Today we’d like to introduce you to Alberto Diaz.
Hi Alberto, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
So I can technically take it back all the way to when I was a little kid. Growing up, I was always the designated picture taker at family parties or events. The reason for that was that the adults always said it was cause I had a “good eye” for it. I figured it was just mumbo jumbo they told me cause I was a kid. Fast forward about 6-8 years, I’m in junior year of high school and I decided to take photography as an elective. To be frank with you, I took it cause I heard it was an easy A and with SAT and ACT the last thing I wanted was a hard class. Little did I know It was there where I would start to realize that photography is actually pretty awesome. The mundane photo assignments in school made me realize that I enjoyed taking photos but I didn’t enjoy the limitations of what the teacher asked for. Therefore, I started to take more photos outside of school but mainly only when I traveled. However, it wasn’t till after I graduated from high school in which I truly fell in love with photography. Out of pure boredom, I decided to get back into photography as a hobby to do when I wasn’t doing school work. It’s been four years since then and here we are today more passionate about photography than ever before!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were ups and downs just like anything in life. Aside from the class I took in junior year high school, I am essentially self-taught, especially when it comes to film. I started shooting film fairly quickly after I got into photography. I made the trip down the rabbit hole of anything and everything film. I had to learn everything about 35mm, medium format, polaroids, self-developing at home, self-scanning at home, etc. by myself and that is all thanks to Youtube University. Aside from that learning how to edit and use software such as Lightroom or Photoshop had a learning curve of its own.
Besides learning all the technical stuff about photography, I think the biggest struggle along the way was finding myself as an artist. Artists use their mediums as a form of expression and thus photographers use images in place of words. However, finding those words was not easy. That is part of growing as an artist and I think it is a struggle that every creative/artist will go through at some point in their career.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve always had trouble answering the question of what type of photography I specialize in. The reason for that is because I don’t think I fit in any specific category. I initially started doing portraits but I quickly came to the conclusion that it’s not for me (although I’ll still do it for client work). I mainly shoot landscape/architecture out here in Miami but honestly as cliche and basic as it may sound, I just photograph whatever captures my attention. I would say what I am most known for are my images of the art deco area in Miami. My images convey a dreamlike vibe that feels ethereal, which I believe sets me apart from others. I am not sure why or how this style came about all I know is that my images are a representation of how I view the world. I am most proud of the growth I’ve had as a photographer. I went from not knowing exactly what I wanted out of this hobby to finding something that changed the way I viewed the world. It helped me appreciate every aspect of life.
Any big plans?
For those that have followed me on Instagram for a while know that I have mentioned creating a photobook in the past. That project is still happening it’s just been tough because what started as a smaller project has expanded and grown to almost double the size. With that being said, my plans for the future are definitely to continue working on that book and hopefully have it out by sometime next year. Additionally, a few other smaller projects have been thought of that are in the process of being made as well. These smaller ones will probably just be a zine and maybe come out before the actual book in order to test the waters. Lastly, a goal of mine is to have some kind of exhibition or gallery setup somewhere so that is something I’ll be looking into but nothing concrete just yet!
Contact Info:
- Email: albertodc98@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Diazpho
- Twitter: twitter.com/bertdazz12
