This talented photographer is not only easy on eyes ladies, but driven as well! He has collaborated with many students on and off campus to elaborate creative photos and short-films. It’s pretty easy to see that his passion will lead him to become a part of the proud UPR alumnus to join the ranks of stardom. Read about his cool projects and be sure to check out his studio page!
Name: Jorge Ortiz Rodríguez (but everyone calls me George Arnaldo)
Age: 20
Hometown: Caguas
Major: Audiovisual Communications with an emphasis in Film.
How did photography first come about into your life?
Cinema is something that has something that has always caught my attention and it’s basically composed of many images. When I was younger, I didn’t have the resources to make a big production for a film and I really liked the idea of narrating stories through a creative medium, so I gave I gave photography a shot. It was something that caught my attention and so that’s how it started. People who would ask me to take photos for them encouraged me to take more pictures. They believed I had a good eye and knew how to capture the moment. From there I just kept taking more and more photos. I took a liking to it all, especially working personally with the subjects of my photos. I loved being able to get smiles from them and truly creating moments that inspired me to research about photography and develop my skills.
How did the creation of Studio by George Arnaldo come about?
The name basically started off as George Arnaldo Photography but I also make videos so I didn’t want to use it. About at the age of 15 people began asking for photos. I always carried my simple point and shoot camera around and organized everything into separate folders according to the events. Even with my little camera I took a lot of photos that people would ask of me. Sometimes people would pay me $20 for the work I would do and so I thought, it would be nice to formalize myself and get some extra cash from something that I did well. I researched other photographers in the industry and asked them about photography and how I everything should be done, and that pretty much when it all began.
Do you have a particular style? Can you describe?
My style of photography that I’m really passionate about is a conceptual photography. It’s creating something, a fantasy from my imagination that captures your attention. I mix many elements of familiar photography like fashion with my conceptual style. Photoshop is also used to achieve the effects I want, but I don’t like them to look to unrealistic. I aspire to mix photography with elements of fiction in the photo without relying on what can become a photomontage, which can look really exaggerated.
Favorite Part of the Job
My favorite part is conceptualizing the idea and saying ok this is what I want to do, even if I don’t know how I’ll do it. I have a notebook that I always carry with me that’s filled with drawings that come to my mind. If I can make it happen at that moment, I do, if not than it stays there until I can.
What’s your favorite photograph? Why?
There’s one that I shot of a girl who is sitting against some rocks and she’s throwing her hair back and paper butterflies fly out of her into the air, I’d say that’s my favorite of all.
I think it’s because it was a moment that was created, that doesn’t really happen in real life, so I made it happen. I liked that fact that the girl wanted to collaborate with me, she had been after me for quite some time to take photos because she liked my work. When we finally were able to take out a Friday to go to Isla de Cabra, we practically spent the entire day shooting. The days leading up to the shoot we spent conceptualizing the ideas and working on what she wanted, things like what clothes to wear and what poses. The editing was a long process that lasted around three hours. Although you can’t tell from plain sight the photo has many photos layered on. The photo has the essence that I want to convey, what I want to say and how realistic I want it to look. I still really love the photo.
Can you elaborate a little bit on the Hunger Games Project?
The Project began in pre-production because I like to maintain a process, following the film process basically. It started all in February off of a image that appeared on my news feed of people from a specific district inspired by the book wearing everyday clothing. I thought it was a cool idea and so I started to write and look up more information about the world of Hunger Games based on the books, movie and the Internet.
It amounted to a four-month conceptualizing process, recruiting crewmembers and opening a casting call via Facebook. That gave my page a boost in likes and that was awesome. So many people liked the idea; they liked Hunger Games and were excited because of the new movie coming out. The actors, I say actors because the majority weren’t actually models were all interested in working on the Project. I told them that although I wasn’t going to be able to pay them I would be exchanging their work for high-quality photos of an unforgettable experience.
Who inspires you?
First of all the person that I give thanks to for everything is God, for the opportunities, the talent, for everything he has given me.
My inspiration in reality comes from the people I collaborate with to create innovate projects. These people capture my attention and inspire me to do things in the long run, el amor al arte.
What are your plans after graduation?
After I graduate I’m planning on moving to Los Angeles, I want to live there. I don’t want to keep studying film. I ‘d like to get there, establish myself and focus more on acting through different workshops. Everything intertwines, acting is first for me, right after photography, which has served as my job, and well film is the world in which I surround myself all the time.
Want to see more photos? Check out his page: http://www.georgearnaldo.com/
P.S. Don’t forget to hit “Like” on his Facebook page as well! https://www.facebook.com/Georg…