Roadmap to Success

Roadmap to Success

Photo By Gredivel Vasquez

Since I was a little girl I have always been passionate about art. I performed for first time at preschool. I recited a poem and sang a song. I forgot half my poem, however my song was a little better. Since then, I performed in almost all the events at my school, until I graduated from HS. At early age, I studied ballet at Nina Nikanorava School.It awaked my passion for the dance and it gave freedom to my soul.

When I was a teenager, I don’t know how a point and shoot 35mm camera went to my hands and I started to take photos of my family’s everyday life. I took pictures of them when they were sleeping, when they were distracted, and when they were doing their daily activities and it was so much fun.

I graduated from a High School in Business to get a “Survival Job.” However, I always went to the theater to enjoy a play.Then, I studied drama in my country, and I was introduced to a universe of creativity, imagination, fantasy, realism and surrealism, a magnificent universe where I belong.Later on, I started to perform professionally, and years later, I won my first award as Best Actress at a theater festival in Venezuela.

In 2000, I came to New York without any money but full of dreams, passion and a huge desire to succeed. Well, the truth… was that I didn’t have any money and I was very fright to be in this paramount city. Since I came to NY, I shoot everything around me with my point and shoot 35mm camera.I shoot street vendors, street artists (my favorite) homeless, tourist, and architecture.NY is an amazing city to photographs.In my wildest dreams I never thought that I would be for real in New York, the Capital of the World, and here I'm.

A few months after I came to NY, I booked small role in a play in a well-known Spanish Theater.Since then, I have been acting in many different plays. In 2005 a won a Best Supporting Actress HOLA award and ACE award here in New York. In addition, I got a very nice review from the New York Times about my performance in a Puerto Rican comedy.I was very surprised and happy when I read it.At the same time I performed at the theater, I shoot my actors friends, the stage, the backstage, the scenery, rehearsals and the magic world of theater.It was when I decided to study photography.The first class I took was History of Photography with Professor Jaime Lyle Gordon.It was a wonderful class. Prof. Gordon inspired me to keep going and taking more photo classes.

Spring 2016 I can believe that I'm one step closer to get my Associate Degree in Commercial Photography. I have learned so much about photography, composition, studio lighting, operate dark room equipment and developed film in the dark room (I call it the magic room) it is amazing to see an image appears in the photo paper like pure magic.

One of my goals for this semester is join up all the images I took from the beginning of my photography classes until this last semester. I would like to see my improvements and create my website.

As soon as I graduated from La Guardia, I would like to get an internship to develop my knowledge in photography and gain more experience in the business. There are a few more classes that I'm interesting to take in LaGCC; these are Digital 2 and The View Camera.Afterward, I would like to work as a Photo Assistant.At the same time, I would like to write a short film script name “Hermanas” which I’m going to produce. I already have the outline, so now I have to continue develop it.In order to get funds to make this production, I am going to apply for grants such as New York Women in Film and TV, and Women Make Movies Inc.In addition, I am going to make a campaign through Kickstarter to fund more money for my short film. When it will be ready, I'm going to do a screening to show my film.

Photo by Gredivel Vasquez

About my future… Well, I recently read a quote from Lao Tzu that said, “If you are depressed you are living in the past.If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”I don’t want to be anxious about my future.Life is changing all the time. However, I am always going to work to make my dreams come true.So far, I want to keep acting, keep learning, keep shooting and I would like to create a series of surreal photographs that one day I wish to exhibit in a gallery in New York.

Photo by Gredivel Vasquez