When I was in the military, I learned a lot about core values. Everyday in bootcamp we were preached "honor, courage & commitment". These core values would follow me everywhere and we would constantly be reminded that it not only ensured that I was a better sailor but I was a better team player and I would do anything to uphold these values.
Today I still keep the values of honor courage and commitment everywhere I go but these are not my key core values as a photographer. Two weeks after I departed the military, I started to think a lot about my own life and what was important for me. I discovered that as an artist there were a built in set of core values that has always been with me and is the very fire and spirit that has given me much of my success through out life. These core values are Passion, Dedication and Commitment.
Passion is why I am an artist and a photographer. Instead of going outside as a child and play video games, I found an interest being behind the computer and learning all kinds of things. One of those things that I found a true love for was for a little program called Adobe Photoshop. I literally sat behind the computer for hours at a time attempting to make art. I never had so much fun in my life.
Passion soon followed me into the military where I learned how to become a photojournalist. It was my mentor that taught me a picture is more than a thousand words, it is something that can emotionally impact every person that sees it. A photograph should tell a powerful story and be something that only you can capture in a split second of time. My mentor was killed in action and his spirit lives on with me. Because of him, my passion is stronger than ever!
Dedication comes from my mother who came to this country from Colombia. She faced a lot of discrimination and ridicule from family on my father's side. Her life went from working as a powerful business woman to working as a waitress in a restaurant where people constantly spit in her face because of her spanish accent. She never gave up because of the will and love for my father. she soon became a business woman again and started to prove everyone who thought ill of her wrong. This dedication is something I can not describe but is most certainly linked to the passion I have for art and photography. When others would play, I would read a manual because I wanted to be the best at it. I wanted people to come to me instead of me going to them.
Commitment was a core value that I learned in the military. When I was young, I had a lot dedication and passion but there was a big lack of commitment. I had no motivation to finish a lot of things and I was suffering big time. It was my lack of commitment that drove me into the military in the first place. Commitment taught me to finish the job at any cost and to ensure that it was done right. There are no shortcuts in quality. I soon found a love for the craftsmanship that I seen come from many luxury brands such as Apple, Lexus and Rolex. I noticed how they pay attention to every detail and how these details set them apart from an industry that just slaps their products together. I am committed to not just be another photographer but a photographer that is remembered well after I am gone.
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