It was while she began living in Southern California that she began to photograph weddings, birthdays, and other special events. Because Spanish was her primary language, her work was mostly in the Latino community. People from all over Latin America are attracted to Southern California and it is through this diversity that she began to truly experience the Latino culture. While many Latin Americans share the same holidays and traditions, there are many differences in how they are expressed. Through her camera lens, Amanda began to capture the beauty of her people: the colorful costumes, rich traditions, and the art that is the people themselves. She began to understand that her life in Chile was just a small patchwork in the cultural quilt that makes up Latin America. Because Los Angeles has its roots in the Mexican culture, she choose as her first photographic composition a series of photographs entitled "Raíces Mexicanas en Los Angeles". With the success of her first series of photos, she was encouraged to begin a new project. This new project became known as "L.A. Visions". In 'L.A. Vissions", she offer us a surrealist architectonic landascape, which shows the hybridizing and the migratory influence of this first world we know as Los Angeles. Both series were exhibited and were well received by critics and the public. During her photographic journeys throughout the Los Angeles area, she was captivated by the beauty of nature in the midst of the city. Amanda photographed scenes of nature for a series entitled "Mi Jardín", or "My Garden". This series has not been exhibited publicly, but can be seen on this web site in the gallery section Her exposure to the diversity of the Latino community caused her to question her roots. She decided to travel to expose herself to the many facets of her cultural roots. During her travels she visited the country of El Salvador. It was during her visit that she was struck by the extreme poverty of outcast children living on the streets. This lit a fire in her soul that inspired her to photograph her fourth series entitled "Inocencia en Penumbras", or "Innocence in the Shadows". She has developed her artistic tecnique as a result of her constant practice, which captures and freezes moments, emotions and moods through the various images which become visual stories about her subjects. The images enter through the viewers eyes, be it an abstract, surreal or the very obvious, once contemplated, her point will definitly get accross. It is like a text, presented as an image. Amanda is there for the moment and shoots her camara without concessions. She gets frustated when the time, the light or the instant get stolen from her, which are essential for her creative work. None the less, she smiles because she knows that life is full of images that are virtually jumping and willing to meet the discerning eye of the artist. She has been praised for the social content of her photographs, and has exhibited in several cities throughout Mexico, Europe, and the United States. Amanda wishes to thank you for visiting her web site and hopes that you will enjoy its images as much as she enjoyed capturing them. |
Amanda was born in Chile, where at an early age she became interested in art. Her father was deeply involved with helping the dispossessed people of his country and this greatly influenced her artistic expression. After living her early childhood in Chile, she moved to the United States and eventually settled in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.