My path to get here was not much different from the path of many others of my generation. I started my professional life in an activity that I have an affinity for, which gave me many opportunities for growth and learning. It was a job that offered me some stability and had no routine, being challenging every day. I liked and still like to be an engineer, to build houses and see new buildings being raised from the ground a little bit every day.
But life passed through the years, the children arrived, and my way to see what works in my life changed. My past dreams no longer had a place in my future life. The great construction company that I always wanted was no longer a dream, but just a memory of a future dream that no longer makes sense.
What makes sense then? In this slow personal change, and in the search for this answer, photography grew in my life and took up more and more space. It was something I always liked, that became a hobby and then turns into my second job and the desire to become a Photographer with a capital P only grew. But I do not have the courage to leave a good job with a good payment to start a new career from scratch, especially with two children to raise.
Fate gave me a little push towards this new career. The crisis arrived, the construction market almost stopped, and I no longer had a good job with the great salary holding me back. It was now or never. I left my job with the certainty that, from that date, I would be a Professional Photographer, and this change was only possible thanks to the support and encouragement I had from Marcela, my wife. I naively entered this new market, not fully understanding how it worked, not knowing what to sell and how to sell it, but with the certainty that I would learn everything a professional photographer should know, without forgetting what an amateur photographer loves to do. Since then, I have sought to improve myself, studying, taking courses, and working hard to acquire more and more experience, which always makes us feel good.
Photography is becoming more than just a business for me. It is the opportunity for me to register what really makes sense in our lives. It is our memory eternalized in images and good memories. I realize that what makes sense is not just the weekend, the vacation trip, the special tour, the new car, or the bank account with a lot of money. Our day-to-day, the breakfast with the children crying, the 30 minutes together as a family at the end of the day before the little ones go to sleep is what makes sense. Daily life is what makes sense. And with photography I can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, recording the memories and joys of our often forgotten daily life.
From engineer to photographer. From technician to an artist. I don't consider myself an artist, but I think that the best words to resume would be from engineer until a photographer, because in my change I always seek to reconcile these two sides, often antagonistic, within me to capture memories and moments that convey emotion without forgetting all the technique that the photography requires.
Our personal search is constant, but I can say that today I find myself in a place where I feel fuller and happier. If you know me or knew me as an engineer, then I am very happy to introduce myself as a photographer. ;)