juan carlos ortiz, ORDINARY PEOPLE. Angie, Guam (PEOPLE 2022)

When people ask me what I do, I tell them I photograph ordinary people living extraordinary lives even if they don't realize so. Ordinary people who cross my path and connect with my soul in many different ways. It flows off my tongue with grace and ease. That hasn’t always been the case. When I first thought of this wording, I struggled with the idea of labelling people as ordinary. Isn’t that like saying you’re just average? Who wants to be ordinary when you could be special? I’ve spent my life being addicted to specialness but many of us we don't realize how special, precious and extraordinary we are. I like to thing that when I photograph them I help them to realize this. The portrait of Angie is part of a larger body of work where this ordinary people get the recognition they deserve. "I see you. I capture what you don't think I can see, or what you don't thing is there... I see the moment." Angie works as housekeeper in one of the hotels I was working, assisting me during the photoshoot. I asked if I could photograph her and she was surprised because usually the photographer just focuses on the models and the rooms. I thought Angie was very special, she had this spark in her eyes that deserved to be in a photography. She smiled, so I did.

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