Today we’d like to introduce you to Guy Torres.
Hi Guy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My photography journey actually started when I was in college and working at my first job, Da Vinci Ice Cream. I was asked to take some photos for the new menus that were going up, and I was given full control of what should be shown. So during the slow winter season, I rearranged half the store into a makeshift studio and took photos of our special ice cream sandwiches and specials. I like to think this was the moment when I became seriously interested in photography and curious to what goes into making a good photograph. Because up until that point, I was
But my favorite moment that truly defined my style and preferred type of photography, film photography, was actually a random post I came across on Twitter. I had stumbled upon a photo taken by Walter Iooss of Michael Jordan during the 1988 Slam Dunk competition, and somehow I had accidentally opened the image as a high-resolution image. The framing of the arena, the context of the moment, the vibrancy of the colors; I loved everything about that photograph. That was the unmistakable moment I was convinced film photography, and photography as a whole, was what I wanted to explore further.
From college until the late pandemic, I wouldn’t be taking anything as extraordinary as Walter Iooss, unfortunately. I mostly took photos of my neighborhood, friends’ graduations, random flowers, and anything that caught my eye when going out. I was doing more or less the same until I moved to San Diego in 2021 and began to explore the many passionate and welcoming communities throughout the city. People like Andrew and Jenessa from ImStillDeveloping, Narda and Jesse from ListenSD, and all the faculty at San Diego City College all had a hand in welcoming me into the community and shaping me into the photographer I am today.
As of right now, I work as a lab technician at City College, where I also take classes, and as a freelance photographer, usually working with musicians, artists, and other creatives. My plan is to finish my Associate’s in Photography, begin exploring local master’s programs in hopes of setting myself up for a career teaching photography.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For me personally, I would say it has been a little rocky getting to where I am now. Just as quarantine restrictions were being lifted, I moved to San Diego in 2021 from Carson, California, looking for work. It was hard moving to a new place where I knew nobody, had no idea where anything was, or what had been going on in this city since visiting as a kid. It felt like I was stuck in my childhood neighborhood again, not knowing anyone on my block or knowing what was happening around the corner. I felt disconnected and unsure if I had made the right choice. It was hard for me because as I was trying to navigate this new home as I was still trying to learn more about myself along the way. But I now realize that disconnect had pushed me to do things I had no confidence in doing ever before. I wanted to meet new people, go places by myself, and see things I always wanted to see. Getting to move here was a blessing in disguise that I now look back on and feel so grateful for.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At my core, I am a film photographer who loves to work with everything music and fashion. I have so much fun coming up with art-inspired photo shoots with myself or friends, but working with people from the music scene is my absolute favorite. I especially love working with musicians and getting to take their photos on and off the stage because music is such a big part of my life and influences almost every creative choice I make. My specialty, however, is capturing beautiful moments of music on film; big performances in color, intimate recording sessions in black and white, creative portraits on medium format, and even the unexpected moments on instant. I am so driven by this intersection of film and music because I feel they both have this invisible but tangible feeling to them. Music is able to uncover feelings that you may not have come across, have thought about in a while, or even knew the right words to express correctly, and I feel that film is able to capture that energy, document that moment, and save those feelings into a physical medium we can look at and share with others.
The work I am most proud of is my last project, “HUMAN CAPITAL”, where I documented local musicians during their intimate artistic moments while also driving conversation about the inequity within the music industry. I was able to take some very beautiful photos of local San Diego musicians I always wanted to meet, as well as friends that have been so kind to be in the music scene. I had done my best to capture their most genuine selves in an effort to show people that our musician friends and family are not all superstars and multimillionaires. Most of them are like you and me, hard working people who are trying to keep doing what they love the most, make music.
I think what sets me apart from most is my curiosity for everything . I like getting to know everything about a person; where are they from, how did you get here, what inspires you the most, what do you like to create? Especially when it comes to creative shoots, I always wanted to know how something was put together or where the inspiration came from. I have always been this curious person who yearns to always be in some kind of learning environment, so I try to make that where I go. Whether it’s backstage at a big concert show or just even at the nearest corner taking photos with friends, I am always trying to learn more about the people and environment that I work around.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think something surprising most people who know me or know of me is that I am actually unbelievably late to all things art. I watched movies and went to museums as a kid but never really understood the meaning of it all. Only until I became infatuated with photography did I start to understand art and everything that comes and goes with it. All types of art and the intentions, good or bad, behind them. I am a bit of an “uncultured swine,” as some of my friends and Mr. Potato Head would call me. There have been so many movies I missed, so much music I passed over, and so much art that went unnoticed. But now I am this most creative and understanding version of myself I have ever been, and with that I can fully experience and truly appreciate the things that have influenced so many talented and creative people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://guyjtorres.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guyseph.torres/
- Other: https://www.sdcity.edu/academics/schools-programs/arts-humanities-comms/photography.aspx
