Fil-Am photographer Yen Baet’s ongoing pursuit of the perfect shot

Even as time introduces huge adventures and new successes, it is the little details that people tend to remember—the color of a dress, the salt in the air, the taste of shock and promises.

For Yen Baet, a UK-based Filipino-American travel photographer, it was a dentist's office that stuck to her mind.

“I was in a dentist’s office and I saw an ad,” she recently shared to GMA News Online, where she recounted the events that led to her success. “I was attracted to the prize – it was a trip to Peru.”

Baet won that trip, along with the prestige of winning a National Geographic photography contest. Two years later, she did it again, this time winning a trip to Thailand and an exhibition in New York, sponsored by National Geographic.

“It was the trip I really wanted. I like to travel,” she explained. “I always have itchy feet.”

Yen Baet has always considered herself a nomad. Since she was a child, her family moved from one place to another due to her father's work.

She was born Ozamis City in Misamis Occidental, but most of her childhood years were spent in Pampanga and Laguna. She immigrated in the 90's and lived in Japan, Germany, and most recently, England. The whole time, she was painting, sewing, and dabbling in everything related to arts and crafts. She is also a writer, having graduated college with a major in English.

“I guess it's only natural that I went into travel photography,” she laughed.

It was when she moved to Europe that she was inspired to take up photography. “I always had a small camera, just for point-and-shoot, but I realized that it was such a waste – I get to see such beauty and I'm only handling a small camera. I know I can do better. So that's when I got my first DSLR."

The blue hour

Yen Baet is often associated with night photography – more specifically, the blue hour, more commonly known as twilight.

“When I saw the first photo I took during the blue hour — it was a photo of the strip of Las Vegas — I thought 'Why is it blue?' and it was just so attractive for me. Before I went into photography I didn't even know what twilight was, what blue hour was. So I made myself more aware of the light and the surroundings, but also the culture of the different places as well.”

She also shared how she approaches her subjects: “Whenever I take a photo of something, I look at the positive side. I want a person to see a photo and say ‘I want to be there right now.’ I want a person to say ‘I'll pack my bag right now, I want to be where you are.’

"When I take photos of the Philippines, I want people to say 'The Philippines is beautiful, it's a happy place. I want to go there' — in spite of what they see in the news,” she added. “There's too many sides to the Philippines. Some photographers want to capture the miserable side because they want to evoke emotion. But I want to evoke happiness. I'm very optimistic about what I see."

Besides her optimism, camera and tripod, Baet finds it vital to equip herself with patience.

“One thing about being a photographer is that you really have to be patient. You have to wait for the right light, you have to wait for that moment. You can take several frames of one scene, but there's just that one moment, the perfect moment where you say 'Oh, that's the shot'."

Starting a career

Baet considers her first National Geographic win as the kick-starter of her career. Since then, her life has been a blend of various cultures, people and places — she states that she has been to around 50 countries, and that the number is hardly a lot – doing what she loves most. A lot of big names have been paying attention to her, setting up meetings and interviews, but she shares that she is hesitant when she is being offered anything other than a fund-raising project.

“Last year, I had an exhibit in Holy Angels in Pampanga... it raised money for the scholarship of my school,” she said. “It made me realize that through my talent, I can also help others. Before, photography was just for self-gratification. But this talent was given to me, it was handed to me for free. I'm sharing it in a way that helps others.”

Baet then lets the cat out of the bag — she reveals she is writing a book.

“It's a photography book, more photos than text. I'm about 3/4 done,” she said. “I've been getting requests for that. Instead of flipping online, people want something tangible. Hopefully, I can finish it soon.”

Her biggest critic

Despite the heights she has reached, Yen Baet doesn't consider herself to be accomplished. “I'm my biggest critic,” she said.

“I'm not satisfied. I think that should be everybody's mindset. We shouldn't settle for what we have – never, never settle. Because I think the best is always yet to come. I'm always looking for that best thing, the perfect shot,” she added.

This echoed what Baet previously said about patience. "Sometimes I catch myself under the rain, waiting for almost nothing. With nature, you never know what happens - the rain can stop, the best light might come after a storm... a rainbow may come out. —KBK, GMA News