In A New York State Of Mind

I love big cities. I was born in a very tiny country but with a big, bustling capital: Panama City. So it feels natural for me to pick a big city every time I move from one country to another. From Panama City I moved to Barcelona, and from Barcelona my work took me to New York. It was not love at first sight, though. I had already travelled a lot and lived in big cities so New York did not feel that impressive to me. But one thing is walking its streets as a tourist and a very different one is feeling a newyorker for a little while. The city of dreams made me feel alive and powerful and it made me realize that if you really want to accomplish something you have the power inside of you to do it. And no one can tell you otherwise.

It was in New York where I decided that I was going to become a photographer. I had no idea how, when or where, but I knew it in my heart that this is the path that I wanted to follow. It all began when I met my friend Erik Jiménez-Rodríguez, an incredible photographer who is married to my very dear friend. By talking to him about his work and the craft I started feeling that itch inside of me that was telling me “this is the call you have been waiting for.” So I started thinking about it more and more and telling my friends that this is what I wanted to do until I just could not see myself doing anything else other than this. But, how to do it? I still had my full-time job in a different industry, and even though I had already bought my first DSLR, most of the photos I was taking back then were with the camera in automatic mode.Then one day I opened a magazine and saw and ad for The New York Institute of Photography and thought “you gotta start somewhere…” and decided to enroll. It took me almost 3 years to finish Photography school because my day job was very demanding and I had to travel so much that I could only study during the weekends. But with a lot of determination and with the guidance of my tutor Chris Corradino I managed to finish the course. I was only 2 years away from finally having the courage to say “Hi, my name is JC, and I am a photographer.”

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We climb and then we lift

Me during the Art of Collaboration Business Masterclass

Last week I was invited by The Freelancer Club and by Shooting Beauty to be a panelist during their Business Masterclass entitled “The Art of Collaboration.” Like I told the audience that night when I received the invitation I really didn’t know what to say that could be so interesting for them to want to come and listen to. After all, I just started doing this myself a few months ago. But my husband reminded me that in only 6 months I went from not having a portfolio at all to being published in several magazines and having the opportunity to work with such amazing creatives in the many shoots that we planned (spoiler alert! I will tell you all about this in future posts so keep an eye on my blog!). So, that’s what I did. I stood there, in front of all those people and spoke about my journey as a starting creative. And the connection I felt with the audience was unbelievable! It felt so good to help and inspire others with my story. I feel so humbled and flattered by all the positive feedback I have been getting ever since. Being a starting creative can get very lonely and at times even make you feel lost. But when you hear of others who are going through the same things that you are you can’t help but feel related and regain hope. We are all in this together so why not empower each other and while we are climbing reach out and grab the hand of those who are just starting out and give them a little lift. It feels really amazing to pay forward all the good things that have happened to me in the last few months.

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So, how do you go from a [place any non-creative job here] to a full-time creative?

Sun going down behind the Tibidabo in Barcelona

The answer to this question is very clichéed: by taking the first step. It’s true, even though it’s easier said than done. For me that first step was buying my very first camera.

If you read my previous post you already know that I’ve always had this voice inside of me that wanted to express something. I just didn’t know what or how. The only thing I knew for sure was that I needed to do something about it because my levels of frustation with the life I was living were sky high.

I not always knew that I wanted to become a photographer. In fact, like many creatives out there I feel like I am good at many things. And I enjoy doing them all. So on the road to self-discovery I tried many different creative paths: dancing, writing, cooking… and of course, photography. But it wasn’t until I tried photography that I found a special connection with the medium. I bought my first camera very late in my life, at age 25. It was a digital compact camera. I took that camera everywhere I went: on trips, to parties, to family events, you name it. And people seemed to like my photos. I remember my mom would say that she only wanted me to photograph her because I was the only one who made her smile and look pretty. But at that time photography was just a hobby for me. 

It wasn’t until I became 30 that I started looking at photography with different eyes. I was living in Barcelona at the time and moved into a flat with amazing views of the Tibidabo, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. Every day at sundown I was offered amazing views of the sun going down behind the park that were simply too breathtaking not to capture in photo. Those were the views that inspired “Finestres”, an ongoing personal project in which I photograph the views from every flat in every city I live in. 

For the next 5 years I basically took landscape photos, but I don’t think I was any good at it. I just loved the medium and enjoyed the experience of capturing moments. When that little compact camera turned 10 years old I changed it for a hybrid camera. I felt ready for doing more serious work and for starting photographing people. Still as a hobbyist. I hadn’t realised yet the important role that photography would play in my life later on.

I was still an ocean away from discovering my true path…

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My Journey As A Creative

Me at age 3 playing with my dad’s camera

Like many other creatives, I started my professional life in a completely different industry. I studied Computer Engineering at the University and worked in that field for almost 20 years. But everyone who knows me knows that I am not a technical person: I just didn’t have the love for wires that all my coworkers had. Besides, there was always this creative side of me that I felt needed exploring and that was slowly dying inside of me. 

During the years prior to my decision of becoming a photographer I had an internal struggle. I had been working in a great company for many years, I had a steady income, my professional path seemed full of success and I was being given incredible opportunities that were every IT guy’s dream. But I was not happy. I was dangerously approaching 40 and feared that I would end up stuck in a corporate management position watching my life go by.
It took a lot of gut, and a lot of tears too, to finally make up my mind. And I don’t regret it. My life changed completely and all of the sudden Monday’s seemed like an amazing day and the word “work” just sounded like a lot of fun. It was not easy, but it was completely worth it.

Stay with me and I will guide you through the path I followed from doing what I felt was expected of me to becoming the person that I wanted to be.

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