Today we’d like to introduce you to Noel Fontanoza
Hi Noel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started doing photography in middle school when we had to do a project for one of our elective classes. We were all given a disposable camera to take photos and a week to finish the film. I loved the project and seeing the results of what I did so much, that I would ask mom to buy me one whenever I could. Fast forward to 2010, my friend let me borrow his Nikon D3000 with a 50mm 1.8 and again, I was hooked. I loved taking pictures of friends, family, and everything around me. Around 2012, I ended buying my first DSLR (Canon 5d mark 2) after saving up, and started taking photos of everything around me. A year later, a friend asked me to photograph their wedding, which was my first major event that I ever documented. I started getting more and more referrals, just by word of mouth and growing my personal account on instagram. As I started photographing more weddings and intimate moments (engagements, maternity, family portraits), I wanted to branch out to do more creatively and more projects out of my comfort zone. This lead me to just last year, where some of my work was selected to be featured as part of a gallery. I’m now working on a photo book project and gallery of the neighborhood that I grew up in. Branching out for more creative projects outside of intimate events has allowed me, I think, to improve my photography and enriched the creative process.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. As I continued to shoot more and more weddings and intimate events, I felt myself being drained of creativity. I felt that photography was not fun, and that it was just something to do for extra money. I stopped going out to take photos, stopped inviting friends out to go take photos, it was just not fun at all. However, being asked to feature my work in a gallery and meeting new creatives has rejuvenated that “spark” that I first had when I first started doing photography.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in capturing weddings, intimate events and automotive photography. I’m most proud of a photo of mine being featured in a gallery. Just being featured along with other very talented creatives and photographers has definitely been the highlight of my photography journey. It’s allowed me to meet more people, step out of my comfort zone artistically, and given me confidence in the photos that I take. I think I’m unique because I don’t like to compete with others. I take photos in the style and compositions that I like, not just what’s trendy.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was very shy. I was terrified of talking to new people, talking to large groups and putting myself out there. I grew up playing music, and played the drums/guitar throughout my adolescent life, even professionally for a few years. Music has always been a passion of mine, prior to picking up photography. I think that having the musical background has allowed me to transfer the creative thinking and processing to photography.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozavisuals?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Other: https://www.flickr.com/gp/zomgitsnole/9pa5GKC5BX
Image Credits
All photos taken by Noel Fontanoza (myself)
