Hello. I’m Angel, and I am a photographer based in the picturesque Hudson Valley, New York.

my first encounter with photography was back in high school when I took a photography class and where I learned to shoot and develop black and white film. I remember my first assignment was to find interesting things to photograph in our neighborhood. In my small town a new shopping center was being built so I photographed the construction site and focused on the heavy machines. While those photos weren’t especially great, my teacher explained that they showed I had a comprehension of good composition and use of angles. I shot machines that were parked on dirt mounds from a low angle making them large, powerful and imposing in the frame. The teacher liked my photos and encouraged me to pursue photography further but I didn’t immediately follow his advice.

Not long after high school however, I began to realize my true passion for photographic images. I used to tear pages out of fashion magazines of photos I liked and tape them up on my living room and bedroom walls. I was young and broke, so I couldn’t afford to buy actual art work. Those images may have been on the pages of magazines instead of in frames or galleries but many of them were works of art in their own right. My recognition of that fact made me understand my attraction to visual art as a whole. I’m drawn to Photography in particular because I find joy in the photographic process from start to finish. Conceptualizing an idea, set-up, shooting, working with various subjects human and otherwise, composing, editing and recently even printing my work.

In the early to mid-nineties, I had a collection of black and white Calvin Klein ads 0n my living room walls. One wall had some of those ads taped in the shape of a giant C facing one corner, while the opposite wall had a giant K at the start. I also had many other magazine pages of photos that I liked up on my walls. I didn’t even know the photographers that took those pictures at the time. It seems silly now but back then I didn’t yet connect my attraction to those images to my enjoyment of photography because I wasn’t actively pursuing it. At least not yet.

It wasn’t until I began shooting my own photographs again in the early 2000’s that I started to put it together. this time with a small digital point-and-shoot camera. I got a lot of positive feedback on my photos by family and friends. I embraced that positivity and began learning more advanced skills, primarily by shooting as much as possible.

As I became more immersed in the world of photography, I learned about some well known fashion photographers of the time, such as Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton, Steven Meisel, and Mario Testino.

Over time, I also discovered and researched other photographers whose work I admired like Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Herb Ritts and many others. I delved into their respective techniques and styles, and as my knowledge expanded, my passion for photography grew along with it. I later transitioned to a digital DSLR crop sensor camera, which allowed me to shoot with 35mm and 50mm primes and an 18-55mm zoom lens. Over a decade, I captured a diverse range of subjects, primarily landscapes, family and friends, and vacation photos, all in natural light.

As I ventured further, I experimented with constant lighting, strobes, various modifiers, and other photographic equipment. Those experiences taught me a lot and gave me additional confidence in my skills and ability to make good images. My primary subjects now include people, landscapes, and horses, particularly, but all animals. While I routinely explore various other subjects and genres, such as street photography, intriguing abandoned buildings and sites, and countrysides, I find immense satisfaction in capturing the mundane of day to day life. These encounters provide ample opportunities to refine my eye and skills.

Currently, I use a mirrorless full-frame camera, with 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses as my primary setup. As my daily walk around and main travel shooter, I often carry my smaller, modern crop sensor camera with a fixed 23mm lens. either way, I almost always have a (real) camera with me and continue to shoot nearly every day.