MANILA, Philippines - Although he?s the boyfriend of lead star Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo unobtrusively went about his business as photographer on the set of Dante Nico Garcia?s ?Ploning? on Cuyo island in Palawan.

Unfettered by the constraints of celebrity, he says he had a field day taking snapshots not only of the movie?s cast and crew, but of the local residents as well.

?I took photos of kids playing in the streets,? he recalls. ?I?ve taken photographs of children in other places, but Cuyonon kids are different. They look straight at the camera. They don?t have insecurities. It?s as if they?re all grown up.?

In the same way, adults on the island were easy subjects, too, Ryan recalls. ?They don?t mind [having their photos taken] and they?re not defensive in front of the camera. They have an easy confidence. I think it?s because they?re proud of their rich culture.?

One night, while huddled in front of a bonfire, Ryan showed his photographs to the cast and crew. ?Everyone kept telling me to publish a book. I was hesitant at first.?

Until Judai herself persuaded him. ?Judai said she wanted the book to be my birthday gift to her.?

Ryan says the book of photographs, titled ?Ploning: The Making,? is but one of his many gifts to his girlfriend who?s turning 30 on May 11.

Thus inspired, he went home with 4,000 images from the island.

From that number, he narrowed it down to 600, then to 400. ?By then, Ga [Dante] was already back in Manila and he helped me choose the 200 pictures in the book.?

As of now, the book, priced at P1,900, is available during the film?s special screenings set this week, as well as in the flower shop of Roberto Antonio in Quezon City.

?We will put a link with contact details on the movie?s website soon. We also hope to sell it in bookstores.?

He admits that he has yet to process in his mind their three-week stay on the island.

?One realization is that Judai and I can work separately on the same set,? he notes. ?She?d act; I?d shoot. We could be together and be apart at the same time. There was constant togetherness and yet so much freedom and individuality as well.?

The island allowed them to ?to experience real life. We could walk the streets and eat in turo-turos (roadside food stalls). Cuyo had a profound effect on us.?

(E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com)