CH Camp at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde: Where Photojournalism Met the Next Generation
Some of the best photography lessons do not happen in a classroom. They happen when a veteran photojournalist stands in front of a room full of students, tells them what decades behind a camera actually feel like, and then sends them out to shoot. That is what CH Camp brought to De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde on July 30, 2026. One talk, one campus photowalk, one on-the-spot contest, and a hallway full of cameras that students were free to pick up, borrow, and use.
What is CH Camp?
CH Camp is a CameraHaus-led campus tour for schools across the Philippines. Each stop combines a talk from a working photographer, a photowalk built around a theme, a hands-on workshop, and a gear floor where camera brands bring their latest bodies, lenses, and lights for students to try. The idea is simple. Bring the photography community to where young photographers already are, put real gear in their hands, and give them a reason to shoot that same day.
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, home to one of the country's dedicated photography programs, was the perfect place to start. The students showed up with their own cameras slung over their shoulders, which told us everything about the kind of crowd we were about to meet.
The talk: Edwin Tuyay on a life in photojournalism
Edwin Tuyay has spent decades photographing politics, culture, and everyday Filipino life, with work that has appeared in Asiaweek, The New York Times, and Reader's Digest. He has judged national student art and photo competitions and is a long-time advocate of the Ricoh GR and its one-camera, one-lens approach to street photography.
He did not talk about settings. He talked about attention. How a photojournalist reads a scene before raising the camera, why patience beats burst mode, and how the frame you did not take is sometimes the one that teaches you the most. He showed his own black-and-white work on the screen and walked the room through what was happening outside each frame, the part the viewer never sees.
The students listened the way you listen when someone is telling you something true. Then they laughed, because Edwin is also very funny.
Open floor: the questions students actually ask
The question-and-answer session ran long, and nobody minded. Students asked about starting out with limited gear, about shooting strangers with respect, about how to know when a photo is finished. One student stood up with a DSLR still hanging from a Pentax strap, which is exactly the kind of detail Edwin would have photographed himself.
The honest answers were the ones that landed. Ask permission when you can, be respectful when you cannot. And a photo is finished when it says one thing clearly.
The assignment: a campus photowalk on Light and Shadow
Then the talk turned into a task. The screen changed to a single slide: Campus Photowalk, Today's Assignment, Theme: Light & Shadow. Students had the Benilde campus and a set window of time to come back with their strongest frame for an on-the-spot photo contest.
Light and shadow is a deceptively hard brief. It sounds like a beginner's theme until you try to make a photo where the shadow does the talking. It forces you to slow down, look at where light falls in a building you walk through every day, and wait for a person to step into the right spot. That is the whole lesson from the talk, applied within the hour.
The critique: where the learning actually happened
When the students came back, their entries went up on the big screen one by one, and Edwin reviewed them in front of everyone. This is the part of CH Camp we are proudest of. A critique from a working photojournalist is not something most students get before they graduate, and Edwin gave every frame the same care.
His feedback was practical and kind. Crop tighter here. Wait two more seconds there. This shadow is the subject, so let it be the subject. He pointed out the entries that made a decision and committed to it, and he explained why hesitation shows up in a photograph even when the exposure is perfect.
The winning frames earned prizes from our brand partners, but the real prize was watching students look at their own work differently than they had that morning.
The gear floor: twelve brands, zero glass cases
Outside the auditorium, our brand partners set up tables lined with cameras, lenses, lights, and accessories that students could pick up and shoot with. No glass cases, no "please do not touch." This is the part of CH Camp where a student who has only ever shot on a hand-me-down DSLR gets to feel what a current mirrorless body is like in the hand.
On the floor that day:
Canon's EOS R50 V and PowerShot V1 drew the content creators. Ricoh GR drew everyone who had just heard Edwin talk about it. NiceFoto and Sirui brought the lights, Tokina the glass, K&F Concept the filters, Akaso the action cameras, and Picture Books the reminder that a photograph is not finished until it is printed.
Yes, students could borrow the gear
Every camera on the floor was available to borrow for the photowalk. Students filled out a short CameraHaus borrowing slip with their name, course, and school ID, picked their camera, and walked out with it. A white Canon EOS R50 V with the RF-S 14-30mm was one of the first to go. It came back with a Light and Shadow entry on the card.
We do this because trying a camera for five minutes at a counter tells you almost nothing. Shooting an assignment with it for an hour tells you everything.
Key takeaways from CH Camp at Benilde
Edwin's whole talk came back to this. Learn to see first, then worry about what you see it with.
Light and Shadow forced students to shoot with intent instead of shooting everything.
Hearing a professional review your frame in front of classmates is uncomfortable for thirty seconds and useful for years.
The borrowing slip is the most important piece of paper at CH Camp.
Students left with new contacts, new favorite cameras, and a group photo they will keep.
Something big is coming for CH Camp students
Before the day ended, students received an invitation. We are not saying what it is for yet. What we can say is that it is bigger than a photowalk, and that every student who attended CH Camp at Benilde is on the list. Watch our Instagram and Facebook for the reveal.
Bring CH Camp to your school
Benilde was the first stop. If you are a student organization, a faculty member, or a photography club that wants a talk, a themed photowalk, a workshop, and a full gear floor on your campus, message us. We bring the speakers, the brands, and the cameras. You bring the students.
Message us on Facebook DM us on InstagramFrequently asked questions
What is CH Camp?
CH Camp is a CameraHaus campus tour that brings a photography talk, a themed photowalk, a workshop, and hands-on gear from partner brands to schools in the Philippines.
Who can attend CH Camp?
Students of the host school. The Benilde stop was open to students across programs, not only photography majors.
Can students really borrow the cameras?
Yes. Every camera on the gear floor was available to borrow for the photowalk and contest after signing a short borrowing slip.
Do I need my own camera to join?
No. Bring one if you have it, borrow one if you do not. Several entries at Benilde were shot on borrowed gear.
Relive the day
Watch the CH Camp recap reel on Instagram: CH Camp at Benilde highlights.
More from the CameraHaus community: photographers are welcome to shoot in Intramuros again, and our recap of the CameraHaus Photo Festival 2025.
Thank you, Benilde
To Edwin Tuyay, for a talk that students will quote for a long time. To De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, for opening the campus and the auditorium. To Nikon, Sony, Lumix, Fujifilm, Canon, Ricoh GR, Picture Books, NiceFoto, Tokina, Sirui, K&F Concept, and Akaso, for bringing the gear and letting students use it like it was their own. And to every student who shot, asked, borrowed, and stayed for the critique. CH Camp exists because of you.
Until the next CH Camp.
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