Antonio Perez is a Latino/Canadian film photographer based out of Montreal, Quebec. He has worked in the wedding industry and as an editor before diving into analog photography. His normal points of interest are portraits and documentary work. Yet recently he has turned his attention to a more visually pleasing mix of street/ narrative work that encompasses both color and a feeling of loneliness.
This ever-growing approach has lead him to keep finding the beauty of locations that were once thriving with life and movement but now might be saddened or secluded. His objective is not to put off the viewer, but to use composition, depth, and color to promote a feeling of peace in what now is remote in current times.
Montreal in times of Solitude.
I had recently gotten laid off from my Editing job when I started shooting analog again. I had a fractured relationship with photography I found. I loved it, but I was lost with digital. Viewing thousands of images a year as an editor I felt drained, tired, lonely, and gutted. I was shooting weddings on odd occasions but felt overwhelmed at times with the demand.
So after frustrating long nights, I decided to hit the “HARD RESET” button and go back to my first love, Film photography. I decided to just get absorbed by it and fully embrace any route I found. Developing my own film, scanning my own film, and being hands-on in the process brought me joy.
COVID was apparent in everyday life and even though people were out and about there was this sense of loneliness in my city (Montreal). I myself was feeling a bit scared of taking portraits or studio work due to the risks it would encompass.
So I decided to showcase places and objects I enjoyed or locations that had once been joyous. I wanted my work to be visually pleasing. To have depth, dimension, and above all meaning. I wanted to take different angles and show the colors that everyday life brought on when so much was still “Up in the air”
I have never considered my work to be Art, as Art can be so subjective a term. But I did find personal joy and creativeness out of what I am doing. I have seen the style evolve and keep seeing it changing. I now process images differently and don’t care about imperfections as the film has many. I do it out of love and I do it cause I guess that is part of the journey in photography, a never-ending love/hate.
To view more of antonio’s work please visit their website.