Willing to risk his life for the perfect shot, Guido Tamayo is a landscape photographer unafraid of the challenges of his craft.  New York based, his photography depicts a grittier Big Apple, far removed from the usual glamour and famous sites of the city.  Read more to find out the picture that could have cost him his life, his photographic passions and what it’s really like to be a photographer in New York.

Why photography?

For me, photography is not just a hobby, it’s a passion that grows within me, that drives me the extra mile to produce a photo. Also, its not just about taking a picture of the scene I see, its more about visualizing the photo in my head before capturing it.

How does New York contribute to your photography?

New York is filled with its main attraction sites and yet has its untouched and abandoned sites that are less thought of. These are the places that most attract me because I want to capture the feeling behind the photo to expose and tell a story of how this place got to be. This is how NY contributes to my photography.

How do you see the role and main responsibility of a photographer?

The responsibilities of a photographer I see are simple: do not harm or create any sort of danger to the environment,  always be aware and sharp about your surroundings even if you think its safe and be responsible for your equipment.

What’s your favourite thing about New York – generally and photographically?

My favorite of NY has to be those abandoned locations I discover. To see and capture the scene gives me a pleasure of accomplishment and these are the places I want to give exposure.

What qualities would you like to develop as a photographer?

Taking the photo is only one of the qualities a photographer has to master. The main quality I want to develop as a photographer is right timing and having more awareness of my locations since I’m a landscape photographer.

What is your favourite picture from your collection and why?

My favorite pick from the collection has to be the “under the train” photograph. This shot gave me the courage to risk my life and take a photo many wouldn’t. I was literally on my belly on floorground while i waited for the train to pass by. I used a fast and high shutter speed to freeze the train but the train itself wasn’t moving too fast at all.

Are there any photographic projects you would like to create and complete in the distant future?

Well I’m working on creating my own page to increase my exposure but besides that, I’m adding more photos to my portfolio hopefully to showcase at a gallery.

What do you currently have lined up?

First is my portfolio, my webpage follows up and hopefully after comes the gallery in either Chelsea piers or in a local gallery in Queens.

http://www.flickr.com/genzhood48

Koko flashes its spotlight on this highly talented New Yorker’s photography.

Can you give us a bit of background info about yourself? Whereabouts in the world you’re located,? How did you get into photography?

I’ve been born and raised in New York City as a first-generation Israeli.  I started playing around with my mom’s archaic Olympus point-and-shoot when I was around 11 or 12 and by the time I was 14 or so, I had started playing (though a little more carefully) with my dad’s collection of Nikon f-series’ (f2, f4). Being in a city that has given me almost too much to photograph, I feel that it all sort of happened at random. For whatever reason, photography is just one of those things that makes sense to me, like not much else does, so it has stuck.

What does photography mean to you?

Photography is the one thing that consistently makes me happy. In the darkroom, hands soaked in chemicals, no matter what happened to me that day, and no matter what I can project will happen to me the next day, photography is my happy medium.

Are you more spontaneous or prepared when deciding to take a shot?

It all depends on what I’m shooting and what I’m shooting with. If I’m buying film by the sheet and renting a huge large format camera, you can bet that I won’t be spontaneously pushing down on the cable release. Photography for me is less about the spontaneity or the preparedness, and more about the end result. When I know what I want, I do what I need to get it, and whether that is to wait for it to happen or to make it happen….well that all depends.

Can you tell us about your photo essay “how we judge based on a person’s hair”?  How did the idea arise and how did you pick each person?

Well, I noticed that as human beings, we judge immediately based on what is readily at our eye level. Regardless of our height, people’s faces and heads and therefore their hair, become our focus. We make assumptions on what a person is like based on their hair, no matter how unbiased or non-judgmental we claim to be. In terms of the shoot, I chose classmates, co-workers and friends that I felt had hair styles that epitomized each of them respectively. Whether it was because they wore their hair like that everyday, or had a beard of biblical proportions, their hair defined and continues to define their “look.” Take it for what you will, but this is in no way a fashion shot, or an editorial-esque assignment. My direction was simply to just capture, as photography tends to do, the essence of their hair and therefore, them.

What do you enjoy most about travel photography?  What has been your favourite place to take this kind of photography, and why?

I enjoy the novelty of being in a different environment than my own. When I travel, whether on a road trip or by plane to a different country, I find that I am most interested in what I personally don’t have back home. Street peddlers bargaining exotic fruits and horse-drawn buggies dressed in traditional garb, these are things I don’t have in New York City. The colors are different (even when shooting in black and white) and the atmosphere is strange and fresh. So far, I haven’t done nearly as much globe-trotting as I want to in my lifetime, so my travel photography has been limited to Israel, Jordan, Canada and some southern States (yes I consider that traveling!). Israel and Jordan have been my favorite places to take travel photography because of their culture and the strong connection I have with the region.

A lot of your pictures are black and white.  Why is this?

There isn’t one simple answer as to why I prefer black and white over color. I feel that when your eye isn’t distracted by saturated colors and vivid shades, that you can really focus on the subject. My photography is about the subject, whether it is an actual person or an object or a landscape, not about the color.

What’s the most important thing to communicate to the viewer through your photography?

The one thing I want to communicate through my photography is the sense of immediacy and expression. When people look at my work, I want them to hear the words that finish the subject’s sentence. The object of my photography is to get the viewer to feel like the viewed. When I have achieved that, is when I feel personally accomplished and thus perfectly communicated.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saarshemesh/

For Cristina Inchaustgui Massieu, photography is more than the mere clicking of a button. It’s a way of communication says the sometimes misunderstood nineteen year old. ‘Photography is my tool to see within people, and my offer to get them to see through me.’

Whilst life doesn’t always provide the opportunity for everyone to ‘stop and smell the flowers on the way’, it is Massieu’s mission to convey the essence of life in her pictures. ‘It is my way to say the world is more beautiful than we notice.’

Read the interview below to find out just what makes Cristina tick and click.

What do you look out for when taking photos?

This is a hard one. I look for something spontaneous, dreamy, something quite hard to explain. I look for emotions and music in my photographs.

How do you know when you’re happy with a shot?

I am hard with myself sometimes. I am only happy with my photographs when I feel I didn’t only capture a moment, but a whole story that’s up to you to create.

What do you enjoy most about photography?

Oh my God, I dunno. I certainly enjoy photographing female bodies the most, although my post processing is always fun!

What has been your favourite photograph taken so far and why?

I’ve been afraid of this question since I can remember! I don’t think I have a favorite one, I love them all together.

How do you decide when something is worth capturing?

It is this glitch in my head that tells me, “This is what you’re looking for right now”. My needs as a photographer are sometimes hard to please, but when something seems part of a story worth telling, this is my chance to capture it.

Is there a particular branch of photography you would like to explore?

I’m particularly interested in fashion and portraiture photography, although I want to explore as many fields as possible.

www.flickr.com/people/cimassieu/

www.spiderspirit.deviantart.com/

Mariela Feliz Fernandez’s seventeen years of age belies her immense photographic talent. The New York-based Dominican specializes in fashion and portraiture shots. Her captivating images show her off to be a dynamic storyteller, narrating through the lens and offering the viewer a glimpse of the world as she captures it. Whilst interpretation of each shot may differ, the question of the photographer’s giftedness is certainly a matter of no dispute. Read below to find out more about Fernandez’s inspirations, her thoughts on conceptual photography and what it’s like to be a photographer in the Big Apple.

What inspired you to begin photography?

I’ve always been interested in art but I started photography at the age of 14 and a half. When I found out about deviantART.com and I was shocked and amazed by all the amazing photographs that were on there it inspired me to want to do the same and it keeps me motivated.

Has the location of New York provided any interesting photographic experiences, and if so, could you give any examples of them?

Well yeah, because the streets and the different cultures here in New York inspire to create Art – that’s how I see it. It’s incredible when for example you go to the Central Park , everything that you can see there is just beautiful, every single side of it is very pretty. I love shooting outdoors, and here in New York, yeah, you can say there’s a big variety of places where you can find the right spot that you are looking for your shoots.

What do you try to convey through your photos?

Themed shoots, original, creative, raw, impossible, fine art, innovative fashion, glamour, bizarre, strange, timeless, delicate, dark, nude, dreamy, fetish, fantasy, erotic, disturbing, twisted, body paint, surreal & improvisation – any or all of the above though I am not interested in shooting typical portfolio work on a collaborative basis.

What has been your favorite photograph taken so far and why?

Wow, there is a lot hahaha, but my favorite favorite one is the one called “Temptation”(shown right).

Why fashion photography and portraiture?

Because I love the creativity that you can bring to it, is so indescribable the feeling of making someone feel good in front of the camera and I love spending hours and hours editing, retouching and selecting the best photos from the set.

Is there any other branch of photography you would like to explore, and if so, why?

All of them… Actually conceptual photography in general, is pretty interesting. It’s like leaving people with thoughts in their head trying to figure out what’s up with that photo.

What are you up to currently?

Well, I’m a High School Senior, graduating in June 2009. I’m doing several projects with a couple of models and friends, and yeah, you guys will see soon.

www.flickr.com/photos/mffphotography/

http://unspokenskull.deviantart.com/

http://notebookmemories.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/ihateubutiloveu