Photographer Interview:
Guarionex Rodriguez Jr.
Picture by: Sania Tharani
BIO
Guarionex Rodriguez Jr. is an artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Catch him throwing that ass back at his shared studio or at the club.
35s & 45s:
Guarionex Rodriguez Jr. is a people person, and his beautiful photography shows just that. Through the years, he and his work have become a staple of the Brooklyn community’s imagery, shooting mostly 120mm and 35mm to capture some of the best humans in the night life scene. The portraiture that he prefers to catch in frame is the in-between moments of a natural shoot, showing the very human side many portrait photographs often miss. Guarionex’s work is intentional, consistent, emotional and diverse - as is he and his amazing taste of music.
Tell us a little about yourself? Where you’re from, where you’re based now?
I'm from Lynn, Massachusetts, and currently live in Brooklyn.
Tell us a weird or fun fact about yourself?
Fun fact, I dance in my studio by myself late at night very often, every week.
What do you dance to?
House music baby, techno, house...or dembow, anything to make my ass shake really.
How long have you been shooting for?
For 16 years.
Did you always shoot film? Or did you start off with digital?
I started off doing digital, but shortly after I was doing film. My teacher, Chris Gaines, hooked me up with a Pentax K1000. He hooked me up with film and basically funded me to shoot as much as possible with film. So ever since then, I couldn't stop shooting with film.
How has your photography evolved over the years?
Over the years? I think it evolved through influences and who I surrounded myself with, especially living in New York, meeting a lot of creatives, meeting people who not only aligned with how I think and work, but also challenged how I think and work. So that helped me evolve over the years and learning how to be more fun. I used to have lots of fun with photography, then it got serious during college, but then it got fun again.
Any specific moment stand out where you knew you wanted to pursue photography?
I think when I was in high school applying for schools, the after school program, I was a part of, they kind of opened the doors of possibilities in working in the art world. That kind of helped me realize, okay, cool. I don't have to go.. I could go study something that I already loved without getting stressed out about work, study and live a certain type of life that I don't want to.
Does your environment influence you as a creative?
Yeah, definitely. I shoot a lot in different cities and stuff. And that even influenced the way that I shoot and always challenges me and helps me think about what I should be doing when... Depending on the environment that I'm in. And I always try to switch it up wherever I go.
“We want people to really understand that there is no such thing as competition, that there's an abundance of resources and actually more to get from people that resource and whoever needs help should get the help. And to always pay it forward.”
You shoot a lot of local artists and friends. Did these relationships form from nightlife? Or how did nightlife play a role in your career and meeting these people?
A lot of my subject matter, I get definitely through nightlife and being present in the scene. I used to approach certain subjects through the internet and stuff, and that never really worked out. But ever since I started really seeing them out and really being a part of the nightlife that's when I've gotten lots of trust from people and that's how I kind of expanded and, and that kind of subject matter. But it's not like I was partying or doing the nightlife to gain access. It just so happened to be that, that was the solution to my problem.
Just from being around it?
Yeah, exactly. It's like, I didn't know that I was building good relationships with people to be subjects for my work. I was just so happy seeing people and then wondering, "Oh, who are you?" People were asking what I do and stuff. And I was like, "Oh, I'm a photographer. I could actually photograph you." Because before I wasn't really telling people I was a photographer or anything, I didn't use the nightlife for my photography in that way. It just all happened to be that, it organically got together.
You recently shot and directed a music video for Conclave. Can you tell us more about this?
Yes. It'll be my first credited music video as an artist after years out of college. Because I used to make videos back when I was studying, but this is the first time that I've directed and really got down to the creative for an artist, for a musical artist and yeah, it was super fun actually.
You're related to Cesar Toribio from Conclave, yeah?
Oh yeah, pretty much for life. It's funny because we've been around each other... We were a part of the same network of music. So it was perfect for our collaboration to happen and it made it that much easier. And I feel like it was just kind of easy going just because it was me. I mean, if he could tell you otherwise, but I think it was like... it helped a lot for the music video for it to be family doing family. And it was helpful for me, because I thought before that it was hard to just do a music video with just anybody with any idea. Because it's like no one really trusted me. Because I don't really do that often, but it was nice to get someone to trust me and trust the vision, you know?
And you shot it on film, on 16 millimeter?
Yeah. I shot it on film. I knew I had to shoot this on film because that's just the medium that helps me process what I should be doing. If I did it on digital, I think I would've been bored and not about it. So I'm glad that there was a budget for film. And now I know next time, how much film I actually need to really push through. Shout out to Paul and Barbie for finding a camera for me to use, because I definitely don't have that equipment. But they found it, we shot it and boom, I knew a lab called Metropolis Post in the city, they're super nice. And they held it down and made really good scans. The editor, Filipe Zapelini, working on it - he did super fucking well, with the editing. Especially that...I was passing over footage that I don't know was usable, but he made it super nice.
You shoot mostly portraiture. What gravitates you to portraiture over whatever else?
I think, I shoot a lot of portraiture just based off of what people ask for. But for my personal work, it's actually a good balance between portraiture, still-life and landscape, or I try to have a balance of that. But I just love being surrounded by people and through people that's how I gain access to the next chapters of my life. I think that's what really gravitates me towards doing portraiture. Getting to meet people, getting to know them, sometimes when they come to my studio space, I get to know them even more, we kiki and find out. I feel like I've become friends with everyone that I shoot. I guess that's why I like to shoot portraiture but it goes the same when I shoot landscapes or cityscapes. I go around, I'd pop into whatever city and really get to know the city in that way. The same way I get to know a person.
Between Global is something that you started and can you just tell us a little bit about it and its relationship with like the people that you've collaborated with?
Between Global is a collaboration with Mohamed. And it started as me sending a mood board to Mohamed, to make a birthday flyer for me. And then where I had my birthday was at this restaurant called Parlay, in sunset park. And our homie Irwin was like, "Yo, all these photos that you use as a mood board, are you going to make a zine out of it?" And I was like, "Oh, that sounds like a good idea." So me and Mohamed got together to just make a mock zine. And then the thing just turned into this whole entity. And every time we met up, we were either getting super high or super drunk. And we would just come up with more and more ideas, that ended up being this whole publication that highlights the New York nightlife that we were so attached to. And yeah, just highlighting that. We're actually going to do a bigger project. Not sure if that will be like the last one, but we definitely are going to do something big for the next issue.
You have a lot of strong color contrast in your photos, like bold backgrounds, exposing subjects. But do you look for this? Or does it just come just because you do a backdrops?
I think all of that comes from just having fun, I get bored easily. So sometimes I could start a shoot and I'm just like, "Oh, actually I'm bored of this now." And I fix it up, throw in color or something like that. There's no preconceived ideas. I just try to do it out of the whim. Sometimes when I photograph people, I'm just like, "What's your favorite color?" And they give me a color, that's where I start to base the colors out of. If someone says white, I'll shoot in a white background but I'm not trying to... I don't go around being like, "Oh, I have to shoot color." It's more random to be honest.
What places have you shot as a personal film project?
One recent one that I've been working on lately, mostly shot in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. With my collaborator, Malisa, we traveled there in 2019 and we spent a week and a half just shooting and getting to know people. And that was super fun.
How has your life outside of photography and art, played back into your photography? If it has at all…
It definitely has. It works pre-cautiously. Sometimes there's moments where I'm shooting and I don't even know what I'm shooting and I don't know why I'm shooting it, but then I look back and I see how it's connected to my family, my papa and like that type of influence. The outside influence really does creep into my photography without me knowing, like, for example, I'm always drawn to flowers and I always shoot flowers. Even, if it's not a big project and I always have to do it with my parents and their garden and like how they did, how I grew up surrounded by flowers, you know? So it's things like that. It's like, why did I shoot that? Oh, I shot that because this always gives me the feeling of that.
What are some changes you would like to see in the creative industry?
I would love to see gatekeepers stop keeping. I want them to open doors, anyone in the top fields of the industry really just be open and mindful of other people that should be a part of the industry. We want people to really understand that there is no such thing as competition, that there's an abundance of resources and actually more to get from people that resource and whoever needs help should get the help. And to always pay it forward. Don't expect to get a payback situation. Let the newer generation learn what they need to learn and then let them teach the next generation.
On Set…
What camera would you want to be your last?
It would probably be my 4x5 camera, I use that camera on the most special projects. I've used it throughout my Dominican Republic project... I would love to use that camera to take portraits of family and friends. And if I don't see the results... ShenHao Field Camera. That one is great.
Candid or posed? Flash or no flash? Why?
Candid. And candid on my digital camera, that's always fun. I love a little bit of both. I love when they're both playing in it.
What mood/vibe do you like to curate on set? And how do you do it?
It really depends on the subject. I always want my subject to be as comfortable as possible. So I always start with music they might enjoy. If I play my music with my mood, I think it might throw people off. So I usually start off with what the subject wants.
During the selection process what makes the final cut? What details do you usually look for in the images..
If I look at an image and feel something, that’s the shot. It’s never about the look, it’s the feeling for me.
What's one thing that you want to do with photography that you haven't done yet?
That's a good one. I have a lot of ideas that I haven't executed yet just because of money and time. I'll just say that I definitely want to continue challenging myself and there's a lot of experimentation that I want to experiment with that I hope to execute in the future. I do want to have gallery shows of my work and I want my work to be presented in an interactive way, the way that I've interacted with the world. That's the next challenge for me.
What is the most rewarding factor about photography?
When I take portraits, the feeling of someone really liking the portrait I took of them, in a very genuine way. Sometimes I geek over the fact that someone's made the portrait I took of them as their profile picture. That's dope. That always makes me super happy.
You're all about analog photography. What has been your favorite shoot, you've done on film?
When I was in Mexico City - that week I was having so much fun shooting, because usually when I bring my film camera I'm kind of like half present, half not. But that time around, I was in full experimentation mode, not giving a fuck and not knowing how the film was going to come out. I was not following any rules, and that was the funniest shoot that I ever did.
Any upcoming projects we can expect from you?
I'm working on a book that hopefully will be done by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, so that's exciting.
When it comes to photography what moves you to shoot?
Other people's energy to be honest, sometimes I don't have the energy to go shoot. But because I have someone else involved in it, it forces me to go get the shit done and go photograph some dope shit.
Is there any particular element of shooting you would like to tackle or explore that you haven't?
I want to experiment with shooting different formats and see where that goes for particular projects. After doing the music video, I had so much fun that I was like I kinda want to incorporate some video with my photography, see where it could take me.
What would you like people to take away from your work?
That's a difficult one. I don't know, because sometimes I don't really think about my audience like that. The only people I think about within my audience are just people that I photograph. But when other people see it, I want people to just be open to what they're looking at and be accepted. Just really accept what the imagery is. I don't want people to pinpoint the technique. I want it to be just beyond the technique and just see it for what it is.
Interview by 35s & 45s
06.16.21