Award-winning Hollywood photojournalist releases coffee table book of more than 1,000 celebrity pictures

Award-winning Hollywood photojournalist Ruben V. Nepales has released a stunning coffee table book of more than 1,000 photos of stars that he took in almost two decades.

The 260-page “Through a Writer’s Lens” compiles Nepales’ often candid, refreshing snapshots of the Hollywood stars he has interviewed. Majority of the photos in the hardbound book are published for the first time.

“His photos made me curious," Bessie Badilla, the book's publisher said. "They have the ability to make you want to ‘get to know’ more the celebrities that he features.”

The publisher added, “It was Ruben’s photo of Sarah Jessica Parker that got me thinking he has a special talent! It was the best photograph of Ms. Parker I’ve ever seen. Ruben has the eye for capturing his subject’s best angle and he also has perfect timing.

“During one of our dinners in New York with his wife Janet, I asked Ruben if I could publish a coffee table book of his photographs that he’s been taking for many years. I’m so happy he agreed because this collaboration was a joy to make and will be equally enjoyable to all the book’s readers.”

Each of the 200-plus top and beloved talents — from Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Lopez, Kristen Stewart, Darren Criss to Robert Pattinson — included in the tome has an interesting, memorable quote culled from the photojournalist’s Inquirer column of these stars. Some meanwhile were culled from Nepales’ monthly Hollywood feature on Smile Magazine, Cebu Pacific Air’s inflight magazine.

“Through a Writer’s Lens” is Nepales’ second book. 

His first, "My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood," was published in 2012 and won in the print journalism – book category of the Migration Advocacy and Media Awards presented by the Office of the President of the Philippines’ Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

Based in Los Angeles, Nepales won honors from the National Entertainment Journalism Awards and the Southern California Journalism Awards, both presented by the Los Angeles Press Club.

Nepales is the first Filipino to be elected to membership in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the association of international journalists which votes on and presents the Golden Globe Awards. Nepales served for many years as a board member of the HFPA, which is one of the biggest philanthropic organizations in Hollywood (it has donated more than $44 million in the past 31 years to entertainment-related charities, scholarships and grants).

In 2012, Nepales became the first Filipino to be elected as chairman of the board of the HFPA. In June 2019, the photojournalist was elected executive secretary of the HFPA. He was the managing editor of a special anniversary commemorative book, “Hollywood Foreign Press Association: A History (75 Years of the Golden Globe Awards).”

The University of Santo Tomas (Manila) alumnus also serves on the board of directors of the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO), the only Filipino symphony orchestra outside of the Philippines.

Special, limited edition hardbound copies of “Through a Writer’s Lens” are available at $125 plus $10 for shipping and handling; in the Philippines, P6,000 plus P200 for shipping and handling in the Philippines. To order, send a message to: https://www.facebook.com/throughawriterslens/.