Uno Foto...photographs by Lisa Y. Mendez

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW PROJECT (POSSIBLY)...

2012-02-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have had the idea in mind for the last several months to continue the photography project I started last Fall. Only, it was to be more of a sequel rather than a continuation, because I wanted the new photos to show a maturation of my photography process. A couple of weeks ago I decided to dive into this project. I took about 50 photographs in all and I found only a handful to be somewhat satisfactory. Some images were reminiscent of my photographs from the original project and some showed some promise. Ultimately, I need to take more photographs. Also, I may continue these photographs for the purposes of a study of my body, rather than a sequel to "Tentatively Titled".

A WALK ON 50TH STREET

2012-02-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken with my Colorsplash on one of my first walks from Fremont to the U-District. The only thing separating the two neighborhoods is I-5. I used some expired Walgreen's brand film with a 400 ISO-- nothing fancy, but I love the colors.

Work in Progress

2012-02-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

I've only gone through two rolls of film using my Sprocket Rocket from Lomography and I must say, my first group of images are fantastic. The bright El Paso sun brings great contrast to the city's landscape.

A RETURN TO BOOKMAKING

2012-01-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

The first time I had ever made a book was for my Bachelor of Fine Arts show at the Las Cruces Museum of Art in Las Cruces, NM. I made two 5 1/2" x 4" 14 page books that housed faux Polaroids and handwritten snippets from my private diary entries. I also made a book for guests to sign and leave comments. I am quite proud of all of them.

However, that was May of 2011 and I have not made a book since then-- until now. There are three books in progress and their contents are yet to be determined, but I'm happy to be back in the bookmaking swing of things!

LOMO SCANS-- A SURPRISE ON EVERY ROLL!

2012-01-26T20:22:00.000-08:00

About a month and a half ago I located an Epson V500 on Craigslist for $40. I didn't know anything about it, except that my fellow Lomographers had their own Epson's and used them to scan their negatives. Well, I finally got around to scanning in about 10 rolls of film that I've had on my bookshelf for the last month or so, which included rolls shot with my Lomography Fisheye, Sprocket Rocket, Lomography Colorsplash and Yashica. About half of the rolls were cross-processed, which like my title suggests, makes for a surprise on every roll. Most of them can be found on my Lomography home page, but here are a few samples.

Sprocket Rocket

Lomography Fisheye

Lomography Colorsplash

Yashica

Zombies On Film!

2012-01-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

Remember this post? Zombies invaded Seattle-- and in July no less! Well I just recently picked up a roll of film I shot with my Oktomat. The sun was my friend for these shots. The Oktomat is notorious for capturing less than great photographs, unless there is enough light present. It shoots 8 frames in 2.5 seconds. I don't remember what kind of film I used-- probably one of the many rolls of Walgreens brand 400 ISO film I've had tucked away for the last 6 years. No kidding. More shots with my Oktomat (and other Lomography cameras) can be found on my Lomography page.

I USED TO LIVE IN FREMONT...

2012-01-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

As the title says, I used to live in Fremont-- an artsy, bohemian neighborhood in Seattle. It wasn't until last night that I made a pit stop in Fremont and visited my old friend, the Lenin statue, which stands near the "Center of the Universe" (a nickname for the Fremont neighborhood). Mr. Lenin was feeling particularly festive.

SEATTLE GRAFFITI....A WONDROUS THING...

2011-12-25T23:26:00.000-08:00

Just going through my backlog of photographs. I took these photos during the summer when I lived in Fremont.

NIGHT OF HUNTERS EQUALS A NIGHT I'LL NEVER FORGET...

2011-12-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

I've been listening to legendary pianist/songwriter Tori Amos since I was about 14 years old. She's largely considered to be a conceptual artist, however, I can't help but feel a personal connection to her by way of her lyrics. Last night I had the honor of attending Tori Amos' "Night of Hunters" tour at the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle.

While I didn't burst into tears at the sight of Tori like I had anticipated, I did get goosebumps-- over and over and over again, at the thought of what I was experiencing. "I am actually watching Tori Amos sing and play the piano!"

Just the day before the concert, my boyfriend showed me a sketchbook by artist David Mack, which for some reason I had never noticed on our bookshelf. In this sketchbook is a watercolor and ink Tori Amos drawing that Mack created, which I am eternally grateful to Tori for signing.

I don't often do digital photography in black and white; it's a personal decision. I'd rather see black and white prints and images reserved for film photography and the lush luster of a fine photo paper. However, Tori Amos' presence and performance was so elegant; she emits a sort of regal air that I think can be matched by black and white images.

VNV NATION FINALLY GOT THEIR PASSPORTS!

2011-11-25T23:22:00.000-08:00

As I've said before, I love live music and living in Seattle gives me the opportunity to see bands that would never have stopped in El Paso; one of those bands being VNV Nation. VNV Nation, who are now based out of Germany, include industrial/synth/ebm/trance influences in their music. The crowd of people at the concert was incredibly diverse and Ronan Harris, VNV's frontman, was surprisingly comical, making jokes, and gracious to the audience, saying 'thank you' over and over again. Their set was well balanced and included old favorites like "Illusion" and "Dark Angel" and songs from the new album Automatic. However, my favorite part of the show was at the end. After two encores, VNV Nation ended the night with "Perpetual" (my personal all-time favorite song) which then ended with a three minute crowd sing-along of the lyric "Let there be/Let there always be/Never ending light". It was a powerful and beautifully moving way to end the night; I could not have enjoyed that concert any more than I did.

This was the opening band, Straftanz. I had never heard their music, but it was delightfully "poppy" and industrial- a strangely perfect pair.

This last photo is a perfect example of Ronan's comedic attitude. He did several funny poses for the photographer in the pit.

MY HOMETOWN, IN THE SOUTHWEST...

2011-11-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

It's been months since I've been in my hometown of El Paso, TX; I can say by now, I miss it. My best friend currently lives and is attending graduate school in Tucson, AZ, however, when he's back in El Paso, we always head out on these excursions. We like to call them "Tours of El Paso", original, I know, ha ha. However, when I look back at my photos of our tours I realize, El Paso is indeed a unique city and its most beneficial attribute is the fact that it is a border town.

Here are two prominent statues by famed El Paso sculptor Luis Jimenez. The first is titled "Vaquero" and was located at the entrance to the El Paso Museum of Art. As of last month, the "Vaquero" has officially been moved to the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in Bentonville, Ark. The second image is of an El Paso staple, a sculpture entitled "Los Lagartos", which commemorates a time in El Paso when live alligators lived in San Jacinto Plaza downtown.

BUMBERSHOOT 2011...

2011-10-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

Bumbershoot is a three day music and arts festival held in Seattle, at the Seattle Center, during Labor Day weekend. I hadn't anticipated on going, but my love of live music is just too strong. On a whim, I searched Seattle's Craigslist ads for a cheap ticket to the Sunday line-up of Bumbershoot-- and found it! I paid $20 to a tween whose friend backed out of going to the festival last minute. Who I saw: Broken Social Scene, The Kills, Butthole Surfers, Atari Teenage Riot, Tycho.

Atari Teenage Riot

Tycho

The Kills-- I have to say Alison Mosshart is indeed a rock star! Her performance was amazing!

WE'VE COME TO EAT YOUR BRAAAAAAINS.........

2011-10-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of all things horror since I was a kid-- in particular, zombies. So, imagine my excitement when I heard about the 4th of July Seattle Zombie Walk in Seattle! And seeing as how it's October, zombies are totally appropriate. Thousands of people showed up to Fremont (which is also known as "The Center of the Universe") and participated in dancing to local bands and dead zombie body piles. The whole event was incredibly surreal, being surrounded by walking, talking and dancing zombies who cried out for brains and lurched around the streets.

TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS....

2011-09-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Art is everywhere. As cliche as that saying may be, I find it to be the truth. After spending only a few days in Seattle, it was clear to me that graffiti and street art of different types was everywhere-- in every nook and cranny of this city. Of course, not all of the street art out is street art. Nonetheless, if you look closely, you'll find gems like this one. This Aladdin piece was on a wall off of 45th street in Wallingford.

What separates street art from most other art forms is that its ephemeral. Great street art is fleeting and often get covered up by other art. Luckily I captured this piece before it was covered up by an equally amazing piece of colorful street art.

WHO DOESN'T LOVE LIVE MUSIC?!

2011-09-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

That is actually a rhetorical question, because in reality, I would not want to meet a person who didn't enjoy live music. I've been going to concerts for so many years now and I take pictures at every single one of them. Early in my photographic career I decided I wanted to photograph live bands for a living; as a matter of fact, I still want to. Ideally, I want to tour with bands and document their road trip/tour trials and tribulations and photograph their live performances. The concept of telling a story about a group of people who lead an unconventional life fascinates me. It's all about capturing those candid moments behind the scenes, and during the live shows, that perfectly characterize the artist that I believe make all the work worth it.

I've recently fallen infatuated with the world of hip hop and it seems as if Seattle, WA is a hip hop hub, both on a local and national level. Just a few days ago on, September 22, I had the pleasure of seeing Sage Francis, along with local Sadistik and the duo from Brooklyn, the Metermaids, at Neumo's in Capital Hill. I shot this show with my fisheye lens, just for fun, and in JPEG format. So, what you see here is basically what I saw live, aside from some minimal cropping.

"TENTATIVELY TITLED"...A WORK IN PROGRESS...

2011-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

"Tentatively Titled" is a project that I started almost a year ago, October 2010, for my Digital Capture & Output Class at New Mexico State University. When I initially began the project, it had no name and no definitive objective, other than my desire to document my personal growth.

I had begun a journey of self-discovery during the beginning phase of this project that, being in my late 20's, made me feel like a kid again. I was defining myself emotionally and physically as a new woman. I've never been one to "flaunt" my body, seeing as how i was about 40 lbs heavier than what you see in these photographs. It was not that I felt insecure, it just wasn't "me". Nonetheless, I was determined to challenge myself and push my personal boundary limits that I didn't necessarily know I had.

What you see here are images taken in my former bedroom and bathroom, which are both intimate and personal spaces, a continuing theme within "Tentatively Titled".

These images were included in a group of thirteen 11"x17" inkjet prints for my Bachelors of Fine Arts graduation show, along with handmade books and faux polaroids. More images from this phase of my project are soon to come.

LOMOGRAPHY= SHOOT FROM THE HIP!

2011-09-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

I can't remember how I was introduced to Lomography, except that it was oh so many years ago. All I do know is that I fell instantly in love with it! I've always preferred shooting with film over a digital camera, however, each one has its pros and cons. In any case, I love shooting with film because of the element of surprise-- there is no 'delete' button.

These are two shots taken with my Colorsplash, a plastic Lomo camera that includes a variety of colored tabs of acetate that fit over the flash in the camera, thereby emitting flashes of different colors. I have to say, so far this camera has been my favorite to shoot with! I always keep color combinations of my flash and subject in mind when I'm shooting with the Colorsplash; most of the time, I get something cool like these.