I don’t know about you, but I believe there is something really powerful and impactful about going back in time to reflect about the journey you’ve been through that got you to where you are right now.
As I start this new adventure in this blog with you, I think this is the perfect timing to go back and tell you where I was, where I am at right now, and how I got here.
There was a time when I believed that I wasn’t creative at all, even though I was always drawn to the idea of creating something, and being an artist, I never believed I could. Now I know, most of my disbelief was because others would speak that over me, or because art sometimes is not seen as a valuables career.
Good thing is that I also believe in being outside of my comfort zone, since there is where I grow the most and I thrive. I knew I was at a point where I needed to try something new, and look for something more. That is how I decided I needed to take my first photography class.
Even though I knew nothing about photography, I always loved it. One of my wishes was to learn to take photos in manual mode, and develop in the darkroom. Little I knew that II would have the opportunity to learn that in college. As I was pursuing a Bachelors in Emergency Services (crazy unrelated) I dared to try this new thing, and I loved it, it gave me so much life, and filled my heart in such a way, then is when I realized that there was more into it than just a hobby for me.
One class led to another, until I change my major. Yeah, that put me out of my comfort zone again, but since I was little, I believed that there is nothing more important than do what you are really passionate about as a job, not just have a job to survive an pay the bills, but doing what you love to pay the bills. That idea is what gave me the courage to make that change.
It took me many classes, and taking photos of all kinds of things to find my voice, my passion, my thing. Until one day I had the opportunity to take a documentary class, and I will always believe that it was that class that change the course of my life as a photographer.
As I went through some hard times in my personal life, and I encountered a person that dealt with addiction and homelessness is how I got my eyes opened to the reality that is around us. Once my eyes were opened there was no way to unsee the reality on the streets of Salt Lake City, where I live. There is when I decided I needed to work on a documentary project about that. That is how Light of Rescue was born (Check my next blog to know what this series is all about)
It took me many classes, and taking photos of all kinds of things to find my voice, my passion, my thing. Until one day I had the opportunity to take a documentary class, and I will always believe that it was that class that change the course of my life as a photographer.
Doors were opened little by little and I was able to experience a type of photography that I never thought I would be doing, encountering people in hard circumstances, and being able to connect with them in a personal level, and then have the honor to take their photo as I listen to their stories has no equal. I leaned that my photography was no longer about me, but it was and will always be about them. They are not my subject matter, they are people with different stories, stories I committed myself to tell.
Documenting people and places through my lens is way bigger than the images I get to print and exhibit. Is about shining a light into humanity. And I just get the chance to discover different people, with different backgrounds and circumstances, willing to share a few moments with me, and as I engage with who they are, I get the opportunity to share who they are with the rest of the world through my images.
There is nothing I rather do than encounter people everywhere and as I get to know them, I can give them a space for everyone else to meet them too.
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