photo was recreated countlessly around the globe though, for better of worse.

LITO SY

Internationally known, and multi-awarded, Lito Sy's move into the world of wedding photography was by chance. He has a degree in engineering but decided to follow his passion as a photographer.

Lito Sy has established himself as a pedestal in Philippine photography, working under the art for over a quarter of a century.

He is also a brand ambassador for Fujifilm.

ROMMEL BUNDALIAN

For those who love camera 360 effects, this guy makes a living out of those images. Panoramas are his specialty with works featured in both national in international publications.

XANDER ANGELES

Of all the photographers in this list, Xander Angeles is the only one with his own Wikipedia Page! Unless your into making your own autobiography, people referenced in wikipedia are important people, as dictated by the unwritten rules of the web.

Based on is wiki, Xander got into photography during his stay in his mountaineering club. As the groups club archivist or photo documentation specialist (the guy taking photos of the team) he played around with a Pentax while he climbed. The initial exposure would eventually lead him out of the mountains and into the studios of FHM, Digital Photographer and Profiles Magazine.

NIKO VILLEGAS

You've got to know that at some point you are destined for photographic greatness if you were named after a camera brand (seriously, an article mentions this here).

He also studied in photography abroad, holding a Bachelor's Degree in Photography making him the perfect person to discussing the better technicalities and theories of photography.

DIX PEREZ

Though he specialises in fashion photography working with a number of celebrities and clothing brands, billboards are his bread and butter.

For those who commute or drive around the country's capital everyday, there is a very good chance that you have seen at least one Dix Perez photo.

JIGGIE ALEJANDRINO

Known as the Flash (Okay, I made that up, only because it is a befitting monicker who specialises on speed lights), Jiggie Alejandrino specialises in the use of speed lights for photography.

You can say that he could be a Philippine version of the Strobist: David Hobby.

JAN GONZALES

If you are looking for photos that are out of the ordinary, you can expect Jan Gonzles to deliver just that. He specialises in Modern Conceptual Portraiture, offering a bunch of amazing and really creative concepts. (Think Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch made into a series of shots).

MARK DIMALANTA

If we could assign a name for Mark Dimalanta, we would have to call him the Photo Jock. The guy is built compared to your average photographer (He is an avid surfer). So much so, that we would forgive bystanders for thinking that he was Rambo holding a Pentax branded bazooka.

Exhibit A

Thats not even the best part. The guys a freaking Doctor - a medical doctor. So not only can this guy shoot a camera, he can surf his way up to a drowning man in the beach, save his ass and give him a written medical prescription on how to make his life more awesome while documenting the whole ordeal in 12 frames per second.

Kidding aside, Mark Dimalanta is well respected in the photography world, acting as Pentax's star presenter on the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas in 2007.

This guy is a Doctor too.

WESLEY VILLARICA

If there is a man of eloquence and style it would be Wesley Villarica. Wesley completed a degree in psychology, had a brief stint in law school and earned an MBA while dabbling in photography.

If that distinction was not eloquent enough, he was also knighted by the big boys in Canon as one of their Crusaders of Light.