I’ve been writing since I was in 5th grade and have been doing this professionally for almost 7 years now. I can vividly recall what it meant to have balance.
Balance, in the dictionary: an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain uptight and steady. But knowing balance and finding balance can be quite hard if you currently move at your fastest pace.
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
Chickle Dela Rosa is someone I knew from college. Special skill? A person who knows balance—just the right amount to consume.
She is a Photographer and a Content Creator from Baguio City. As an artist, she believed that art is a certain experience, a series of processes or moments that are able to create an actual form. She started photography at the age of 15, and for her, being interested in photography means being able to see new perspectives and freeze a moment or a feeling. And I think people who take photos resonate with that most of the time.
“Photography makes life a bit more interesting by being able to see more colors, more light, and peek into stories we won’t know about seeing them forever as one full image.”
Back in high school, Chickle would borrow her classmate’s Panasonic digital camera. She said that she would borrow it for days, taking random pictures of her classmates out there in the mundane, just simply existing, doing things any high schooler would do. She didn’t even let that camera go, even during break time or after class. She was so happy that she kept those photos to this day.
Isn’t it so lovely? Keeping things. Memorable ones. For you to remember? It was a totally balanced moment.
Fast forward to college. A phase of question. Was balance still here?
Chickle said,
“I wished for a DSLR instead equipped with a kit lens, and I specifically requested a 50mm f1.8 lens. I was on top of the world; I had a Canon 700D! A Canon, can you believe it? A trusted brand by professional photographers. A beginner-pro DSLR was good enough for me to get a few gigs. I loved that camera, which I still kept as well. Later on pursuing it was definitely a surprise; I just got on life’s ship and literally said, “alright, here we go.”
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
It all turned out well. When we want things to happen, we dream of them and make them happen. It seems impossible, but balance is a series of actions—a ride in the in-betweens, keeping your dreams afloat.
Chickle started practicing taking photos of her family, then of her college friends as models, and after that, she started putting her work online, and people outside her circle started noticing.
She was still very interested in portraits. Eventually, she found people she looked up to online and followed their steps. She joined the University’s publication as a photo journalist (that’s where we met).
“Then and there I realized how portraits can be more than just faces. I started taking photographs of stories, people, and their lives. Later on, I started taking interest in coloring my photos better, got into film photography as well, and along the way, I found myself traveling more, taking more of these said stories. Eventually I called these “little stories” like small frames of lives in a small box. These little stories made life seem bigger than it actually is. I enjoyed talking to strangers, I enjoyed walking the unknown.”
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
Getting to know Chickle was one of my favorite memories because I was her friend and still am. And aside from being her home friend, I was also her fan. And still am.
She was very quiet and serious about her craft. People from Baguio City knew her as some indie girl with a great sense of fashion, someone who sings so well, someone who’s enrolled in an entrepreneurship course, and of course, a photographer. I often adore how she was into portraits back then, always with her 50mm camera lens, and never missed a thing.
Then it grew. I learned she also takes photos of cityscapes and all things random. She’s very invested in photographs, both analog and digital. She makes it so good. But being interested in photographs is second; being interested in these stories is first.
I could go on and write a thousand words to describe how talented she is. She never fails to surprise me and our friends with all these achievements. Being in a low-maintenance friendship with her is one of the best presents I have ever gotten as someone who decided to live and study in Baguio for college.
Her life in balance didn’t stop evolving in frames. After college, her burning passion suddenly became her bread and butter. According to her, she’s an entrepreneurship graduate with no solid career path. She just focused on what she knew she was good at—taking photos.
Taking photos later on would get her into events, weddings, more traveling, and more collaborative work. She was fired up. She upgraded her equipment. The photographer is now a videographer too. This led her to take the chance on advertising, and she learned a lot from this studio based in Manila, who also took the chance on her at that time.
“One gig and one trip became dozens in months, and more came after. I am in too deep; there is no going backwards now. I am happy to say the result was being able to meet the right people. Today, we have Baguio City’s first ever multi-media creative studio team and a space made to teach starting artists and brands—giving them a platform.”
Evermood Creative Studios came to life. Evermood is the brainchild of two different artists, Michael Vite (a makeup artist) and Chickle. The idea was to create a space where anybody could hone their skills and meet the right people, much as they did but without the space. They wanted to provide a community where creative judgment isn’t present, but rather, where they can be who they are and discover their creative potential. From then on, they also opened the space for clients, offered friendly rates and services, and are currently partnering with local brands and establishments around the city.
“For me, Evermood is also where I can learn more like the people we have at the community; I believe I also learn from them as much as they learn from our own experiences. I want to keep it that way for other people to see that everyone has their own learning curves regardless of experiences and that the space will mean more than just a studio, but people with deeper connections.”
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
When asked about the biggest barrier to being an artist or a photographer, she said that being a freelance photographer is such a hard career to choose.
“Setting aside being Evermood’s lead, I still believe that I am the freelance photographer-videographer that I am. The biggest struggle is the waiting time; when will be the next big project that will pay the bills? I address this problem by being more careful on what I invest in and making sure that I save up some of my fees for future needs. Feeling stuck at something is also another thing. I overcome this by taking breaks and spending time on things other than photography; I read books, and I look back on my previous works.”
I came to ask her what has been her most memorable and rewarding photography project so far.
She said that sometimes, whenever she questions her work, she thinks about the people who also look up to her. She is so grateful for them, for these people also inspire me to do better every day as a person and as a creative.
“I can’t always be specific whenever I get asked what’s the best thing I have achieved as a photographer; it has always been changing, the experiences have always been surprising, the people to meet are endless, and the rewards have always been more than just gratification. It’s the whole process and not knowing that makes it rewarding. I will always look forward to the better days and better stories to tell.”
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
Photo from IG: @chckl.dlrsa
Beyond words, meeting someone who carries themselves well enough is the perfect balance. I put the perfect in balance to justify the creativeness and the passion, but I think, one way or another, we meet them and we just grow with them all along (without even noticing).
If she were to describe what her work represents, it would be the art of slowing down.
“Slowing down is also such a good part of life. The hustle can wait because there’s so much more to life. Talk to strangers, think deep, take a good seat, and observe. Spend more time with living and breathing slower and deeper.”
Chickle is still the same. Still behind her lenses. Still in the same frames.
