Christian Cabrera ‒ “I want to convey a sense of nostalgia”
Short profile
Christian Cabrera is 28 years old and lives with his wife and dog in Waterbury, Connecticut. In addition to his work as a street photographer, he also works for an aerospace company.
In this interview, he tells us how he got into photography, what inspires him and why there is always a touch of nostalgia in his motifs.
6 QUESTIONS TO CHRISTIAN CABRERA
Can you tell us a little bit about how you became a photographer?
My photography journey started about 10 years ago when I first joined instagram. Seeing all the amazing work of many different photographers really caught my eye. It's funny because growing up I always appreciated art, but I was never into any certain form of arts, especially photography. But just seeing the amazing work of many different artists, whether it was street, landscape, portait, etc, it pushed me to buy a camera and give it a try.
Photo: Christian Cabrera
Please share something about your images. What is your special interest? How do you choose the colors, composition, themes etc.?
My interest for the past few years has been exploring the neighborhoods, taking photos of homes and the nearby surrounding streets. Through my photos, I always try to keep in mind that I want to convey a sense of nostalgia with how I shoot a scene and the color grading I use during editing. Many things in life can trigger nostalgia, and for me It's always left a positive impact, making me reminiscence of my childhood and other aspects of my past. I also hope people can feel that way too when they look at my work.
Photo: Christian Cabrera
Where does this interest come from?
This interest comes from me loving and enjoying the simple things in life; with each frame I shoot whether of a house or street corner, as simple as it may be, it's something special to me. If I'm able to even just obtain one good single photo out of 100 photos on a shoot day, it will always be worth it.
How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Films, books, or magazines? Or what surrounds you?
Even though I have many inspirations from the artistic world; the work of Gregory Crewdson, Henri Prestes, and Todd Hido are my main inspirations; their photos and themes play a huge part of my love for photography. What also really inspires me, is my love for movies and animation. Especially, older hand drawn/cell animation films that I grew up with.
Photo: Christian Cabrera
What are your plans for the rest of the day?
I'm just looking to relax and watch a movie with my beautiful wife and dog.
What else should we know about you?
My name is Christian Cabrera and I'm 28 years old. I currently live in Waterbury, Connecticut, with my little family (wife and dog, Zelda) and imediate family. One of the things I am enternally grateful for, and will cherish forever, is being homeschooled from kindergarten all the way to senior year of high school, by my mother. As for my occupation, I currently work at an aerospace company as a wire cutter technician. I have been working here for the past 9 years, since I graduated high school. Some of favorite things to do, aside from photography, is enjoying the outdoors, playing video games, and spending quality time with family and friends. I thank God for them everyday, because they mean so much to me.
