How ‘Through a Writer’s Lens’ insightfully captures many moods of Hollywood’s A-listers

Ruben Nepales holding his coffee table book. —PHOTOS COURTESY OF RUBEN V NEPALES

There was as much great pride as pleasure when I finally got my copy of Ruben Nepales’ gorgeous second book, “Through a Writer’s Lens,” a visual tome of sorts that features some of the stellar Hollywood talents the award-winning Fil-Am photojournalist had interviewed through the years—from Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise to Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.

I usually beg off from “extracurricular” writing activities outside those that I do for Inquirer Entertainment and my theater endeavors, but I couldn’t say no to the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press, which gives away the Golden Globes) hotshot when he asked me to write something for the book.

After all, I may no longer be editing Ruben’s popular column these days, but we have had a shared history forged over 15 years of collaboration. Moreover, long before dear LJM (Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc) asked me to take the helm at Inquirer Entertainment, I was already sifting through thousands of Ruben’s star-studded pictures for the defunct Saturday Special section, where I wrote and edited articles for 21 years.

Most of the glossy photos in the coffee-table book are of the “exclusive, never-been-seen-before” sort, but I’ve witnessed how Ruben’s point-and-click beginnings have since transmogrified into a time-polished style and technique honed further by instinct and experience.

Aside from photos of and carefully handpicked quotes from Hollywood and Pinoy celebrities, this hardbound, 254-page, 12-by-14-inch beauty also features articles written by the HFPA hotshot’s “better-half” Janet Nepales (sorry, Ruben) and model-actress-publisher Bessie Badilla. It is a collector’s edition that can be ordered through www.facebook.com/throughawriterslens.

Why is “Through a Writer’s Lens” a must-have? I’ve explained our observations in the book, which we’re paraphrasing below:

There’s always more to these celebrity photos than just movie or TV stars putting their best foot forward at interviews. When Ruben’s photos complement his stories, there’s nothing more compelling than the “thousand words they paint.”

While these photos don’t initially get as much attention as the astute articles he writes, they nonetheless provide insights into stardom as much as a peek into its recipients’ souls. Just by looking at the pictures that go hand in hand with his prose, you’ll soon realize that one is truly made more satisfying by the other.

To say the least, it’s no mean feat for a proud Pinoy from a small town in Pangasinan who, as LJM aptly noted in Ruben’s first book, is “now in Hollywood living the dream. Who would have thought? Only happens in the movies! Still, home to Ruben seems like a moveable feast that he carries with him wherever he goes.”

But Ruben’s story isn’t just about a small-town guy lucking out in the big city. With his talent and skills, he manages to dig substance beyond Tinseltown’s flashy excesses.

While Ruben’s seamless prose can capture a movie star’s eloquence or a TV celebrity’s ineptness at articulating himself, there’s nothing better at encapsulating “the bigger picture” than his revelatory photos snapped at just the right place and time.

“Through a Writer’s Lens”

Sometimes, what you see isn’t what you always get—and that’s when his camera does its magic. The nuances captured in Ruben’s pictures tell us if a star is as accurately “depicted” by the image he or she projects.

Asked what his camera captures that his interviews don’t, Ruben said that while he occasionally struggled to accurately describe the talents’ dispositions in so many words, his photos handily recorded them with utmost accuracy, objectivity and precision.

“The unabashed mirth of naturally gregarious talents when they laugh and throw their heads back in gleeful abandon,” he pointed out. “The camera lens, in just one or several shots, eloquently captures the many moods of interviewees. Like Jack Black suddenly stripping, taking off his shirt and pants, leaving only his striped boxer briefs. No words can capture the spontaneity of those moments.”

Ruben is the first to admit he’s no professional photographer. “My photos are taken quick, quick, quick—as most photojournalists do. I just take pleasure in capturing a talent’s many moods and reactions in the middle of an interview,” he said.

“I began with a cheap camera and flash, so my first photos came out bad and dark,” he recalled with a laugh. “And I had to learn not to be ‘trigger-happy,’ ending up with many shots but a few good ones.”

Ruben, who writes for Rappler and Cebu Pacific’s Smile magazine these days, eventually acknowledged the importance of patience. He knew he had to wait for the right moment to catch a talent’s smile, laughter or expressive hand gesture. Or adjust to a celebrity’s quirks, proclivities or aesthetic requirements.

He singled out a photo op worth remembering, this time with the Material Girl herself: “At the end of an interview, when Madonna had to pose for additional photos, the pop superstar—ever aware of the power of images—balked at standing by a window with drapes open. Her publicist instinctively drew the drapes but Madonna, the style-conscious maven, opened the drapes a little bit for dramatic effect.”

Meanwhile, Barbra Streisand insisted on bringing her own photographer and lighting paraphernalia.

Then, there are celebrities who require special arrangements—like the male pop superstar who wanted his own photographer, or the two pop divas who “set a hundred and one rules about taking their mugs.”

“There are also interviewees who are overcome with emotion when they talk about certain topics,” Ruben shared, explaining why he couldn’t simply click and click at his heart’s content. “So, out of respect, that’s when I instinctively pause from taking photos and put down my camera.”

It is this homegrown sensitivity and time-honed artistic impulse that have enabled Ruben to catch Meryl Streep in a seldom-seen playful mood, visually immortalize the delightful raconteurs concealed by Ian McKellen and Judi Dench’s much-revered screen personas, and bring out the natural charisma that makes George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michael Fassbender and Oscar Isaac tick and click with their adoring fans.

It’s also instances like these when words are not nearly enough to capture a larger-than-life personality. And that’s when Ruben takes out his camera and lets his photos do the talking.