Taking a photo can, at times, be a noble yet empty pursuit. With camera phones infiltrating our fingertips within inches at all times, snapping a picture has become as commonplace as dirtying a dish. And yet, everyone having the ability to take a pictureis actually what makes the photographerso special: They signify artistic intention in a world focused on doing things simply for the ease in which you can do them.
As local photographer and artist extraordinaire Melanie A. Moreno (she/they)demonstrates, photography can—and should—be approached similarly to other “fine” arts: with clear representation of who you are as the artist and, simultaneously, a keen eye that equally respects and embodies your subjects. For Moreno, their perspective as an artist is always informed by their childhood roots, and by being a lesbian Latina in Utah.
“What initially drew me to photography was capturing emotion, capturing a concept and telling a story, and I think that’s everyone’s biggest thing with any type of medium or art—telling a story.”
“I grew up on food stamps and MediCare, and my parents couldn’t afford much. But on my 15th birthday, my mom was able to buy me a Nikon D3100. I’ve been doing it since,” she says. “I’m the only lesbian in my household, you know? So it can be hard to figure out who and what I am, but my mom never shied away from [telling us] to be who we want to be, and to do our hobbies, and I think that’s what fosters a lot of my work.”
Moreno’s work is textured and dauntless, awash with sophisticated interminglings of unexpected bouts of light and splashes of extravagant color. Perhaps most signifying of their photographs is a distinguishable feeling of human emotion caught miraculously on camera—a feeling that’s not peeking out from behind these other arresting elements, but at the forefront. In their own words: “What initially drew me to photography was capturing emotion, capturing a concept and telling a story, and I think that’s everyone’s biggest thing with any type of medium or art—telling a story.”
Moreno’s ability to visually illuminate narratives that evoke an emotional response in viewers has not gone unnoticed. Recently, she returned from being a touring photographer for Grammy Award-winning Latin artist Tokischa, and has shot the likes of indie outfit The Marias and Two Idiot Girls hosts Deison Tait Afualo and Drew Afualo, as well as events such as PERRA!. Of her work, Moreno says, “I tend to draw myself to people of color, especially Black and brown women. I think it’s very important that they have a voice. I think that is the best part about what I do, making people feel authentic in their skin.” They continue: “Before anything, I’m always a person, I’m always a woman of color and I will always value people who come to me authentically.”
“I never want to forget where I’m coming from. I always want to have my family and friends around me. They’re everything to me.”
It’s likely that it is Moreno’s reverence for her own background, and the people that populate it, that allows her to see and beautifully freeze the stories of someone else in a single frame. “I had to help my mom and dad read. My mom passed away from cancer when I was 15,” they say. “I never want to forget where I’m coming from. I always want to have my family and friends around me. They’re everything to me. I always want to take a side of me on tour. My mom never really got to see the world, so I took a picture of her in my carry-on … and she saw the world—or at least part of the world—with me.”
In a new generation often dictated by what is most tech-savvy, Moreno proves that a photo isn’t just something to clog up your phone quietly without being seen again. Instead, she gracefully delivers the photograph back to its rightful purpose: history and present together in tandem. A way to stop time. Something beautiful to look at. A story worth not just telling—but showing. Again and again. You can find Melanie Moreno’s work and inquire about commissions via her Instagram @melaniemmorenoo or her website melaniemmorenoo.format.com.
