The earliest memory of photography that I can recall is when I was around eight or nine years old, trying to take family portraits with my dad’s camera. He felt a little bit afraid that I might spoil his new purchase.
My first assignment came during a political crisis in the last days of former Peruvian President Fujimori’s rule. I covered protests in Lima’s main square in the evening using a manual flash, and the results where not as I expected… I remember shooting nice frames for me at that moment, but when my films where developed the light exposure was quite bad. After that experience I began to experiment a lot with my flash and slow exposures.
The assignment that left the biggest mark on me was the 2007 earthquake in Pisco, south of Lima. It was the first time I faced a really dramatic situation of death and destruction.
Positive assignments excite me most, I think. I like stories that show people overcoming difficult situations and that document the times when a person or a group achieves a goal. I also really like to cover all kind of sports, played at their best.
I want my pictures to attract the attention of people in many different parts of the world when they visit their favourite news website or when they look at a kiosk or newsstand while buying a newspaper or magazine.
My biggest lesson has been that there is always something else to learn.
I respect the humble people, because they will always be the wisest.
