carlos maldonado r.

Gene Allcott was a blind artist who was present at former Atlanta College of Art -after his passing his family organized the Allcott foundation giving students the opportunity to visit the Empire State, New York.

It was an honor to receive the award as I was able to gain a new perspective as an artist and individual(1:8,244,910). The group and I visited chelsea galleries, china town, the MOMA, the MET, the New Museum, and Times Square.

A HUGE HUGE thank you to Mrs. Sandra Lee Phipps for the kind reference for this trip. She is now in my “Never Forget” list.

I also had the opportunity to have my first photo shoot for an upcoming wellness studio – Bella Vita

Blow is a documentary of my first experience in New York City!

After one year, I finally take the moment to update my SCAD blog.

Before I update my whole SCAD Life in several blogs, I want to post my new experience and realization after visiting the Empire State of New York.

- The Gene Allcott foundation awarded me with an all expense paid trip to New York. There, I had the opportunity to visit important museums such as the MoMA, The New Museum, and the largest museum in the U.S., the Metropolitan. I was honored to receive this award April 05th – 09t where we stayed in a 5 star hotel! (my personal rating) The whole experience is told in the photography series post : Gene Allcott Foundation 

Anyways, during my visit I came across China Town, Little Italy, BellaVita wellness studio, Times Square, Central Park, the Chelsea galleries, Soho, Greenwich village, upper east Manhattan , OUT XL night club, and multiple Gucci & Prada stores.  - long story short, but not:

There was SO much to see that I can’t keep track of my thoughts and every reminder of a scene includes a blur of so many people and objects that I can’t specifically recall. Thinking about New York right now stresses me out. I’m not a writer,  and putting it in writing just confuses me.

So over all, I was bombarded by information.

               At one point, I felt like I lived there because of the lack of attention the people there have to other people.Everyone minded their own business, and walked past  me unnoticed. If I were a celebrity I don’t think they would notice, every one blended  in with each other. There was so many people surrounding me that I couldn’t focus on a single subject, by the time I was looking at one thing my eyes were already moving to see the next. I was already dizzy looking around. And to make the rapidity of the environment even more vivid,  I was trying not to get stepped on by the herd of people treading at my feet. At one point I felt claustrophobic at the idea that if an apocalipse were to happen – where would I run to and hide? There is no solitary ground to hide in, there was always some one at every corner.

So when I thought I was on the path to becoming some one important, staying in new york for a couple days made me realize that I wasn’t even near where I should be, to be where I want to be.

Anyone who ever though I was an over achiever, did not consider the people of New York. I don’t stand near their ability, due to the life they’re surrounded by. So in all, I come short to the people in New York. So that’s my main realization, though I do all I do, it’s not enough where I want to be.

Where I want to be is: A place with so many people that no matter how hard  I try I’m always trying harder.

I want to be where my greatest works are my good works, and my good works, are my starting points.

And where I want to be is where if I don’t take care of my self, I’m not trying to stand out, thus I  don’t exist, and if I don’t exist I cant communicate to the people I want to be surrounded by which will help me get to my starting points in photogrpahy. So it all trickles down to taking care of who I want to be:

A latin male, that considers his health  physically and mentally.

A student who’s pursuing the best positions out there to begin creating starting points that will lead to great works.

and some one who exists, because although there may be so many people in one place, I believe that I can leave a mark – only if I try a little harder than what everyone believes I am already doing.

The people I saw there were leaving a trace of their existence, so when they eventually move forward to the new world, they will be noticed for their presence.

I want to leave a trace of my existence.

So a new journey begins – where I will try to take care of my self  and consider my appearance  consider my health, and track my calories if necessary,but most importantly, making me the one that stands out in 8,244,910 people and more.

Winter Quarter was the quarter of Succes  and Fail:

I had the fortunate opportuinty to make new networks such as Max Sanchez – Vogue Hair stylist, Wanda Barret – Hair Stylist for Akon’s Wife, Carime Randolph – MUA for NBC,Telemundo  and FACTOR Modeling Agency Atlanta.

I produced a brand new series of work that is continuously improving -

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Latin America | Asia | Russia | Africa 

The Failure was that my hard drive crashed and lost all the files from the sessions. So I now only own Five pictures from any of the sessions, excluding Africa. So the lesson learned: Back up five times , and back up again!  Lesson learned just as I was beginning to build my professional portfolio.

I now have two hardrives, google drive, dropbox, Wordpress, flashdrives, and DVD just in case.

During this quarter, I also had printmaking, which now adds to my expertise as an artist.

OnJanuary 6th, after winter break – I have started a relationship.

At this point Andrea has been with Jose longer than J.A.C. and I will be with my partner that J.A.C. has now faded. We’re still all close, but LIFE has happened. . .

This was by far the most different quarter of them all. By now I am a sophomore.

I finally had the opportunity to take Controlled Lighting, so I learned how to use professional lighting!  I produced my first series of product, beauty, and portrait shoots. I also had 3D design – where I constructed a city named Armilla:

Armilla

Whether Armilla is like this because it is unfinished or because it has been demolished, whether the cause is some enchantment or only a whim, I do not know. The fact remains that it has no walls, no ceilings, no floors: it has nothing that makes it seem a city except the water pipes that rise vertically where the houses should be and spread out horizontally where the floors should be: a forest of pipes that end in taps, shouwers, spouts, overflows. Against the sky a lavabo’s white stands out, or a bathtub, or some other porcelain, like late fruit still hanging from the boughs. You would think that the plumbers had finished their job and gone away before the bricklayers arrived; or else their hydraulic systems, indestructable, had survived a catastrophe, an earthquake, or the corrosion of termites. Abandoned before or after it was inhabited, Armilla cannot be called deserted. At any hour, raising your eyes among the pipes, you are likely to glimpse a young woman, or many young women, slender, not tall of stature, luxuriating in the bathtubs or arching their backs under the showers suspended in the void, washing or drying or perfuming themselves, or combing their long hair at a mirror. In the sun, the threads of water fanning from the showers glisten, the jets of the taps, the spurts, the splases, the sponges’ suds. I have come to this explaination: the streams of water channeled in the pipes of Armilla have remained in th posession of nymphs and naiads. Accustomed to traveling along underground veins, they found it easy to enter the new aquatic realm, to burst from multiple fountains, to find new mirrors, new games, new ways of enjoying the water. Their invasion may have driven out the human beings, or Armilla may have been built by humans as a votive offering to win the favor of the nymphs, offended at the misuse of the waters. In any case, now they seem content, these maidens: in the morning you hear them singing. from: The Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

 

Summer 2012 was one of the hardest summers in my life.

It all started with a vist to Asheville where I spent some time with Jessa. We climbed to the top of a mountain and had a picnic ,I also took the time to celebrate my mom’s birthday.

My intentions were not to stay in Asheville, but instead work in Atlanta where I had a secure job. That job position introduced me to the life of self independence financially.> Rent, Cellphone, Transportation, Food, Work, Clothes, Bills – it was brutal. I had whole plan laid out with a secure place to stay after my visit in Asheville. Unfortunately, the house I was planning to say in (which was in the projects) turned out to be a SCAM by a woman who was so called Ms.President. She rode a teal 1980s garage band van. It turned out that she was renting me a place that was foreclosed. She stole a $500 deposit that to this day I owe my parents.(Teal is my favorite color)

So the summer started  from good to worst. I interrogated “Ms.President”as to why  she was being so suspicious about her identity and the ownership of the home, that brought forth a side of her common when two loud women start a fight- she started yelling at me to get out of her property- she called the police and accused me for Trespassing.Before they could get there I was running down the ghettos with 45 pounds of luggage on a 108 degree type of weather, trying to catch the next train away from there.  I was blessed to know that I had my guardian angel and sister Erin Wilson, who was staying in Atlanta at the time. I got to her house looking for a place to stay.

Still during that week, I was trying to find a place to stay and more troubles came my way.I left to get some groceries at the nearby Kroger in North Atlanta where Erin was living, I was on my bike, and as I was heading back from the store the front tire of my bike fell into a vertical pipe drain large enough for the whole front tire to trap itself and propel me forward. The weight from the groceries in my backpack pushed me harder that I could hold back so I hit my head on the concrete road.I lost consciousness for a few seconds- I later realized I was getting moved out of the road by some lady who saw me fall at the nearby Starbucks. I was okay, but I walked back in the pouring rain and a busted front tire.

A week later, my now good friend Kyle opened his doors to me. That is where the new adventures began (I had also now started my job with ATL nightlife as a photographer, the reason I was even in Atlanta.)

That brought new experiences, from making my weekly rent payments, and making sure I had my door key: Kyle had left his key in the room expecting me to have it one night we went out- I had lost it while dancing to Travis Porter. When we got back (Sunday morning 2am) we realized none of us had the key. So we realized we could wait for the office to open around 7am; but we forgot it was Sunday therefore the office was closed until 1pm. We were stranded outside with out any way to get in, a locksmith quoted us at $400 and the whole situation was a mess that  we ended sleeping outside on the tanning chairs. Poor kyle, a male diva who accidentally bought a Prada bag had my t-shirt as his blanket.  I didn’t sleep that night.

Moving forward with summer and various weekends going out and making sure we had our keys my birthday came around.

Kyle threw me a VIP party at Havanna, my job paid two concert tickets for me enough for me and my sister later visited me here in Atlanta.

Andrea went to Hong Kong!

So when july came around – my sister’s birthday, I brought her down to Atlanta for the Enrique iglesias and Jennifer Lopez tickets paid  by ATL Nightlife.

Little Snippets of me in Asheville occurred, for occasional events such as My Brother’s Birthday, Bele Chere,  and Sandra’s Graduation.

 I spent my first 4th of July in the city, which was an incredible experience.

I also found out that I was going to be an uncle. . . (my hear sank)

So much happened Summer 2012 – it is definitely an unforgettable one.

Spring Quarter 3 2012! This one was full of Leadership and opportunity to begin growing as a photographer  - this marks the first portfolios started.  (None of which are in my portfolio today! ) So much has improved!

During spring Jessa, Andrea, and I went to the Passion City concert for Easter – by far the best easter ever.

My first roomate  Derek joins the friend group after two quarters alone, he joins by taking us on a 2am Taco Bell trip finishing with soccer and bare feet on SCAD Atlanta’s roof.

In this series the first picture of Andrea and Jose (her current boyfriend) is seen – by this quarter the Crew is not longer a crew (From fall 2011)> J.A.C.A. has split up  (After an awkward Winter Quarter 2012)> at the end of this quarter it’s just J.A.C.

2nd Quarter – Winter 2012:

Writing is not my forté so here’s a time capsule of my life as a SCAD freshman – so much happened in 10 weeks! – A YEAR AGO!

The first of the first pictures as a SCAD student -

Most of it is old at this point but at the time – it was a brand new world!

Braces – From PRE SCAD – ON my way to the Big City – ATL – To the first time at MARTA – To A brand new friend group – No braces

Wow!

Phew… After a whole year of anticipation Black and White was a BRAND NEW topic for me learning to use film, the dark room, and of course the film camera. It’s incredible to realize that eight years ago I wanted to become a photographer and was anticipated to use the dark room – until Digital got popular and so that was what I started photography with. Now, after those five years I finally had the chance to learn and expand my fine art in photography by adding a new medium to my photography experience. The works produced were, I would say the most meaningful to me because they were no longer digitally processed images to be black and white. They were actually  manipulated by me to produce my artistic visual  thus increasing the value of my images form my perspective. In the end my professor Sandra Phipps was extremely resourceful and got to appreciate my style of work which – “steps outside the box”

I got to work with film, RC paper, Fiber Based paper, developing chemicals, exposing negatives, developing, toning, and 12hr projects.

FIRST  film roll ever:

First Silver Gelatin print using developer and stepping in the dark room:

Creative 12hr Project: We had to photograph one picture every hour. I started at 7pm going through my work night at ATL Nightlife.

7pm

8pm

9pm

11pm

1am

3am

The twelve hour project was one of the hardest both in exposing the negative but also in developing the print because I included two exposures in my silver gelatin prints making this project a very expensive and tedious due to the trial and error process involved with image development.

Over all, the black and white photography class gave me exposure to a new medium I had never used before and can now use to my future artistic approach. It was one of my TOP most favorite classes so far this quarter.

For my final project I did a documentary on the life of an Undocumented Lifestyle.> Uploaded on a different post.

During the Spring Quarter at SCAD I had the opportunity to help out one of my Advertising-Major Friends Allie. She had to get together a campaign for the clothing brand  Hanes as part of her final project. I was very fortunate to take part of her vision and project.

With her ideas and concept we were able to photograph a large group of students that suited a personality that Hanes brand accommodates – Personalities like the Hipster, Business -Casual, and Nerdy look. The shoot went great and allowed for my portfolio to expand just a little more – a great advantage studying at this school.

Here are how the images turned out:

Airi helping out with lighting.

Shannon Tabolt

Hanes – Sport

Large group – successful shoot!

I love collaborative projects! Up next.. my friend’s Britanni Bumb fashion collection.