Sometimes you don’t realize the value of being in a place until you’re no longer in that setting and the only recollection you have of those moments live in your mind without necessarily owning anything tangible to share about it.
I lived in El Salvador for 5 years and with the exception of brief anecdotes that highlighted significant events, I’m regretful in not owning a camera to document experiences that became quite uncommon in comparison to what you’re use to after having lived only in New York before.
Everyone’s perception of the world is unique and so it was that insight of having lived abroad and natural curiosity of the world which ignited my interest in photography.
Since then, the insatiable need to always have a camera with me has stuck. In terms of my work, I typically don’t catalog it to a specific style because I take joy in photographing anything but what remains constant is the journalistic mentality in wanting to examine the ordinary and present it in a way that makes it interesting and a lot those opportunities have happened during travels.
I’ve learnt that once you’ve embraced photography, it’s a natural thing to immediately have the desire to want to travel more and that the expense of it becomes a trade off when you find that there’s commercial value in it.
People will forever have the desire to admire places that they won’t necessarily visit themselves but it takes that passion of a photographer to explore and integrate their discoveries through their work in a way that makes a place worth visiting.
As someone who’s deeply obsessed with travel, I look for inspiration in the works of Travel Photographers such as Mitchell Kanashkevich, Tom Bourdon, Trey Ratcliff and David duChemin.
Every photographer’s ultimate goal is to be able to monetize from their work but I believe the first step is to recognize what you think is perfect for you in terms of style because quite often many newcomers start out doing what everyone else is without acknowledging what already comes natural to them.
For me, it’s the perfect blend of traveling and photographing that I love and if I had the career that allowed me to do so, getting paid for it would absolutely feel like a bonus.
At the same time, I don’t find the excuse of having not boarded a plane for not being able to deliver compelling photographs to describe how I felt about being in a place. It’s less about the gear and place and more about how you’ve chosen to see things.
My online portfolio can be found at Jorgeq.com and I describe myself as and Avid Travler & Photographer based in Brooklyn.
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