The Girl who Cried Gold / La chica que lloró oro, 2016

Elysse Caballero

“This image represents me because I am usually reserved, but the glitter represents what I want to do and the goals I want to achieve. I think this photo sends a message to take time for you.” 

Elysse Caballero, age 17

Vermont-Harbor/South Figueroa Corridor

In Partnership with Augustus Hawkins High School

“The Girl Who Cried Gold”

I was scrolling through Pinterest one day, looking at a lot of pictures, and a picture of a girl with glitter on her face that caught my eye. It was interesting to me because the picture was a closeup of her hair and face and there wasn’t anything in the background that was distracting the viewer from her face. The color of the glitter, from gold and silver on top of her head to purple at the bottom of her face, caught my eye. I liked the shininess of the glitter and how it brought out the features of her face. Although the glitter was shiny, the focus was still on the girl’s face. I found some other pictures on Pinterest where paint was dripping down a girl’s face, as if she’s crying. I was inspired to create something similar using glitter to draw attention to my face. I like this photo because of the color in the background; It’s not a warm tone, but I still stand out. When I was editing, I chose this background color because it made me stand out the best and made the picture come together. This photo is important to me because I have never really taken the time to take photos of myself. I usually just take photos of other people and this project made me feel good on the inside when I finished. When I was taking this photo, I was feeling stressed and overwhelmed because I was doing a lot of school work and I wasn’t taking the time to take the best photo of myself. But that day, I decided that I was going to take advantage of the background of my bathroom and take a picture. I think this image represents me because I am usually reserved, but the glitter represents what I want to do and the goals I want to achieve. I think this photo sends a message to take time for yourself. In my agenda, I reserve 15 minutes out of the day for myself to just breathe in and out, which honestly helps me remember why I am doing what I do everyday. I want the viewer to believe that anything is possible, all you have to do is love yourself.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I have lived here my entire life. Honestly if I could live anywhere else I wouldn't. While my community might not be the best, I have learned to appreciate it so much in many ways. The best thing I like about myself is that I set my bar high and I always aim to do my best. I am a student who advocates for community health and wants change. I'm 17 years old and I am a senior at Augustus Hawkins High School in the small school Community Health Advocates School (CHAS). Some adjectives to describe myself would be passionate, independent, and optimistic. In the future I want to be either a pediatrician or a photojournalist. The thing I like best about photography is that there's always a unique meaning behind why a photo is taken. I also like that you can show people how you feel or what you want them to feel when they see your photo. The person who inspires me is my mom because she has worked hard to be where she is and she has shown me that hard work pays off. Lastly, I am someone who just wants to make the best out of everything and I want to positively impact someone's life one day.

My favorite part of Las Fotos Project is learning from mentors who love photography and have taught me so much. This experience has changed me because I appreciate every picture I take and now I put so much love into everything I do. Since our topic was self-portraits I am more open to taking photos of myself and I have become more confident and proud of myself. Working with other girls helped me see different perspectives on photo taking. I will definitely join again next semester because I have already learned so much.