MOVING AWAY FROM HOME
GUAM >> HOUSTON
SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA
“I think I'll go to Boston, I think I'll start a new life
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name”
Far to the west of the islands of Hawaii in the Oceania region of Micronesia, lies a tiny little rock known as Guam; full of life and a culture that has been alive for over a thousand years. For the past 29 years of my life, Guam was the only home that I knew. I remember all the drives, the trips, the sights, the people. It was my hometown and everything that I am today is because of my upbringing in that little island in the Pacific.
Guam is a US territory that was claimed through the Spanish-American war back in 1898 where Spain seceded the territories of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to America. We were colonized by the Spanish for hundreds of years and our language and culture were heavily influenced by them. This big change to where we were now under the banner of the United States brought subtle changes to our already modernized lifestyle in the early 1900s.
When WWII broke out, the US abandoned Guam in favor of saving their military personnel and their white-only families; leaving us to the mercy of the Imperial Japanese. Over the course of the war, the CHamorus, the native people of Guam, were subjected to harsh treatment by the Japanese. Prior to the war, we had Japanese citizens living and accustomed to our island, but even they were heavily scrutinized. It wasn’t until July 21st, 1944 when America liberated Guam in their campaign to retake the Pacific and launch a counteroffensive. This then became known as Liberation Day for our island and is celebrated even to this day.
MY JOURNEY
In high school, I would take my iPod Touch 4, the first iPod to have a built-in camera, and take various pictures of my friends and family and share them on Facebook. The comments from family abroad would fill me with nostalgia and accomplishment as they were so happy to see these pictures of family they haven’t seen in years. This only made me want to dive into photography even more. After graduating high school, I enrolled into college and was looking for a way to make some money. I saved up enough money to get my first DSLR (a Nikon D3200) and started practicing how to take pictures. I signed up onto our local newspaper, the Pacific Daily News, as a freelance photographer. I shot many events and stories for the newspaper while attending college, but I felt like I could achieve more.
It was in 2014 when I started shooting for a photography studio for the first time known as Expressions Studios. The team there consisted of Robert Tenorio, Myers, Niel, and a guy named Justin Baldovino. Justin took me to one of my first ever gigs, a birthday celebration at Westin Hotel where we were to take pictures of guests throughout the night. When we met up an hour later after shooting some shots, he reviewed my pictures and didn’t like what he saw. My shots were out-of-focus, composition was horrible, and the flash shot straight onto their faces. This was the moment that changed my career. He took 5 minutes to explain how depth of field works, why a camera makes things look sharp and in-focus and why the background is very blurry. It may seem trivial, but this little 5 minutes made me realize the fundamentals of photography. He taught me how to bounce flash off the ceilings and how to compose a group of people into my camera. Even to this day, I regard him as my mentor.
In 2021, a year after the pandemic, I was let go from my graphic designer job and was left jobless during a time where employment was unstable. It was during that time, I took up to an old dream I had a long time ago; to become a professional photographer. I got a business license, and founded my photography Studio Taiyo. It was very slow in the beginning, but I made a steady following of shooting families and couples and very soon, weddings. I had shot weddings in the past before both as part of a studio and solo, but this was my first time dedicating my full-self into being a full-time photographer. Over the course of two years, Studio Taiyo became my main source of income. It provided me the income to pay for my car, phone bill, and credit card and it even funded my wedding with the woman I love most in the world. I have been so fortunate and blessed to work with so many wonderful souls and beautiful people; I really do see my future profession in this industry.
However, there came a time where things change and to grow as a person, we would have to change the path our lives take.
ISLAND BOY MOVES TO TEXAS
If there was a place if one asked me to describe struggle, I would say it’s Guam. Being a US territory, we’ve always been lagging behind the progress of our nation since we are located very far from the mainland. While we are not what a lot of people expect an island to be like today (wearing grass skirts, live in tree huts, etc.), we are still a modernized society. We have concrete houses, power, running water, an accredited university and community college, and yes internet as well. While we have a lot of American culture mixed in with our lifestyle, we aren’t up-to-date with the modern science and technology that America is equipped with. We have typhoons, a high cost-of-living (gas is like $4-6 lately), and jobs that make us work a 9-5 with a salary that doesn’t compete or support as much. If anything, my people are very stubborn; myself included. We work hard and get by with what we can. We are a very resourceful bunch and have lived this way for hundreds of years. But even so, all this is enough to make a grown millennial weary.
We went through the pandemic like everyone around the world, but for us, it hit us hard. Our island’s economy heavily relied on tourism and when the pandemic hit, it devastated businesses and jobs islandwide. People got furloughed or laid off entirely, wages were cut and people were in a state of disarray. While it took a lot of work and patience, we eventually slowly recovered and while we are not in a state compared to before, we’re still walking one step at a time. However, in 2023, our luck wasn’t so good.
We got hit with a super typhoon, the first one in 20 years since Typhoon Pongsona. We’ve had typhoons in the past, but this was a super typhoon that devasted the island. Houses and properties were damaged, trees falling over, and power lines laying on the ground. The island lost power for pretty much a month for most and longer for some. As a small business owner, standing back up from the pandemic was one thing, but this was just a huge kick in the gut while we were down. It got unbearable to live without power for six weeks, and for a business like photography, it’s not a necessary service after a huge storm and time of recovery so I was left with just my savings to get by.
All these struggles as a 90s baby growing up in today’s American lifestyle is already tiring as is, but to have a pandemic and super typhoon on top of that, it got too much for me and my wife. We needed new ways to grow and to just escape from all the hardships from being an islander. While Guam will always be home to us and we will always consider ourselves islanders, that doesn’t mean we are content with growing in place. My wife and I packed our things and moved to Houston, TX to live with her sister and brother-in-law. We are so fortunate that they welcomed us with open arms and love, and have encouraged us to start fresh out here. I decided in addition to going back into the regular workforce, I would start Studio Taiyo back up out here in the mainland. While it’s been six months since we moved as I am writing this post, I still have yet to get back my business on track, but like I said. We are a stubborn people and so long as there is a chance, I don’t know how to quit on what I really want to do: photography.