SPPP’s Christmas Party 2010

By Ingrid Samson

Good food, fun games, exciting prizes, gifts, plaques, music, laughter, and magic. That pretty much sums up the evening of December 6, 2010, as the Society of Portrait Photographers of the Philippines (SPPP) held their Christmas party at the Rotary Center in Quezon City. The night kicked off with the early birds enjoying balut courtesy of PJ Villegas, and a little magic lesson from club adviser Boy Samson.

There were a lot of prizes to be given away, so right after everyone feasted on more food, including the delicious lechon courtesy of Leo Cordova, John Purunganan, and Lito Remulla, the party hosts and game masters headed by President Orly Mercado, wasted no time in getting the ball rolling. People teamed up in pairs to participate in ‘Pinoy Henyo’. All the words were related to photography and SPPP, but oddly enough, only two teams got it right. The fastest tandem, Stan Abainza and Sonny Kabigting, hit the jackpot in less than a minute. Could it be because they ate the most balut? No, that can’t be it. Could it be because their word was ‘Photoshop’, and it’s all the rage in this digital era? Yes. Maybe.

More prizes were given away during other games like ‘Bring Me’ and ‘Memory’. There were so many raffle prizes, we felt like we were playing ‘Bingo’ with our raffles stubs laid out in front of us. Little handy gadgets, notebooks from Dr. Joey Tariga, SPPP shirts from Noel San Andres, photo albums by Albums & Company, major prizes from Aperture Trading and Abacus Microcomputer, a magic stone courtesy of Boy Samson, even free prophylaxis sessions from Dr. Lillian Ebuen and Dr. Alex Nadela. Jeng Flores bagged the grand prize: an HD Media Player.

It was also a night of recognition and awards. Frank Tsai, Handy To, and Ariel Samaniego were given plaques of appreciation for their continuous support to the club. Founding members Boy Samson and Ibarra Deri were presented with recognition awards. Tony Abad got 1st prize for Photo of the Year, while Orly Mercado and Ferdie Flores bagged 2nd and 1st runner up honors respectively. Of course, an SPPP awarding ceremony wouldn’t be complete without recognizing the year’s top photographers. They were lead by Orly Mercado, who was named Photographer of the Year, and Leo Cordova and Lito Remulla with the 2nd and 3rd honors. Mr. Cordova was given the Rookie of the Year award. The lone birthday celebrant, Ed Enriquez, was also rendered the most popular song in the world, SPPP style.

The exchange gift would be more aptly called ‘Pick Your Gift If You’re Not Yet Too Dizzy To Do It’. Gifts were passed around in a process I can’t even begin to describe. I do remember a P500 bill being targeted by most people though.

We started the festivities with magic, and what better way to end the night than with even more magic? Our friends from Magicians Foundation, Inc. happened to be holding their weekly meeting a few floors up. Nap Perez and Marcus graced our little party, and gamely showed us with a few tricks with Dr. Sharon Ga as a willing volunteer.

Now, it’s a whole new decade, and the club is about to start fresh at a new venue for its monthly meetings. We would like to thank all the photographers, models, make-up artists, judges, sponsors, and other individuals who made 2010 a huge success for the club. We look forward to your continued support in the coming years. This year is sure to be filled with even more fun and exciting new challenges for SPPP.