Why did you become a photographer?
I was born and raised in a place, where the streets, the people, the colors, the architecture and the culture, get together and become one big source of inspiration, this place is called Mexico. Also, I happen to have a dad that is a big fan of photography, and since a young age I was in contact with this media, and for me it just felt right to do what at the beginning started being my passion, and now it has become my obsession: photography.
What/who is your inspiration?
Most of my inspiration comes from darkness, books, movies, and personal experiences. I try to capture how in all of us there is a dark side which most of the time we never try to discover, but is always there and few of us can see it. As a photographer, I owe to myself to know what has come before me, and that's why I find profound inspiration to the "classics" of photography such as Paolo Roversi, Herb Ritts and Helmut Newton; and also in more contemporary photographers such as Diego Uchitel, Mike Lewis and Robert Gaudette.
The best thing you have photographed?
I have never thought of what has been the best thing I have photographed, I think I'm constantly thinking of what is next. Once a project is done I tend to focus all my attention on the next one.
Any exciting work coming up?
I'm 20 years old, and I just came to this amazing city (London) to study a Masters Degree in Fashion photography at London College of Fashion. For my master project I'm planning to create a project called "In Between Medias" which will consist of a series of cinemagraphs, which are moving photographs to represent a whole new movement of what is happening now in the photography industry.
www.josemontemayor.com
