About Andariego and Awkward.Fish
The name, "andariego" come from the word for wanderer in Spanish -- I think it's apt for me. I've meandered through various mediums in my artistic career, but the ones I've always come back to are photography and printmaking. I haven't had access to a print shop since college, so here we are, a website devoted to my photography. There's a lot of more recent digital work posted for now, but analog photography is, I believe, my jam.
A lot of people ask, "Why film? Isn't it expensive and out of date?" Yes and no. Yeah, it can get pricey to develop and purchase film, but there are other qualities to it that I appreciate. Namely, there are no instructions printed on a roll of film and it can often times act unpredictably in different types of lighting. But, by far, the unpredictability is what I love about it the most. I've always preferred experimenting, and you can't do that without avoiding traditional rules. Each type of film has its own personality, and I prefer to find out that personality by shooting from the hip (quite literally sometimes). Sometimes it works out, and pictures come out perfectly; no imperfections, just a classically well taken photo. Other times, shooting a roll of film meant for daylight in near darkness produces a a signification amount of grain, adding the texture needed to bring the picture to life. Sometimes, I've messed up and there's just a lesson learned.
Regardless of what the outcome is, film has taught me that you need to appreciate the beauty of mistakes, whether they are yours or not. Like me, film has its own stubborn way of doing things, so it takes time before you learn how to work with it. For me, Film isn't about getting it right the first time, it's about learning and adapting to create something unexpectedly beautiful. There's a nice analogy to life somewhere in that last sentence, I'm sure.
I can, of course, just use the film it's supposed to be used, but where's the fun in that? Where's the sense of adventure and play? Where's the challenge? For me, I'll continue wandering, playing and experimenting with the random, unexpected beauty of film.