The Photographer



If there’s one thing that Jacqueline Hernandez is very passionate about, it would be photography.

Born with an artist’s eye and skills, Jacqueline discovered her knack for taking remarkable photographs during her college years. Drawings and paintings are what originally appealed to her. She would make sketches of people’s faces and paint abstract designs using different media. Her desire to hone her artistic talents has led her to take up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Her course introduced her to the wonders of visual arts and, consequently, photography.

Jacqueline first applied her artistic savoir-faire in the university’s official newspaper, The Philippine Collegian. Initially, she worked as a probationary photographer and she proved her worth and worked her way to becoming one of Collegian’s staff photographer and subsequently as graphics editor. Her social awareness has had a major influence during her tenure in the paper. She was particularly fascinated with human interest stories. Oblivious of the dangers of her profession, she would attend public assemblies and mass demonstrations and challenge herself to capture the scene in a creative fashion. She immersed herself in the grassroots level of society, interacting with these people, depicting their hopes and aspirations by means of her photographs.

Year 2003 became the onset of Jacqueline’s professional career. She worked as a photojournalist for Marianas Variety on the Northern Mariana Islands. Apart from the newsworthy events that she covered for the newspaper, she offered respite through her different images of Saipan’s scenic beauty. She is best known for her aesthetic and breathtaking sunset shots that never failed to entice photography aficionados and ordinary newspaper readers alike.

Jacqueline has an eye for taking pictures beyond what one ordinarily sees. She has the aptitude to bring out the beauty of any ordinary figure or subject. She agrees with the renowned American journalist and drama critic Brooks Atkinson in saying that “The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.”

At present, Jacqueline works as a freelance photographer for various development organizations. She continues to produce photographs that are notable for being taken at distinctive angles, creating something extraordinary out of what others perceive as ordinary.