Miguel in Light and Dark
(Excuse the typos, I am writing this with a sore throat and hurting ears, so I am feeling a little dizzy at the moment.)
Ahh Miguel. Beautiful Miguel. Whenever I call him this, he runs away from me. So when I got the chance to photograph him in natural light, I wanted to envelope his winsome features using the chiaroscuro technique (but in photography.) Chiaroscuro is the intense use of contrasting light and darkness in painting that was pioneered by Caravaggio, one of my favorite artists. (If you haven’t done so yet, check out the Caravaggio exhibit at the LACMA which ends Feb 10th It is superb, even though his most famous painting is missing from it.) Miguel will get mad at me for saying this, but he has a natural beauty that was wonderful to capture in these photos (I even included a couple without glasses, just to emphasize the technique using sunlight on his face.)
Like last week’s Francesca, Miguel was open-minded to trying anything new. He had a comfort level with the camera (or perhaps, a comfort level with me since he knows I love his face!) We went from emulating Caravaggio’s style to shooting naturally in the sun. It was a fun, bright day in Silver Lake. For both of us, it was freeing to shoot and experiment with different styles. In the end, I hope that Miguel likes these photos as much as I do. Hopefully, he will stop running away from me every time I turn the corner. xoSK
First Name: Miguel
Designer and color of your eyeglasses: Mykita - black
Hometown: West Kendall in Miami, FL
Current LA City of Residence: Silver Lake
Occupation: Writers’ Assistant
Aspiration: World Traveler
How do you think you look different or the same with having your eyeglasses on/off? I look like two different people depending on whether or not I’m wearing my glasses. I like to wear glasses on rainy days, cold days and on Sundays. I like to go dancing without them.
Do others think you look different with and without wearing your glasses? One time, I was getting my hair cut in Miami at some Super Cuts and the Colombian woman who had cut my hair a couple times warned me that I should get contacts because as you age the twinkle in your eyes die behind glasses. I hope that’s not true.
Describe your first pair of glasses? How old were you? Eeek. I don’t even remember. I was in about 4th grade. My optometrist thought I was faking my vision test just so I could get glasses. I proved her wrong.
How do eyeglasses accentuate YOUR beauty? I was given a very interesting tip last time I went shopping for glasses— make sure the bottom curves of your glasses fall above your cheek bones so as to extenuate them. I am not sure if I did it right, but it sounds wise.
The book that made me cry is: Sometimes I cry because I can’t believe Junot Diaz is that good. Maybe I don’t cry… but still…he’s so good!
Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton? I would rather date a worried genius.
If I could offer a newborn 1 piece of advice, it would be: Take every opportunity you can to learn.
What is the most you are willing to spend on frames? You know what, they go on your face. And you wear them every day. I think it’s worth making an investment on a nice pair.
One thing I have not done that I always wanted to do is: Travel for months at a time. Write about my months long travels.
How old would you be if you didn’t know your age? I feel very young. When I went to visit my grandmother in the Dominican Republic last year she told me she is exactly one year younger than me. *
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