Rising Stars: Meet Tomas Alvarez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tomas Alvarez.

Hi Tomas, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t expect to be a photographer, or in the arts in any way. I went to school for technology, computer programming to be exact. After graduating from university, I started my career and focused on that path. I’ve always enjoyed the creative process of problem solving, so what I saw as my future provided enough of an outlet for my creativity.

Several years into my career, a little over a decade ago, a chance encounter with a friend’s camera changed everything. In a matter of hours on that fateful day, a small fire was lit that would alter my long-term plans permanently. In that same year, I bought a DSLR – I remember it like it was yesterday. I knew nothing about photography concepts like aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc. But, I did know that if I applied myself, I would eventually figure it out.

The biggest change in perspective came when I started looking for the photography community in the Twin Cities area. I found a large, extremely welcoming, community, and started immersing myself in photography. After several years, and much frustration – mostly trying to figure out if photography was my calling – I started to look for more ways to grow. I started to enter competitions, and show my work. The responses I received were encouraging, so I continued.

Showing my work publicly was critical for my development. It changed how I see when I work, and I create images with a clearer intention.

I still work in technology, but that has an expiration date on it now.

I currently show work regularly in art centers across the state. I sell my work (prints, cards, and framed wall art) in Studios at Chautauqua Lane, studio #155 in the Northrup King Building, in the heart of the Minneapolis art district. My work is also available on my website. I’m also booking solo exhibitions over a year in advance, a first for me.

If you would have told me my aspirations and dreams would be based around photography when I was first starting my career, I would have laughed for a good long while. Photography has given me a lot and I am forever grateful for how it has changed me.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Many of the challenges I faced were related to finding my voice in photography. The Minneapolis art scene is filled with amazing people doing everything under the sun. My challenge was sticking out in a world of high-level artists. My frustration led me to sell multiple cameras – only to buy other ones to replace those I sold. For some reason, I was compelled to keep pushing myself forward with photography. I still have lots of room for creative growth, and that keeps me focused.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a landscape photographer. I have a house full of teenagers, so I need to get out and sit and listen to the waves crash into the shores of Lake Superior, or head to the mountains to listen to the wind and water flow in the valleys. Photography is a perfect reason to escape.

I’d love to say I’m most proud of an accomplishment related to the art I create. But, think I’m most proud of my contributions to the art community. I love working with others, or helping other photographers grow. I’ve always believed in demystifying the things I found difficult early on in my art career.

Over the years I’ve developed a style that sets me apart from others, but only just. My editing style is my own, but it is definitely influenced. I’m not a person who goes out and creates hundreds of images, I spend a lot of time immersing myself in the landscape before I pull out my camera. I call it Mindful Photography, and have taught workshops on creating space to lean into what features call to you in a landscape, then focusing on creating images around that subject. It’s a bit heady, but it’s the tool I use to create images.

How do you think about luck?
I’ve had many discussions around my work and luck with friends over a beer. We’ve always come to the same conclusion: There’s “good luck”, there are “learning opportunities”, and there are things that happen that are out of your control.

Good luck is the confluence of preparation and opportunity – when an opportunity you are prepared for presents itself, you are likely to succeed.

Learning opportunities are when things don’t go as planned, but there is some information to be gleaned for a second, third, or however many are necessary, attempts. When negative things happen that are not in your locus of control, that’s more related to the randomness of life. I suppose we could call it bad luck, but most negative outcomes, in terms of business, tend to be a lack, or the neglect, of something in our control.

All that said, I would say I’ve had a lot of good luck, but it stems from the hours of frustration getting to the levels of preparation necessary to succeed. The more I apply myself, the luckier I am.

Contact Info:

• Email: tom.alvarez@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.tomalvarez.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tom.alvarez/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomasalvarezphoto 

Image Credits
Tomas Alvarez Photography