Pack your bags, 2014

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Earlier this month I got to spend one of the funnest days ever with some really special people. I'm always fond of adventures and quality time in small gatherings, and I think thats why I loved the small trip so much. One of Regis's friends has a beautiful country house on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa and he invited us and a few other friends over on a Sunday for a well-deserved break from the city and relaxing time to enjoy the season's weather. Regis had already been at the location during summer and had been eager for me to be able to tag along sometime. As soon as we got there, I immediately knew why. Carlos' (Regis' friend) Monteredondo house and land is the perfect getaway destination and an ideal get-together spot for a change. Vast acres of land, a lake, barnhouse, and the coziest, big wooden cabin all make up the Monteredondo landmark, and it its absolutely breathtaking. It is all surrounded by the region's mountains and hills, which adds to the astonishing panorama. As a photography enthusiast, I was thrilled to snap shots of all that I could, and I did. 

All the people involved have some of the best sense of humor I know, so we all had an exceptional time laughing, sharing, sipping on Honduran beer, and adventuring on and around Monteredondo. Not to mention one of the highlights of the day that included kayaking at the lake and three of our friends flipping over. THAT was truly something. Close to sunset we went up the mountain riding a Rhino kart, and even though we were nearly freezing cold, we all enjoyed gathering for pictures and simply enjoy the stunning view for a while. 

I was happy to hold my camera in my hands for the majority of the day, taking photographs and capturing moments and details of the location on video. I recorded some of our day talk and hanging out, and b-roll from indoor/outdoor details in hopes of putting together a short video of the whole day later on. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I decided to go with it and also give my post-production skills some practice. The final product is a cute -and funny- short movie of the highlights from our Monteredondo weekend. I'm excited to share this experience with my readers, and once again with the small group of friends who got the chance to live it with me. Moments and company like these make me love life more, and keep me looking forward for more impromptu trips [to Monteredondo :P] in 2015! I hope all is swell and my best wishes go out to all of you as we say good-bye to another unforgettable year. 

Watch "A Monteredondo Weekend" on VIMEO !

xx, J

The Orchid: Eat. Sleep. Create.

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At the beginning of this year, I was determined to make the most out of myself, my tools, my talents, and life itself. I felt the urge and need to commit and let myself be inspired by anything that ever moved me to become a better creative. As the introvert type, any form of art has always been by best tool for communication and expression, but it doesn't mean its always easy to do. I've shared before that I'm a perfectionist and have always held back of taking risks. It's part of who I am. My tendency to overthink has been my worst enemy, and all my life it has affected the way I've made decisions. However, all throughout this 2014 I've helped myself mature on this, and although its been a rough and slow process, I've finally pushed myself ever than I have before. The best part is I've actually moved! After a long process of getting my ideas together and setting up real goals and aspirations, I decided to act upon a vision that I could actually work for to make true. Even though this is still walking in baby steps, the goal is to do more of everything I have a passion for, because ultimately, it makes me happy. 

Late summer I started doing some serious thinking on the topic,. When I was finally able to put a finger on the exact idea I wanted to give chase to, I started working for it almost immediately. These past few months have been tough on me, because I was worried I would let the plan slip again (as I almost always do with everything else), since I didn't really have the time to work on it. Its all been a crazy juggling of tasks between college and personal assignments, which up until last week had me feeling frustrated and extremely stressed. Even so, I didn't let myself give up even if it cost me the fatigue and not give my best performance at everything else. Talk about determination! I deserve a pat of the back alright.  

Anyway, with a simple idea in mind and a slight (but assured) drive, I decided to meet up one by one with several people who I knew share the same love for art and who I admire for their talents and work. Thats really when The Orchid started. I kept thinking to myself, I am constantly surrounded by and meeting people who have exceptional talents but for some reason aren't making the most out of it, and audiences don't really know what these people are able to create and do with these skills. Most young creatives in Honduras are sitting still just like me, not knowing how to do more of what they love, share it, earn deserved profit, and be helped by others who share the same passions. So, inspired by the countless other creative communities that exist around the globe, I decided to start my own. The purpose is to build a community of young Honduran creatives who are like-minded and share similar -but in their way unique- styles in their skills towards the modern art forms. The concept? To offer our culture different and new-fashioned alternatives in services in these areas by bringing together filmmakers, photographers, designers and other creative types to share ideas and help each other create freely.

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The first meetings were somewhat informal gatherings with some of my close friends and career colleagues, where I introduced the idea of The Orchid and what the goal was into starting it. It was still a blurred vision but they all became enthusiastic towards the concept I had then and building something as a team, based on our friendship and previous successes of working together in other projects. I let them know I trusted their abilities and felt committed to help keep pushing ourselves further and into better artists.

Then I remember the impulse of texting Michael and calling up a meeting so we could talk about this idea of mine and see if he was interested in being part of it. Michael Vilorio is a graphic designer and a dear childhood friend of mine. I hadn't really seen or talked to Michael in about three or so years, and I still had no idea what I was really doing but I was doing it. I had been admiring his artistry (or "messy work" as he defined it to me) on his Instagram feed for some time and I sort of fell in love with the simplicity, cleanness and style of his work. It'd been quite a long time since I knew anything about Michael, but every time I saw a new post on his feed it just made me glad to see he had developed such a beautiful talent in the visual arts. His style doesn't go along the same lines we're used to seeing in Honduran designers, and that's what caught me. Eventually, I couldn't help myself but want to know more and feel eager to work together in some or any way. 

Michael Vilorio, 2014

We met at a café and it was funny the first thing he told me was how frustrated he felt. He had just attempted to print his business cards at a local printing service, and the printing quality was terrible. I was immediately able to relate and I said in shame, "Si, aquí es difícil". Welcome to Honduras. Hence, I knew I was about to get into business with someone who had high standards for himself and his work style, and that's exactly the kind of people I wish to start this team with. I shared my general idea with him, and asked to know more of what he was doing and his plans now that he just graduated college. It was also probably the first time I said out loud that I was truly interested in pursuing photography more, focusing on portraits and weddings. Sharing all these ideas and plans with someone new was also a breaking point for me in the starting of The Orchid and my personal aspirations. I was really doing this. 

After a long and developing talk about plans and hardships of doing what we do, I think we both felt glad to find out we were on the same page and willing to help each other. I knew I had something right the moment Michael said, "I'm actually really glad you're telling me all this. I didn't know there are people like you here who appreciate the style and recognise the struggle. Everybody's used to the same old-fashioned ways in design, and people are scared of taking risks." To be honest, I felt relieved and excited. Michael didn't hesitate to take part in this little project and also agreed to create The Orchid's logo design. I knew I didn't have to think twice to trust him with the job, and in the end I wasn't disappointed. The logo was crafted with Michael's original handlettering and classic taste, and it well resembles the vision of The Orchid's style.

Feeling that we were on to a good start, I kept searching for inspiration and opportunities to get myself and the team out there. As a result, I've been shooting more portraits and getting better at my editing and composition skills. The idea of doing portraits has always intimidated me, because working with skin and lighting on people is a mastered skill that doesn't happen fast nor easy. As a self-taught photographer, this is an area that challenges me greatly, and I have yet to explore deeper and learn more of. Even so, I am eager to keep giving it my best and slowly but surely gain the experience I need. In addition to my own photography work, we've already engaged in our first couple of wedding photo & video projects working as The Orchid. It's been a huge learning experience for the team members involved, and it keeps getting more exciting!

Whats left is say thank you to all the people who have been involved in this process and to all those special people who keep supporting me and the rest of the team. To my readers, keep waiting on several other blog posts that share about our projects and happenings. They will be coming real soon. 

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This 2015 The Orchid will become its own blog/website, but for now be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for project updates and contact information!

xx, J.

What happens after a Summer full of life and wanderlust

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Everything always happens during summer. The vacation trip of your life, meeting people who become a part of you forever, that lesson learned you'll never forget, that one amazing night that will never happen the same again... I could go on. The list is endless, and the point is Summer is that time of the year when we get busy living and enjoying, and that's when everything that ever means something to us, happens. I might have gotten a bit cheesy there, but seriously, think about it. It is true.

These past few months have made a significant difference in my life, and I'm super grateful about most of it. Or maybe I should be grateful of all of it, because everything always ends up counting for something. May to August was full of life changing experiences, mainly because I was living in another country. It was my first time away from home for that long-- all on my own! And not to mention I got to enjoy my freedom in one of the world's most amazing cities (also my favorite), and in a small town in Upstate New York where I inevitably ended up leaving a part of my heart. In the time I was away from Honduras I met amazing people, learned a million new things on a professional level and about myself, traveled, and lived in a way I never had before. I'm excited to say I'll be able to do it all over again in a few months! I've grown and matured in a dozen different ways during a short period of time, and I think its taken me weeks to realise this and slowly, but finally, soak it all in.

I have been able to give myself a long rest since I came back to Honduras, mainly because I didn't go back to school right away. I've probably done more thinking than ever-- about everything and anything, and at times I've also excelled at being a couch potato. I might not be too proud of that last part. Luckily, some productiveness has resulted out of my long reflection time (Lets call it that). I have a huge drive to start a bunch of personal and group projects very very soon. More than driven, I'm determined and excited about all of them! As an overthinker and play-it-safe kind of person, it will be a huge step for me to finally give my plans a go and simply do things I have a passion for and enjoy. Somebody close to me once told me its not about just doing stuff you're completely amazing at, but challenge yourself and explore other areas that will most probably end up adding to your abilities and interests. So I'm going to start living up to that, too-- I hope. I've always been a wuss for taking risks and setting ideas and plans to motion. But I know its time to start somewhere, with something, anything. I do feel young and inspired after all.  I hope you readers and life lovers stay tuned for whats coming!

It's kinda tough to summarise life lately in a few pictures, but I'm always happy to share some of my favorite moments with you. The candids actually serve me as time capsules, and every snap is part of a collection of memories I hope to keep in my heart forever! Photography is a beautiful thing when you think about it like that. Or in any way, really. Somebody (wise, to my opinion) once said, "If you want to learn what someone fears losing, watch what they photograph."

I think all of my personal photographs mean this exact thing. They're moments, people, and things that I wish I could live, be with, and look at, for a while longer. I've given myself the opportunity to make a visual representation of a slice of my life and how I want to remember it. I get to make others see what I see and even feel what I feel.

I sort of failed at shooting planned sessions during the summer, and part of it was because I spent most of my days and time on college campus. It didn't inspire me much, so my camera was left untouched for too many consecutive weeks. Therefore, I don't regret taking the chance I did one day to shoot some portraits. I'll never forget a random saturday afternoon that my roommates and I decided to adventure around Cortland and Ithaca without a plan. We just had a rental car and intended to use it. I had been curious about a vast field with growing yellow flowers I'd constantly seen on the way to the grocery, because I thought it would make a nice setting for pictures. So I encouraged the girls for us to pull over at the field on our way to nowhere, and made Sofia my model. It was funny and awkward at first, because some bees kept getting in our way and making Sofia uncomfortable among the flowers. I had several ideas in mind of how I wanted the pictures, but I ended up liking the candid snaps better than the photos where I told Sofia what to do. I love candid portraits, actually, because they're as real as it gets. You see the subject as he or she really is, and not exactly what the photographer might have planned to make the person look like. Sofia was probably born smiling, so natural shots were my favorite.

It was little things and moments like these that made this summer pretty special. I lived and learned and discovered different things and it all sums up to one thing really. After some time away, reflection, some work, and conversations, I'm now feeling very creatively impulsive and happy to be standing where I am. Its a great feeling to be inspired and driven by things you want to do and goals you want to accomplish. For me, these past months' experiences have made me reflect, look forward, embrace passions, and want to work on a bunch of things I had been afraid to plan for and do before. I hope you guys keep checking the blog for new updates on this fun journey!

Before you leave, I want you to check out this short film I worked on a couple weeks ago, once again as director of photography, for a competition of short films thats being sponsored by Unicef Honduras as part of the Children's Rights Convention 2014.  My little brother in law helped us out, and was excited to make his first big screen appearance. He is the cutest and most perfect actor! You can vote for this short simply by giving it a "thumbs up" on Youtube. If you do like the film, please do so and make me very happy.

Watch "Blues de Primavera" here.

xx, J.