Has visto desde muy cerca y todo el día cómo vuelan los pájaros del mar? Parece que llevaran las cartas del mundo a sus destinos. "Canto general" (1950), Pablo Neruda
Este proyecto comenzó así, con ganas de volar y seguir el ejemplo de los acompañantes de mis retratos.
Cada retrato ha sido elegido cuidadosamente para representar el eterno vínculo que existe entre el ser humano y la naturaleza, mostrando la vulnerabilidad entre ambas especies.
What happens when your Potterhead sister has a baby and wants photos that fulfill your Potterhead needs?
THIS!
Ya tenía tiempo queriendo hacer esta imagen. Algo que reflejara como siento aquel pasaje de un libro de mi infancia que quedó en mi corazón por siempre. La conjunción de vulnerabilidad y amor es algo que alcanza a marcar algo de mí y quise compartirlo.
I've wanted to do this image for a while now. It's something inspired by something I read in a book from my childhood and stayed in my heart forever. To be vulnerable and loved at the same time is something that reaches deep in my soul and I wanted to share that.
“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
Who doesn't like Film Noir?
Tuve la fortuna de tener una sesión de fotos semi-espontanea en el estudio de mi amigo (y gran maquillista) Bryan Rivera. No pude evitar relacionar este maquillaje con aquellas películas con un clima obscuro y misterioso como lo son las clásicas del Film Noir.
I spontaneously did this photoshoot at my friend's MUA Bryan Rivera's studio. I couldn't help connecting this fine makeup to a dark, moody night like those in some classic Film Noir stellar.
Model: Yuri Torres
“When Kai fell silent, she risked a glance at him. He was staring at her hands [which she always holds mechanic gloves over to hide her...you know, cyborg hands]...
”Do you ever take those off?” he asked.
”No.”
Kai tilted his head, peering at her as if he could see right through to the metal plate in her head...”I think you should go to the ball with me.”
She clutched her fingers...”Stars,” she muttered. “Didn’t you already asked me that?”
”I’m hoping for a more favorable answer this time and I seem to be getting more desperate by the minute.”
”How charming.”
Kai’s lips twitched. “Please?”
”Why?”
”Why not?”
”I mean, why me?”
Model: Marimar Espinosa
MUA: Bryan Rivera
Sabemos que el 2016 no fue el mejor año de la historia de la humanidad. Hubo tragedias, grandes se fueron, y pareció que los videos de "Faith in humanity restored" fueron cada vez más necesarios para recordar que aún existe esperanza de crear un mundo mejor.
Sin embargo, la historia de la humanidad también nos enseña que grandes lecciones deben ser aprendidas, a veces de maneras que realmente no entendemos. Aún en los momentos más obscuros, siempre hubo una luz que surgió desde aunque sea el más pequeño destello.
Yo por mi parte, aunque hubo momentos difíciles; este año uní mi vida a una persona con quien me entiendo desde que tenía 16, comencé una nueva aventura y tuve algunos retos que sé que rendirán frutos en 2017. Es por eso que elevo mi copa por el 2016: fuerte y duro.. pero decidido a enseñarnos grandes lecciones. Y por un 2017 lleno de magia. :)
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
Para terminar el año, tuve una sesión de fotos con mis amigas Grecia, Martis y Ari. Quienes también llenaron mi 2016 de alegrias. :)
Feliz Año!!!!
It was fun getting all dressed up and fancy after the wedding, even more fun looking for a spot that could look like a somehow fantasy forest.
For me, location is an important element in each shoot. It has to have the mood, the colours and the lighting that I am looking for or at least get as close as I can to what I am imagining in my head. However, it isn't that easy. My hometown Aguascalientes is not very "foresty", but you can find wonderful spots when you find out there is always more than meets the eye.
This shoot was taken driving 10 minutes away from the city, next to a private park, right in front of the streets where cars passed all the time, and a fence crossed most part of it.
Fue divertido volver a sacar el vestido, subirse al coche y manejar hasta encontrar un "spot" que parezca interesante.
Ubicación siempre suele ser un elemento importante para mí cuando trato de juntar un concepto específico. Debe evocar el estado de ánimo que busco, los colores, iluminación, etc... En esta ocasión buscaba un estilo de "bosque encantado", no muy fácil de encontrar en Aguas (al menos no en la ciudad). Sin embargo, no resultó tan difícil si se sabe buscar mas allá de lo obvio.
Estas fotos fueron tomadas a unos minutos de la ciudad, cerca del Centro Ecológico Los Cuartos en Aguascalientes. En realidad, estaba algo sucio, los coches pasaban justo a un lado de nosotros y había una reja que dividía el parque privado. Pero los "spots" siempre están ahí donde menos lo esperas.
Hace un año unos amigos salimos a disfrutar del Pacífico en Puerto Vallarta. Le pedí a mis amigas Diana y Grecia que modelaran para mí y tomé varias fotos. Por alguna razón esta foto la deje sin terminar. Hay veces que mi mente se satura y ya no puedo ver que es lo que pensaba ver en una foto.
Cuando pasa esto, apago la computadora y lo dejo para el siguiente día. En este caso, el siguiente año. Aquí el antes y después para obtener lo quería expresar.
About a year ago, some friends and myself headed west to enjoy the Pacific Ocean in Puerto Vallarta. As usual, I asked my friends Diana and Grecia to model for me and got a few good shots. For some reason I left this picture unfinished. Sometimes, when I am editing, my mind has too much information and I end up not liking the result. I cannot see what it is a wanted to see in a picture.
When this happens, I close the computer (and my mind) and leave it for the next day, this case, the next year. Here's a before & after to get the mood I was looking for.
I realized I've never shared the process behind all the stories I try to tell with my photographs. Usually, it all starts with a sketch.
Creo que nunca he compartido el proceso detrás de las historias que quiero contar a través de imágenes. Casi siempre, todo comienza con un dibujo. (Muy feo, por cierto)
I've been trying by best to follow a certain methodology when it comes to creating a concept, delivering the photo shoot, and developing the final result in post processing. So far, I am still kind of a mess. I have the idea, sometimes I sketch it out, but I still have trouble thinking about location, props, colors, etc.. Once in the shoot, I get kind of nervous, sometimes I follow the sketch, sometimes I take other paths, and sometimes I totally wing creating a new concept right then and there.
Puesto que soy un desorden andante, últimamente e intentado seguir una metodología para cada concepto que quiero retratar. Desde la idea, la sesión fotográfica, y la post-producción. Tengo el concepto en mi cabeza, a veces lo dibujo, pienso en lugar, accesorios, colores, etc.. Ya en la sesión, mi nerviosismo sale a flote. A veces sigo lo que dibujé, pero la verdad es que a veces desvarío en otros temas y sale un concepto completamente diferente al que había pensado.
On post-processing, I am not that much of a disaster, I've managed to follow certain basic steps. Sometimes I just don't know what it is that is bothering me about a photograph or what it is this photograph has that makes it special. My solution: close the computer, go out and do something nice, continue next day. I am always surprised about how different a photograph speaks to me after a one day of doing something different.
Tengo un poco más de orden en la post-producción. Existen pasos básicos que intento seguir para tener una fotografía decente al final, aunque hay veces que no sé qué es lo que necesita o le falta a la imagen. En estos casos, cierro la computadora y hago algo completamente diferente, me despejo de cualquier cosa que tenga que ver con la foto. Al día siguiente pareciese que es una foto completamente diferente a la que había visto un día antes.
This is the final outcome. Hope you like it! Big thanks to Anahí García for modeling for me and almost getting eaten by mosquitoes and to makeup artist Bryan Rivera for getting on-board with this concept for me.
El resultado final! Gracias Anahí García por modelar para mí y soportar la horda iracunda de mosquitos que quisieron atacarte. Y gracias a MUA Bryan Rivera por entender cada concepto que quería sacar!
Andar sin rumbo por Costa Rica con mi nuevo compañero de vida fue toda una experiencia.
Muchos que me conocen sabrán que no soy fan del sol, la arena y el mar.. Así que compramos un vuelo, rentamos un coche, y nos dirigimos a donde el destino nos llamara por Costa Rica. :) Claro, desde el día 1 nos perdimos, no empacamos para el clima correcto, y al llegar al final del viaje, decir que estábamos en números rojos sería mucho.
No cambiaría absolutamente nada de nuestro viaje. Son este tipo de situaciones que nos hacen quienes somos, y qué mejor que hacerlo acompañado. Escalar en el volcán Poas para ver el gran cráter en la cima, tomar el camino rumbo al Arenal y pasar por una plantación de café, terminar buscando quetzales en el bosque nuboso de Monteverde. ¿Cambiar todo eso? Nop.
Los paisajes y animales eran increíbles. Como fotógrafa, uno creería que llevaría cargando mi cámara a TODAS PARTES. Sí esa era la intención.. sin embargo, no me la llevaba, estas fotografías quedaron guardadas en mi memoria y en mi corazón sin que nada estorbara. Es como lo dicen en una de mis películas favoritas:
“If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it. Right here.”
En fin.. esto es un poco de lo que sí documenté. :)
Traveling and hiking around Costa Rica with my new partner-in-crime-for-life was definitely an jaw-opening incredible experience.
I'm not the world biggest fan of beaches and sun, so... we booked a flight, rented a car, and decided on a more adventurous honeymoon. So yeah, naturally, we got lost on day 1, didn't pack appropriately for the weather, and by the end of the trip we were completely broke.
Still I would not change one bit of our vacation. Started from Poas Volcano, made our way down to Arenal -volcano passing through a delightful a coffee plantation and ended the trip at Monteverde Cloud forest.
As a photographer, I wanted my camera to be glued to my eye to catch every breath-taking sight we saw. Weirdly enough, I didn't always bring it with me. The photographs stayed in my brain and in my heart. It's like they say in one of my favourite movies:
“If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it. Right here.”
Anyways... Here are the pictures I did take. Pura Vida!
My (new) husband actually does like the beach, like every normal human being.. so I couldn't deny him a visit to Punta Cana after Costa Rica ;)
Creating self-portraits is one thing.. but "couple-self-portraits" is another...
I don't know why but there's just much more logistics to acomplish. Between finding your frame, guiding your partner on where to stand and how to pose, while you see where you're gonna stand and focusing on what you're going to do. That, and then add a little smoke machine on a windy day, and you are bound to forget something. (The ring shot, maybe?)
I guess it's sort of the way life is, you can't direct the wind on where to go. You may not have control on all the circunstances that surround you, but all is good thanks to good company. :)
This guy is my rock, may I introduce you to Jorge, the guy that is always pushing me to move forward. Can't wait to start this new chapter, all the ups and all the downs, wind and calm, springtime and winters I get to share with my best friend. Lots of inspiration to come.
Anyways.. This is how I do engagement shoots.
Shoot! I forgot the ring shot! Ok, no biggie:
One ring to rule (his) all.
Special thanks to our handy helper Grecia. Funny shot getting the smoke right (ha.. sure):
Inception, anyone?
On July 2013, I visited my sister in New York City. Now, I know I don't know much about architecture, and I'm really not an architecture photographer, but I definitely consider myself to be a surrealist.
As there was something magical about New York, and my mind was going around in circles, I came to find a way to create a series of fantasy images out of incongruous juxtapositions, to express some type of unconscious thought and dreams. :)
No, I'm not crazy.
I loved everything about the city, there was something about the rush, the lights, and the sense of opportunity that greatly inspired me to portray it and express myself about it through these photographs. After all, I do love double exposures.
Spring is here, and with it, comes my dreaded allergies.
As much as I prefer shooting on location than in a studio, sometimes my own body is begging me to go inside, have some candy and watch a new movie; to stay as far away as pollen as I can. Now, I am looking for a way to push myself against every obstacle, in my case, often against every excuse I have to go out and shoot.
I asked my friend Noemi if I could go out and take some portraits of her in the flowers. I was inspired by the idea of seasons changing; life is a bunch of cycles that we open and close. There is something quite beautiful about change. I myself am a person who is often terrified by change, but deep down inside I know that even if change comes with some tough side-effects (like my horrible allergies) something beautiful always ascends from it (like these flowers). The thing about it is just taking the leap.
Gracias Mimi :)
When I'm not creating self-portraits, I'm usually asking my friends if I can take pictures of them. I guess I consider myself an introvert, and working with friends definitely gets my creative juices going and my nerves a bit calmer.
You may have seen that in most of my images, a beautiful redhead appears.
Let me introduce you to the soul behind the character, my dear and great friend Grecia. She has always supported me and my photography; I know I can count on her every time I have a creative outburst and HAVE to take a weird photograph of her posing in a strange way or running into a solid bookcase.
I always know that even if I didn’t get the shot, at least I had a great time.
It's a Harry Potter meets photography moment.
This was my first attempt doing a cinemagraph. There is something so magical about them, I’m thinking there will be much more in the future.
Model here was my beautiful friend Ari. She was so great working with Eke, the serpent.
