Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Jose Reyes.
Hi Juan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started photographing in my college years and have been shooting street photography exclusively since 2008 after learning directly from world-renowned teachers Jay Maisel and Alex Webb.
In 2012 I started the Miami Street Photography Festival, the first one in the genre, which has grown since then into a major international event held every December in Miami during Art Basel Miami, one of the leading art fairs in the world.
MSPF is an international festival showcasing the best of contemporary street and documentary photography and has featured some of the best names in photography such as David Alan Harvey, Constantine Manos, Susan Meiselas, Bruce Gilden, Alex Webb, Martin Parr, and many others. MSPF offers talks, lectures, portfolio reviews, and exhibitions as well as contests that are open to anyone around the world.
What started as a small project in the world of street photography, became really a model for other street photography festivals.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. In the beginning, we faced financial difficulties but then when we got our first sponsor, Leica. things got easier. It was also a struggle at the beginning to have our event recognized around the world. One of the factors that made it a very reputable event was the fact that we invited world-class photographers most of them were photographers that belong to the Magnum photo agency.
I love street photography, and I believe is that love of the genre that helped me overcome all the obstacles. Also, all the people I met during these years, photographers like me, became friends and helped create this festival and grow into what is today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What I love the most is being able to provide a platform where photographers from all over the world can showcase their work. It makes me very happy to see people that never thought they would be in an exhibition all of the sudden have their photographs exhibited during Art Basel Miami.
That’s why I love also organizing photography workshops. I love to create these venues where people can develop their own art and that in a way helps me develop my own art as well.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in Paraguay and moved to the United States to pursue my medical career. I became a doctor and practiced medicine for over twenty years. I also became very interested in yoga and meditation and I became a yoga and meditation instructor.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.miamistreetphotographyfestival.org/jjreyes
- Instagram: @jjreyes_t
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@miamistreetphotographyfest772
