The Bare Project

Featured: Dan Kaw

A surfer approaches the beach on a perfect morning. The orange sun is just rising over the horizon. The gentle breeze stirs around the scent of salt and the water looks like glass. The man goes into the ocean and maneuvers among the large waves successfully, skillfully cutting and slashing on the face of the swell. That’s the image that appears in my head whenever I think of Dan Kaw, the epitome of the term, soul surfer. A person who surfs for the pleasure and joy of being close to nature. 

I met Dan almost three years ago. At that time, we barely spoke two words to each other. Now, he’s probably one of the few people I consider my friend. The whole thing about first impressions and how they’re usually wrong can be applied to this guy. He’s much more than meets the eye. He’s a sweet, affectionate and caring guy; a true blue romantic. He enjoys good wine, tasty food and dining with a company of his friends. He’s always so full of energy. You won’t be bored when you’re with him. 

Dan loves his independence. He wants to travel. After all, he said that, “Life is either a great adventure or nothing”. We should definitely learn a thing or two about life with this guy. Open a bottle of wine and chat. You’ll never know what new philosophy you’ll discover. Trust me, I learned a lot from this guy. 

I met Rez last year for a photoshoot. Just thought he’d be a good candidate for the bare project since he’s a singer/songwriter (Somedaydream) and I guess he has a lot of views about life. I asked him what his mantra is whenever he feels really pressured. What keeps him going despite all the obstacles he encounters? He told me that there’s a quote from Holstee Manifesto.

“Live your dreams and share your passion.”

And I guess I’m happy that he’s doing just that. 

I know what you’re all thinking, this guy has a bad boy vibe. I guess Nisan does have that immediate reaction with girls but you’ll be surprised to know that he’s actually a comedian who loves to cook! Meeting Nisan taught me that physical appearances can be deceiving. An important thing to remember is to give every guy a fair chance. You’ll never know. They just might surprise you. 

“When you love someone, you’d fix the problem. Not make the problem an excuse for you to break-up.” - Nisan Simbulan, Student

Rafa is one of the sweetest guys I have ever met and he may just be the funniest. He never fails to bring out that million dollar smile whenever you need it. The most amazing thing about him is the fact that he can look at the bright side of anything. I remember the first time I met him. It was an inuman session in Burgos Circle with my brother. We spent the night talking about the most inane things to the most profound philosophies.. And I thought, wow, seeing him around school, I never thought this car enthusiast would be this deep and intense. Love and other romantic things aside, what you should really follow about this guy is his happy go lucky view on life.

“Life’s all good in the hood.” - Rafa Miranda, Car Enthusiast/Student

Matt is a friend from Enderun Colleges. For some odd reason, I just had the urge to take a shot for the bare project and decided to drag him outside to take a photo. Surprisingly, he was very accomodating. It literally took me 3 shots to get the look I was aiming for. And when asked about what he think about love.. He just said,

“Love is unconditional.” - Matt Regalado, Student

And there is a lot of truth in that.

I’ve never met a more straightforward guy until Jonathan. Trust that what he says is honest and heartfelt. This is the guy who will never tell you something he doesn’t mean. Girls, an advice from him about relationships, read and read intently. Too much of being together is bad. Soon the spark is going to fade and what do you have left? An old jersey shirt, the cute teddy bear he gave and a whole lot of heartache. Distance in a relationship is good. Change is good. A little mystery is good… Because love needs constant work. You’ve got to keep the surprises coming! And in love, feelings are the most important thing. So I asked him, how do you know that what you’re feeling is love? He answered simply.

“Love has no definition, you just know it.” - Jonathan Kingsu, Student

I met James because his brother is a good friend of mine. You probably recognized his face from a local magazine. That’s because he’s a Candy cutie. I spent the afternoon with him talking about life and love in general. I asked several things about him to get him to open up while I take candid shots. Turns out, he’s just like us. He was in love, had his heart broken but now, he’s become stronger and is ready to move forward. After all, he said that…

“You can’t say it’s love until you feel the pain.” - James McDermott, Part-time Model

I asked Sancho if he believes in love and if yes, why? At first, he started spouting nonsensical things like because dilaw ang saging. I was getting frustrated ‘cause I wanted him to be serious. Sanch or Santi as I like to call him is very playful and a go with the flow type of guy.. I didn’t expect anything sensitive to come out of his mouth and I was beginning to give up on him until he said this..

“It doesn’t matter how much love is going to put you down, the true measure of its strength is how many times you can get back up.” - Sancho Dy, Student

I met Charles because of my friend Nina, who’s also one of my models. I knew he’d be great for this project because he’s an amazing model and because he’s fallen head over heels for Nina. What he said about love and life really struck me. A truly amazing guy.

“Love is knowing who you want to spend your life with. Life is living it with them.” - Charles de Montaigne, Model

This whole idea (The Bare Project) started when I took this candid photo of my friend, Jason Go. All I needed was one shot and the moment I clicked my shutter close, I knew I got it.

“Because all the fighting and all the tears and all the uncertainty is worth it. And you know, no matter what, after everything that happens, all the good and the bad. All that matters is what was.” - Jason Go, DJ