Carlos Alvarez Montero
We spoke to New York-based photographer, Carlos Alvarez Montero, about his series, M (of Michoacan), which deals with street life and counterculture, and asked him how he become so interested in this subject matter: ‘My fascination with the street culture comes from music. Almost all of my projects are music driven. I love music and I’m always looking for new sounds, I’m very attracted to music that comes from the streets and the folklore around them, from Hip Hop to Cumbia. If there are places that use music as their voice, I’m interested in this places and their people’.
‘About the access and trust, I usually do some research on where I can find the subjects I’m interested in, then I just go there and I start talking to people. I’m as honest as I can be and let them know why I’m interested in them. Respect is a very important ingredient. If they know you respect what they do, then they know they can trust you. People can sense if you can be trusted or not. I always make myself clear that what I want is for them to tell me their story, that I’m not coming with a preconceived idea. When it’s possible, I always give them prints of their photos’. Read more of this interview at the Feature Shoot photography blog.
Tagged: Carlos Alvarez Montero, Feature Shoot, Hip Hop, New York, street culture
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