In this episode, we sat down with Shaira Luna, who some of us (those of a certain ‘age’) would recognize as one of the gifted children from a popular milk brand. For Shaira, there was more to life than trying to satisfy everyone’s expectations. And while her journey was filled with whispers of regret on what she should have been, Shaira thrived on independence as she shared with us the rewards following your own path.
Shaira shared how rigid and well-planned her life was. Her formative years were strictly defined by getting to school at a young age, studying with older peers, doing talks for DepEd, spending summers on extra curricular work than playing, and living the life expected from a gifted child. Discovering her passion was an elusive quest, and she shared how she meandered through her heavily-packed academic schedules that never really gave her the chance to pursue any hobby that interested her.
But her life took a sharp turn when she got into her first music gig and her first flirtation with photography. She shared how her photographer life started in the dimly lit bars where her friends played and how she advertised herself in Friendster and Multiply. She also shared with us the challenges that she had to face when she began dedicating herself to her passion—how she faced the disappointment of the people who were expecting so much from her, how she had to sell things just to survive, and how she taught herself the technicalities of photography in order to thrive in a discipline that she was not entirely sure of.
More than just discussing the inspiration behind her visual style, Shaira Luna’s journey into photography will make you look deep into what it means to freely express yourself and how rewarding it can be when you break the molds that were set for you.
Prologue is a PURVEYR—Radio show and a partnership with Kindred Productions who manages the sound and recording. In addition, we would like to thank Yardstick for being our official venue for the interviews. You can subscribe and follow the show on Spotify or other podcast-listening platforms to keep yourself updated for new episodes.
