One of these people is Floria Kambalang, a teacher at Kayangel Elementary School. Outside of her daily classroom activities, Kambalang has committed herself to “making time stand still” through the lens of her camera.
“My interest in photography began when I was still in elementary,” Kambalang said in a phone interview. “As I browsed through the pages of books, magazines, and picture albums, I was awe struck about how events were frozen to extend memories of people.”According to Kambalang, she had dedicated most of her free time to taking pictures of practically all activities she has attended – from education workshops to baseball games.“Prior to digital cameras, I had to be very specific about the kind of pictures I take,” she said. “Photography as a hobby was a little too expensive back then.”Kambalang has recently won a Palau National Communication Corporation photography contest. Her photos will be featured in PNCC’s promotion.Kambalang had also contributed her photos to the local media to “promote people’s awareness of the events of Palau.”“I have a huge collection of photos in digital form, all of which are of human interests,” she said. “I share them with the media, community groups, and individuals with hope that I would contribute to their memories.”Kambalang said she would continue to take pictures as an extension of her memories to her daughter and the people of Kayangel.“I hope that someday they could look at the pictures and relive the ‘good old days’ and smile,” she said. “Pictures bring the past to the present and I want my pictures to be brought to the future.”
