Dreamer Girl / Soñadora, 2016

Ashley Monreal

Ashley Monreal, age 17

South Los Angeles

In Partnership with Augustus Hawkins High School

“Dreamer Girl”

This image is one of my favorites because it describes how I am as a person. I am silly which shows my comfortableness with people around me. I like this picture because it shows how I want people to see me. When I took this picture I was thinking about freedom, nature, and being myself. To be yourself, you have to dream big and that's how you become a "DREAMER." This picture represents me as a fun, outgoing, and active person. I want people to feel my confidence in this image, so they can also feel confident and dream big like me.

I am Ashley Monreal, I am 17 years old. I am a senior at Augustus Hawkins High School in the Community Health Advocates School (CHAS). I was born in Los Angeles, California and I live in South Central. If I was to live anywhere in the world, I would love to live in Paris because of its beautiful monuments. What I like most about myself is my dedication. I am adventurous, hardworking, independent, and optimistic. I am looking forward to entering the medical field once I graduate from high school. What I like most about photography is capturing moments; capturing emotions and love, expressing myself through pictures. I think photography is a way to express what words can’t because pictures can express many emotions. A person who inspires me to continue photographing is Nicole Franzen due to her amazing journey, and experiences.

My favorite part about Las Fotos Project is how our amazing mentors encourage all of us girls in being comfortable with ourselves. This experience helped me become self-confident. I best liked working with the other girls because we were able to bond with each other and share things we have particular things in common with one another.