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On Tuesday night, BJ Bernales and his mad photoshop work took over the Philippine hemisphere of the Internet. One look at his ‘obra’ as he likes to call them and you’d know why: how fcking funny.
One photo, of course, is never enough. It doesn’t just make you want to click more — like most good news, BJ’s photos make you want to share them with everyone.
We looked for him, found him in a corner in SG and learned that he’s a 33-year-old dude who will be turning 34 next month and “badly needs to encash all the likes and shares I got from my ‘portfolio so I will be able to treat myself and my friends to a Jollibee party.”
He does admin work by day and is a “professional troll by night.” We asked him about his hobby.
First of all, what are you on? And second, can we have some of that?
Plain water and lots of Nutella sandwich. Hahaha
What were you thinking when you started photoshopping those pictures?
I just felt the need to help others in enhancing their ‘kodak’ moments. That’s all.
Were you irritated, mad, or simply tripping out?
It started as a stress reliever from work, then eventually naging ‘hobby’ na sya.
When did you start needing a stress reliever from work?
Last month. Haha. But I’ve been ‘trolling’ since 2011.
How did this bad/mad photoshopping hobby explode? We saw it from the K*pal Lord Facebook page. Are you friends with K*pal Lord?
First of all, thank you po to K*pal Lord at na-appreciate niya ang mga obra ko. But we’re not friends. Maybe he got it from friends of friends and neighbors of friends? I think, it all started when friends reshared my ‘portfolio’. Even I was surprised that it went viral.
Where do you find the photos, where do you post them?
From ‘Gopro Users Philippines Pa-edit Po’ page. Members there ask for their (mostly) vacation photos to be enhanced/edited for free. But you won’t find it on Facebook anymore. They switched their settings from closed to a secret the day my ‘portfolio’ went viral. Biglang dumami ata friend requests nila, Dumami rin bigla ang mga nagpapa-edit. I left the group yesterday, hindi na rin ako makabalik.
Which photos do you prefer to play with?
Kahit ano lang, wala ako pinipili. Pero favorite ko yung mga alam nila kung ano gusto nila ipalagay. Dun ako kumukuha ng idea kung ano pa pwede gawin. Sa words or names na gagamit nila ako nakakaisip ng ilalagay.
So no keywords or phrases?
Nope, nothing in particular. Basta magbigay ka ng theme, pag may naisip ako, I will edit it. Pag wala, off to the next photo na lang.
Do you work with somebody else on this?
All my edits are personally done by me. They are my own ideas. But I have friends who are also part of the ‘troll edit lords’ as they say in the group. I usually just show my friends the finished product, when they’re ready for posting. Then, if I still have other ideas, I will post them all up, so the person who requested it will have options — like leaving the group or blocking me personally on FB. Haha
Which photo do you think is the most underrated?
Hmm… I can’t think of any, iba iba kasi humor ng tao. Teka, check ko ulit album ko ha…yung pinaka konting likes! Haha.
Is there a photo that made you feel like you bit off more than you can chew? Suddenly, it wasn’t fun anymore?
Somebody sent me a private message, asking me to edit a photo of her child or brother, gagamitin lang daw sa resume. Syempre resume yun, di pwede kalokohan. And honestly, wala pa ko sa level na ganun sa pag e-edit. Kaya nireject ko yung ‘orig‘ request niya. Haha.. Post ko nalang yung result sa next album ko… Abangan! Haha
So you admit to being a troll?
Trolling is life for me, favorite ko i-troll yung mga news sites… Medyo madami kasi dun na parang ewan eh.. Haha
Where did you study Photoshop?
Hahahaha, at the convenience of my own room. No, I have a close friend who is good in Photoshop. Siya talaga mentor ko. Di pako tapos mag-apprentice sa kanya actually.
So how did you become that…good?
Innate na talaga sa ‘kin ang kalokohan. I only need an outlet — like Photoshop — to showcase it further.
Where do you get your materials?
From Mr. Google, of course! But ideas, mostly sa mga naalala ko from ’90s and kung ano ang trending.
Can you give our readers a tip? Anong page/Twitter account ang masarap puntahan para sa mga ganitong kalokohan?
Hmm.. Sa 9gag at señora santibañez FB page. Haha or from this page: Pa-edit Pls by BJ Bernales official Page.
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