Following his 2018 win in the prestigious PR-Photo (PR-Bild) Awards, world-renowned National Geographic photographer Per-Andre Hoffmann once again bagged an award for the Philippines.
Conducted since 2006 by leading German press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) GmbH, it honors public relations (PR) photography by recognizing the outstanding performance of companies in the field of PR and visual communications.
Our Tourism department was part of the 210 international tourism ministries, PR agencies, and companies from various industries that participated in last year’s competition. The DoT submitted Hoffmann’s works to the event.
The Philippine entry by Hoffmann, entitled “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” won the first prize in the Lifestyle category. The photo, carefully composed and captured in 2018, features a boy jumping into the bay, “totally unfazed by Mayon’s activity,” Hoffmann told Manila Standard.
Meanwhile, another Hoffmann photo of an ethnic hut in the Cordilleras, known as ba-le, bagged the third prize in the Visual Stories and Campaigns category.
“The ethnic hut was lit by artificial lamps as it was fairly dark,” recalled Hoffmann.
Entitled “Ten Generations Under One Roof,” it aims to share with the public the ancestral Ifugao homes in the Cordilleras, most of which, the photographer said, have been destroyed and vandalized.
“According to the 90-year-old madame, this particular ba-le contained human ‘trophies’ from ancient headhunting expeditions against enemy tribes. Other skulls belonged to Japanese soldiers, decapitated by warriors for pillaging their villages during World War II,” shared Hoffmann.
Hoffmann discovered through his expedition that heads taken in headhunting raids brought glory to the warrior who collected them, and good luck to their village.
Meanwhile, buffalo skulls, which are heavily featured in the photo, he said: “are a testament to the sacrifices and wealth of a kadangyan, a rich man in the community who owned vast landholdings or terraced farms.”
“Until today, these skulls are believed to fend off the evil spirits, relentlessly attempting to enter homes, to tease, to taunt and haunt the families in these remote areas of the Philippines,” said Hoffmann.
In addition to the winning entries, two more images by Hoffmann were among the top listed.
Ten photos in each category were chosen by a jury composed of 20 PR professionals, photographers, media experts, chief editors of magazines, and industry bigshots. The finalists were voted for by over 14,000 experts in the PR industry.
For the foreigner taking photos of the Philippines, “These images won not because they are just merely beautiful; ‘just beautiful’ images are not good enough. They won because they convey a deeper message, and touch us emotionally.”
Hoffman was invited to the Philippines by the DoT in 1993. Since then, he has published hundreds of promotional text and photo articles in a number of magazine and newspapers. His Philippine work has been displayed in over 20 National Geographic exhibitions on four continents.
The DoT was so pleased with his output he was repeatedly invited, hired as media consultant, as well as assigned to create promotional photography for the department.
“The Philippines was love at first sight,” Hoffmann said of his deep commitment and continued efforts for the country.
In addition to his works in advertising and publications, Per-Andre Hoffmann, is also Canon brand ambassador, consultant to art and design universities in the Philippines, and resource person for the Commission on Higher Education.