Jordan Antilla
Growing up, I lived with my great grandma. My parents were teens when they had me. By the time we found out my dad was actually my dad, he had been addicted to drugs and wasn't in my life for about the first 15 years of my life.
When I was around 15, I got my first camera. I took pictures of everything. Photography has been a passion of mine for 15 years, but I never considered myself a professional until about two years ago.
I love making people feel amazing with the artwork we can create within a single shot. I want to expand myself and try new things. Right now, I am in the process of getting my Masters in Special Education. I want to combine my two passions and help those with disabilities and help everyone find their true beauty.
As people, we do not always see the beauty in ourselves, and I want to show people the beauty they don’t believe they have. In the last 2 and half years, I have worked hard to accept myself and find my true beauty, and I try to tell myself every day that I am worthy. My life, my work, my passion are all worthy.
Also, I want to expand my photography and try to accept myself in my own photography. I had to work hard in my life to get to where I am today. I tried my best to be nothing like my parents. Not only that, but I tried hard to find a passion that I love and have been lucky enough to find two. These two worlds that are vastly different, and I want to combine them and make them something even more beautiful in the end.
If I can overcome all the trials in my life that could have led me one way, or another, my work will show that I choose the right path each time.
The two shots I am submitting are two new things I have tried in the past two years.
One is with fire: I was doing a photography challenge and I wanted to try something with a newspaper. When taking the picture, at first, the fire seems to be the focal point of the picture. However, when we look at it closer, we see a strong woman in the background holding the newspaper. Her eyes tell a story in a way that I do not know how to describe. There is almost a pain of loss in her eye, with a glimpse of power. The fire may be holding her back, but she will fight through it and overcome the barriers holding her back.
The second picture is focused on lighting and the frame of the face: The face alone can say a thousand words. The iciness of the color on the subject's face brings out the power in her eyes. Her eyes show her power— like in the fire piece— she had pain in her eyes, which gives her the power she needs to be strong.
Both of these pieces are strong women who are overcoming their own struggles and are, in the end, stronger.
