Photographer of the Week: Atty. Ma. Teresa “Tess” Trinidad
By Maan D’Asis Pamaran
Her family’s regular outings to Luneta Park sparked Atty. Ma. Teresa “Tess” Trinidad’s interest in photography. As a seven-year-old in the ‘70s, she watched the park photographers wandering around the sprawling tourist attraction, taking photos of the sightseers.
“I was keen on watching how people react to the camera. Some wore their biggest smile being just too happy to be photographed. Some were bashful or self-conscious, or mortified. Some hammed it up for the camera.” These scenes formed an ambition in her, she says, to be a park photographer when she grows up, “not in any other park, only in Luneta Park,” she says and smiles fondly at the memory.
Of course, at that age, she didn’t have the means to buy a camera, so that dream had to be shelved. “In my teens, I would borrow the family instamatic camera, take photos here and there but none of them were good in my opinion.”
Decades later, she decided to give it another go, this time, armed with an entry-level Canon DSLR. The avid learner bought photography books, watched video tutorials, and browsed photography magazines. She also attended a workshop by Paco Guerrero on Photographic Essay, followed by many other learning events with the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) and her membership with the Framed Shots Camera Club.
The park photographers of her childhood long gone, she now enjoys taking photos of festivals, which she finds exciting.
“I get to travel and witness colorful and spectacular events. It requires a great deal of stamina, a lot of skill as a photographer, and a ton of patience because you have to be up very early and do a lot of waiting. It also entails being quick because you don’t want to miss out on anything!” she explains. “I am my happiest when I take photos. I hope my eagerness comes through in my photographs.”
Fortunately, another photography dream came true recently, as she was able to travel to India two years ago and take photos of the Taj Mahal.
When Tess is not busy with her legal practice where she takes on intellectual property, corporate law, commercial law, taxation, and family law as a partner at the Mutia & Trinidad Law Offices, she nurtures her creative side by joining photography competitions and exhibits.
Penitents, Cutod 
Sculptor, Paete, Laguna
Her vision is to immerse her audience in the scenery and the moment. “My aspiration every time I take a picture is to take the viewers to the location where I was at and make them what I felt when I photographed the subject, as if they walked into the photo. In my opinion, the best thing about being a photographer is to be able to see the environment around you uniquely and tell a story creatively.”
For her, photography is something you immerse in. “Your subject, may it be nature or with people or a situation, in the process you note details you never gave much importance to before. It allows space for introspection making you see things differently and communicate profoundly through your work.”
