Photos courtesy Tony Mendoza
Tulips for Lydia
Born in Havana, Cuba, Tony Mendoza came to Columbus in 1987 to work in photography at The Ohio State University. Seventeen years later, he began taking pictures of the flowers in the area.
Mendoza’s journey as a photographer started while studying architecture. After graduating with a bachelor’s of engineering from Yale and a master’s of architecture from Harvard, he realized he had a knack for snapping photos.
“As an architect, you have to do some photography, you know, a few models here and there. Only then, I realized the more I took pictures, the more I enjoyed it.”
It was only three years before Mendoza realized he wanted to do photography full-time an in 1973 he quite the architecture business altogether.
After working for some time in New York City, gaining lifelong memories, creating incredible work and obtaining insightful skills, he moved to Columbus.
“It actually took seven years to take decent pictures, working all of the time. I had to reinvent the wheel in a sense, I wasn’t aware of what people had done.”
Going Digital
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In 2003, after working for 30 years as a black and white photographer, Mendoza bought a Nikon digital camera and transformed part of his laundry room into a digital darkroom. He immediately fell in love with the new artistic method.
“When I first got the camera, I found it difficult to come up with a colorful subject in Columbus. The American Midwest; no ocean; no mountains; no architecture. Mostly, a lot of fast food restaurants,” he says. “Then I thought of my wife’s flower and vegetable garden in our town’s community garden, so I went over there and started taking pictures of the flowers.”
For three years, Mendoza loved capturing images of delicate flowers with his digital Nikon.
“I loved how painless it was to make good prints in the comfort of my office while breathing fresh air,” he says. “I also really appreciated the instant feedback you get when you shoot digitally. If the frame or the exposure is a little off, you can correct it in the next shot.”
"Sometimes the picture was completed when a bug flew into it" - Tony Mendoza
Like any great artist, Mendoza knew he needed to switch up his technique and create something different.
“Right away I photographed from a low vantage point of view, because I’ve photographed cats and dogs from their eye level to depict the world as they see it,” Mendoza says. “I was also aware that most flower pictures have been taken from the top or in the studio, with the photographer moving in to capture the graphic beauty of the individual flower, or in the studio.”
By capturing flowers from a low vantage point, Mendoza is able to use the sky as a backdrop rather than grass or dirt.
“Sometimes, it was the sky color working with the flower color that made for a good picture. Sometimes, it was the frame when all of the elements felt just right. The weather in the background created some drama. Sometimes the picture was completed when a bug flew into it,” Mendoza says.
Only a true artist recognizes what completes a work of art. Mendoza’s love for photography shines through when he talks about the elements that make up a photo, how he started his journey as a photographer and how he found these treasures within Columbus.
To learn more about Mendoza's work, visit his website at www.tonymendozaphoto.com.
Ashley Soro is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
