Summary
• Born in 1982 in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
• Pronouns: They/them
• Currently based out of Madison, WI
• Has 2 cats, Piper and Misty
• Loves movies and music
• Trans, nonbinary, pansexual queer
• Likes writing and traveling
• Cancer survivor
• Autistic and introverted
• Music: punk rock, goth and prog metal
My Gear
It's all about what feels right at the time and where inspiration is leading me. I'm not a brand loyalist and I don't need the latest thing. But I have serious GAS like any photographer so you'll catch me lusting over gear on social media quite a lot. That being said my usual setup is a Canon R5 and a set of prime lenses, and I rotate the other cameras. I always carry more than one.
Faves
The trusty Canon EOS 3
A silver Helios 40 85mm f1.5 red P
Any tiny camera, really (currently in love with my Lumix GM5)
Nice to meet you! Let's get a little vulnerable.
My passion for photography came from my dad. A hobbyist photographer, he collected many albums of family pictures, and I was obsessed with them as a kid. In a not so talkative family, where little emotion was shown, the photos filled the gaps in my past and in my neglected heart. My dad would let me play pretend with his then broken camera, and when he passed, that became my toy. Cue to my family buying a point and shoot, and I became the designated photographer because I knew how to frame people properly.
Through my teens, music was my solace. I was raised by MTV, and it helped me rebel against my christian upbringing, so I got interested in photographing concerts.
I started it right out of high school (in the film era), being taken in by an artist who had just signed with a major label. But I was a child to him and never got hired or acknowledged. So I took jobs here and there in portraits and events until I had the chance to come back to music photography. A series of unfortunate events ensued, and another opportunity to work with a major artist was missed, and I almost gave up for good. But in the 2010s, after a kid and a divorce, I had a few solid years of working with small bands and artists in my area, albeit most of it was unpaid and I had to keep a day job. Then I had cancer, and since I survived it, I decided to take the risk and move to the U.S. to meet the love of my life.
Here, I realized I'm part of multiple marginalized communities and that is intrinsic to what I do, but while I processed this - being pushed hard by this culture to assimilate - I tried to follow business advice and to separate my art from personal life. I tried gig apps. Made a small home studio. Paid for advertising. These attempts at being a commercially viable photographer have all failed and made me feel dead inside. I also saw myself isolated and unsupported, and couldn't make connections. Then I got divorced, again.
I now understand that the path of growth is lonely. And I'm embracing the fact that my whole journey and my identity as a queer anarchist biracial autistic person (the list goes on) informs my photography - so I should no longer hide them from the world. Maybe I'm here to find community, and meaning. But being a concert photographer is something that has never changed about me: the pit is my happy place!
