Delfina Carmona Interview
One of the most important aspects of your photography I’d say is your use of shadows. You’re always are finding clever ways to use light coming from your windows. Is it a challenge having to find new ways to use shadows?
Of course, the light coming through the window changes throughout the year, it’s never the same! And it’s always a good exercise to study it and learn to know it through the different seasons and the different times of the day.
April this year, I moved to Berlin. I left the comfort and natural light that I knew and worked with, in my home during all these last years. in Argentina. A city that is particularly known for its darkness during the cold months of autumn and winter and its lack of sunshine. So now I definitely have a new process of researching light and understanding what new creative possibilities appear here.
I’d imagine some rooms in your house are better to take photos in than others. What room in your house creates the best shadows and at what time of day?
Definitely the most beautiful hour was the golden hour.
Now I think during the morning is the best time here because it’s the brightest time but I don’t have sun this part of the year, it only comes in occasionally and it’s a much more shy and filtered sun but it’s also beautiful to work with.
We will have to wait for the spring and summer! My new home is very bright and I think it will be promising for new shadows.
Another aspect of your photography that stands out is the prevalence of primary colors. Are you always on the hunt to find new primary-colored items of clothing?
I love primaries, as you clearly noticed [Laughs} I always liked the playful vibe in that palette, it makes me feel really happy.
And of course, I love having certain items for my photos in those colors. When I see an item I really like I invest in it because I know it will help me create something with it. Also when I work with brands and I see that they have items or clothes in those colors my desire always goes in that direction.
Out of the three, what color do you like the best?
If I had to choose just one, which is very difficult because they complement each other so well, I would say red!
What’s your favorite possession you have that’s that red?
A small notebook where I write down ideas, thoughts I have, new things to try and learn about, etc.
Are your photographs spontaneous or planned out? I’’d imagine it would be difficult if the light or shadow isn’t where you want it to be. Does it ever happen that you want to shoot an idea that you have in your head, but can’t because the light isn’t right?
Many of my photographs are thought of beforehand because they are perhaps previous ideas that I have and that I try out at some point. Sometimes an image appears in my mind and then I try to carry it out in real life and I wait for the specific moment when the light is going to play in my favor to enhance what I want to transmit with that image. But other times, the idea appears at the moment I see a space and see the light that invites me to create something with it because there is still a spontaneous factor of capturing the moment beyond all else.
And of course, sometimes the communion is magical and everything looks just as you previously imagined or even better because you are surprised with something new and unexpected. But other times nothing goes as planned, the light doesn’t work or it’s not what you need it to be and you just have to let go of the idea, try something else or maybe trying again another time when the light you need appears.
What do you enjoy doing outside of photography, any other passions or hobbies?
I really like music, I’ve always had a special connection with the universe of sound and beyond listening to a lot of music every day, it’s a universe not explored for me from the creative point of view and it makes me want to try and learn things in this sense as well.
Music, dancing, connecting with different sounds is something that makes me really good, it’s something that connects me with myself and with what surrounds me on a daily basis.
In a lot of your self-portraits, you obscure your face. Definitely creates some dramatic effect, are you conscious of this?
Perhaps I would say “hide” rather than “obscure”, but yes, it is true that I like to hide the face in many of my self-portraits. And I know that this has a dramatic effect and a share of mystery and uncertainty for the observer and I like to play with those emotions.
My self-portraits always talk about me from a very personal point of view because they always narrate my emotions, my thoughts, my personal states. But they can also talk about you, about her, about him, about them. It’s a human form with which you can sometimes identify in some way, something can resonate with you and that form doesn’t have a defined face.
What do you think are the qualities of a good self-portrait? Or at least some that you aim to achieve.
For me it’s very difficult to talk about bad or good self-portraits. I feel that it’s a duality that limits creativity at some point and that it’s too much related to certain dogmas and values that perhaps escape my personal beliefs regarding what art should or should not be.
I believe that a self-portrait is a small part of ourselves, it’ captures an emotion, a personal moment that stands still in time.
Technically there are millions of different ways to take a self-portrait. You can do it with your camera or with a cell phone, in color or black and white, in sunlight, in cloudy light, at night with colored lights, you can dress up, you can be naked and millions of infinite variations you can find.
What I think makes the difference is to dare to play and give yourself to the experience of being in front of the camera in a moment of intimacy and connection, trying to play with objects and props or whatever makes you feel comfortable and I think that final gesture will be reflected in the images.
That’s very useful for me, to understand that I do it for me because I need to do it and express myself in that way
and because it keeps me alive and moving.
When you are shooting self-portraits, it the moment do you feel more like the photographer, or the model?
I think the two things come together perfectly in that moment, because I’m looking at my performance in front of the camera with the eye of the photographer that I am. It’s weird, but it’s like looking at yourself from inside and outside the scene at some point, but it’s a dissociation that I’ve gotten used to over the years.
What are you currently trying to improve on in photography?
I’m trying to test myself in a new environment right now, with a different style of weather and lights at the moment.
I think it’s a transition I needed, I really wanted to try new things, to test myself against the unknown, because I start to get bored when I feel I always do the same thing (as it usually happens when you are in a comfortable situation with your work).
What’s the last thing that really made you laugh?
I’m a bit old school so it’s probably been watching an episode of The Office (which I already watched a million times!) last night or with something funny Momo said to me this morning over breakfast.
Outside of your self-portraits, what are some of your favorite/most memorable jobs or projects you’ve worked on in your career?
Recently I have worked on a beautiful project with two other friends and artists who are also Argentinean and live in Berlin and together we have made our first exhibition, Dreieck, together as a group here in the city. This was something really different for me that happened in the last few months! I was very used to working alone, to be often the protagonist of my own work, etc.. And this is something that I feel that took me out of virtuality completely and it was very important to become aware again that not everything is here, not everything is the internet, Instagram, and apps, that there are many other interesting projects that I can also be part of and that fill me much more and renew my energy completely.
What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is that I work on what I really love. But don’t get me wrong, because this may sound like an overly cliché phrase. Loving doing something doesn’t mean that everything will be ideal and everything will be easy and everything will be smooth! Love can sometimes be painful. So definitely it’s not all bliss, the path of art is also full of complexities and ups and downs and it takes you more than once out of your comfort zone and tests you constantly. You have to deal with other people, with your own agenda if you decide to become a freelancer, with clients who often don’t value your work correctly (luckily there are many others who do!).
But would I choose it again if I could do something else? Of course, I would choose it. 🙂
