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Featured Artist: Ray A. Llanos, Photo Griot

This month's profile is of Ray A. Llanos, a photographer who recently exhibited at our gallery as part of the group photography show. Ray's work takes him to some interesting and fun places, like New York's Puerto Rican Day parade and to Trinidad and Tobago for Carnival. Enjoy!

How did you get your start as an artist?

As I began to travel, I had a desire to record my trips with friends and family. After purchasing several point and shoot cameras, I began to snap away and document the many stories of our varied escapades until friends and family began to take note of my talent to capture the essence of the moment and encouraged me to pursue photography further. With the support of my best friend Lesley Ann Bailey, I purchased my first SLR camera and began to take my photography to the next level. It didn't take long before opportunities to shoot commercially opened up.

Who are some of your artistic influences?

One of my earliest's influences in photography was my older brother Rafael "Rafie" Llanos, Jr. who has been a freelance photographer for over 15 years. I spent many years in front of the camera as a subject for Rafie or at his side as an assistant on various photography jobs.

In D.C. where I grew up, another mentor in photography business etiquette and technique was Oggi Ogburn, a premier music industry photographer of 30 years.

How does your audience experience your work?

I think my audience appreciates my work with familiarity, as if they were there when I captured the image. Often they have told me they could feel the energy conveyed in my work.

I know that you do programs with children. What does that work entail? What are you hoping that they will take away from the experience?

I work for the "I Have a Dream" Foundation. I am a Program Director for the Melrose 2 Program in the Bronx. I oversee a program that works with under-served youth, by providing them with academic, social and cultural enrichment. The goal of the program is to break the cycle of non-college attendees in these communities. More directly, I hope that my Dreamers (as the children are referred to) continue to be exposed to new ways of life, positive role models, and that they develop new found appreciation for education and the arts. The Dreamers have been to my exhibits and many other galleries and museums. Some of them have even learned photography, not only from myself but also through a program at International Center for Photography (ICP) at Hunts Point in the Bronx.

Insomnia Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago 2004

This is a Fete Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago 2004

You've been to Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and travelled throughout the United States. What impact has this had on your photography?

It has impacted me in several ways. One way being that it continues to force my work to expose the "Oneness of Caribbean Culture." I plan on developing larger bodies of images that explore and celebrate the African Diaspora throughout the region and the world.

Another way my photography and my soul is affected by my travels, is that I get to fortify my ties to my home, seeing that I am an African-Latino-Caribbean Man.

What would you like to share about work that you are presently creating?

The work I am sharing varies from show to show. I am currently creating more local pieces in NYC and am also working on a series of multiple exposures that I hope to show in the near future.

Where You Are Dominican Republic

Las Bicicletas Del Barrio El Barrio, NY, 2004

Where will you be exhibiting in the next few months?

I am currently exhibiting in a group show at ICP at the Point. I Also have a solo show in Brooklyn. Hopefully I'll be exhibiting with you again at Canvas Paper and Stone Gallery in the near future with all that is coming up on your schedule.

Any final words for our readers?

I have been fortunate to capture many places and faces through my camera. Celebrities like Avery Brooks, Ozzie Davis, Ruby Dee, Susan Taylor, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Cliff, Gordon Parks, and Bill Cosby are just a view who have found their way into my view. I continue to enjoy the process of taking a picture, as passionately as the day I started. As a "Photo Griot," I am always seeking new projects and assignments tell the stories through my own eyes.

Feel free to contact him via email.

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