By Katrina Heimark
Photos courtesy of Armando Alcázar
With
his deep belly laugh, his shining eyes, and his propensity to talk
passionately about all things under the sun, it is easy to understand
why Armando Alcázar can find beauty in the “simplest and seemingly
insignificant things.”
A photographer by passion Armando has not always dedicated himself to
the art which he feels has given him a special gift of “seeing,
capturing and showing the beauty of God’s creation.” In fact, one could
find his life story to be one people only read about in story
books.
With a love of animals, both wild and
domestic, Armando has actively participated in falconry, being the first
Peruvian (along with two friends) to study and practice the art of
training these majestic birds (all three were trained by American
naturalist, Tony Luscombe.).
Armando has also raised Rottweiler pups for protection, and also for
profit, with his male Rottweiler winning many international breeding
prizes. But, perhaps more interestingly, Armando has owned and taken
care of pumas, one of which he took in as a pet and called Rodriguez.
And perhaps his history of animal care has provoked him to photograph
falcons, birds, insects, and plenty of other animals that he finds on
his daily jaunts. A true photographer at heart, Armando is never far
from his camera and always takes advantage of unique and strange moments
that he may come across, whether it be a car accident, a bird flying
over head, or a child playing on the street.
As a lover of photography (and not the boring studio kind, as Armando
characterizes it), I am moved by Armando’s photos. He seems to capture
that essence of life in Lima that one can really only get to understand
after having lived here for an extended period of time. His photos
capture the charm, the struggle, the hope and the desperation of people
going about their every day lives.
Armando was moved to photography after a strange and interesting career
as a political commentary columnist within various Peruvian magazines,
two of which were “Gente” and “Oiga.” When working, always with humor,
Armando was inspired to learn how to use Photoshop to begin to
manipulate photos for humorous and political purposes as well. It was
this exposure that opened the doors for his interest in photography.
While he would like to exhibit his photos in more locations throughout
his country of Peru, Armando prefers to continue taking photos over
coordinating their distribution. A few years ago he accompanied the
“Emirates Travelers” (among which a relative of the vice-president of
the UAE traveled as well) as their official photographer during their
travels throughout Peru, which has then prompted his recognition as a
superb photographer in the UAE.
While I truly believe that words can explain and capture artwork, it
would be pointless to do so here when I can include some of the
wonderful photos Armando has produced over the years. With photos of his
appearing in National Geographic online, as well as in the 4th Emirates
Photography Competition '09, Armando laughs saying “I am like a
prophet; better known outside my own country than within.” But we
certainly hope this will change.
For those of you interested in purchasing work done by Armando, as well as seeing more of his work, click here or contact him via this email. Soon Armando’s work will be featured in an upcoming series by LivinginPeru.com of a Photo of the Day.
Not surprisingly, seeing the works of Armando to have exposed in many places, I knew him for quite long time.
Armando
not only an excellent photographer, but a great person, his wide
varieties of photography subjects, he has been taken shows his passion,
love and respect to nature and life.
So keep on your creative works alive,, so many of your friends and photography lovers enjoy and admire them. Saeed
Armando is a great photographer and i love his humor.
Congratulations on this wonderful article.
I wish you all the best.
You see with internet there are no borders....
you in Peru i am in Canada.
My Best wishes to you and your family.
Your Canadian friend
Erna
Great article indeed with wonderful images by Armando.
I
have the privilege to follow closely his work and always admires me how
he plays with the passion in any kind of photography regardless if it's
on nature, animals, architecture, journalism or whatever. Congrats,
Armando! Keep on working hard and producing these so fine photos! Hugs
to you and your lovely family!
Joan Roca - www.joanphotoroca.ephotosites.com - www.joanphotorural.com
