Just like many others of his generation, Al Buccino de Ocampo in his teens became “the designated official photographer” at large family gatherings, making use of a variety of point and shoot cameras which continued even throughout all his adolescent years when they travel for family trips and vacations.

A gift of a used Yashica SLR tickled his interest in photography further during his mid 20’s so he decided to attend and complete the Basic Photography Workshop at FPPF.

Further down the road, for his creativity, he came to draw inspiration and looked up to other photographers who he met and got acquainted with, specifically, photographers whose genres are photojournalism, documentation, and landscape.

Bu likes simplicity above all else, the simple reason being that he himself typifies simplicity at its best.

He joined Alpha Camera Club sometime in 2006 and remained one of the most active members of the club, contributing not only his time and efforts but also his resources whenever a particular situation calls for it.

Though he is not alone in the call for people to take up photography, he strongly advocates membership in a club where budding photographers get all the help that is available because if truth be told, the river of knowledge on photography in a club is free-flowing.

Humble to the core, Bu admits that he is still learning and unlearning a lot of photography skills even currently and offers the following advice to incoming members, and we quote:

“Enjoy! Take lots of photos good and bad. And wear good shoes!”

– excerpts from Magnum’s David Hurn