Charlie Mendoza Mendez

Hello, my name is Charlie Mendoza Mendez. I am originally from Bogota, Colombia but I moved to Sydney when I was four and grew up here. I started getting into photography by taking photos on my mum's phone when I was in primary school, and I really got into it when I got my first digital camera, a Canon 1100D, for my birthday in 2022. I started taking photography class at school, learning how to use cameras (digital and film), how to shoot film and print and develop it. I love street photography, experimental photography, portraiture and abstract. Photography for me is a way to express myself, how I think and what I love. Although I love digital photography, and it is my main medium, my dream is to have my own darkroom. I love the process of developing film and prints and I have so many ideas of different techniques I could do to get interesting photos. Film photography adds so many steps to the process of making photos, so many different parts where you can change something and get a completely different interesting effect. I take inspiration from my favourite photographers and artists, such as Man Ray, Vivian Maier, Frida Kahlo and Johanna L Ronn. I have a book full of Maier's photos and a book that is a scan of Kahlo's journal. I love learning about different artists and photographers, I think it is important to draw inspiration from somewhere.