"Melancholic Town"

Today I entered a photography competition.  This was the first time I ever paid money to enter a competition, and spent $50.00 to enter 5 images into 2 different categories: (1) Spontaneous Moments (2) Travel Portraits.  As I was writing the caption for one of images, I became really nostalgic and realized how much this story meant to me when putting it into words. Below are the 5 images + captions I entered for the http://www.worldinfocuscontest.com competition.

Caption: On a recent cruise down the Amazon River in Perú, our boat stopped at a village called "California" alongside the river. When our boat docked and we walked into the village, I felt like an extraterrestrial invading unknown territory. The children curiously looked at us, and nervously hid behind the backs of their older siblings. There was almost a melancholic vibe in the town. I was wondering why I didn't see any adults in the village until our tour guide told us they had no choice but to leave the children by themselves for a week. It is against the law in Perú not to vote so they had no choice but to leave and vote in the political elections. I started to speak Spanish with the children and asked them to show me around their village. Then I went picture crazy, snapping away and showing the kids the pictures I was taking of them. The mood changed and they began to giggle hysterically when they saw their faces appear on the screen in my camera.  Within 15 minutes of being around these children, I was literally holding hands with four young girls in the village, skipping through a field of butterflies.  Since I didn't have enough arms to hold everybody's hand, the other 30 Peruvian children followed closely behind us in one big huddle. I can only image how silly we looked. By the end of the day the children were hanging onto me trying to get me to live with them and not go back onto the boat. I can't say I wasn't tempted.


I chose to enter this particular image into the contest because I feel it is a visual summary of the day I spent with these children. The expressions in this image convey an array of emotions that I felt in this town that very day: fear, joy, anticipation, optimism, sadness.. above all, melancholy.  Although these people are suffering from extreme poverty, they run around and laugh and be silly like any other kid in the world.
(Title of Image: "Melancholic Town" - Category: "Travel Portraits")

Caption:I took this image in a very poverty stricken village in Peru. While I was playing with all the children of the town, in the corner of my eye I noticed this girl curiously watching us, while hiding from the window of her house. I wondered why she wouldn't come down to play with us and quickly went in for the picture. She saw me taking a picture and hid back into the darkness of her house and never came outside.

(Title of Image: "Lonely Girl in the Darkness" - Category: "Travel Portraits")

Caption: One day I decided to take my camera with me and visit a beach I had never been to before. I discovered Victoria Beach (located in Laguna Beach, CA) and was inspired right away! I noticed this young girl having a special moment with the sand. She stayed like this for awhile, letting the ocean wash past her body and hair. I feel very fortunate to have stumbled across such a secretive, emotional moment.

(Title of Image: "A Secretive Moment" - Category: "Spontaneous Moments")

Caption: While hiking through Yosemite, I came across this young girl. She saw me blowing bubbles and asked if she could try it also using my bubble wand, but all of a sudden a huge gust a wind came by and she was unable to do so. She kept trying frantically to blow bubbles but the wind seemed to keep getting stronger and stronger. She gave up and we went our separate ways.

(Title of Image: "Loss of Innocence" - Category: "Spontaneous Moments")

Caption:Through photography, I attempt to convey the relationship between form and pattern through composition. Compositionally wise, I am aesthetically pleased by the pattern of repeating wood in this image. Although, my eye keeps going back to the handprint above the boy's head, and I am left wondering the story behind it.
(Title of Image: "Handprint" - Category: "Traveling Portraits")

Summer Internship with Victoria's Secret

(This was written 8/2/2011) 
I just moved from New York to California 5 days ago after interning for Victoria's Secret in New York.  During my stay in the city, I got the opportunity to photograph Rob Zombie and Slayer at their concert in PA. At first they wouldn't let me into the venue due to the misspelling of my name on the list, which read: "Mandy Russell" instead of "Mandy Rosen." 

About 3 weeks prior to this event, while standing in the check-in line at the airport in Perú, I turned around and noticed four men in line behind us that did not seem to be on your typical "family vacation." Based off their interesting demeanor (tattooed heads, ridiculously long facial hair, and black jackets and pants) my sister and I couldn't help but wonder who they were and what they were doing in South America. Our questions were answered when a Peruvian man approached us in line, and in his broken English tells the four men that their band is kick ass and  he loves their music. As the four men are signing autographs for the fan, I turn around and ask what band they are with. After telling me that their band was "Slayer" and that they were currently touring through South America with Metallica, a little light blurb turned on in my head and I knew I had to leave the conversation with an invitation to photograph their band.

We continued our conversation with the band throughout the entire airport. Dave Lombardo was pissed that he didn't get a chance to visit Machu Picchu while on tour in Peru.  While showing them some of our video clips from the trip, people kept taking pictures of the band and asking them questions. "Are you guys with a rock band?" asked a lady in line next to us. "Actually.... we're teachers."

Photographing their concert was one of the best times I ever had taking pictures.  You can see some of these images on my website www.mandyrosenphotography.com

Slayer and I at the airport in Perú

Behind the scenes of Victoria's Secret with Adriana Lima and Chanel Iman

Behind the scenes of Victoria's Secret with Alessandra Ambrosio

Chatting with Victoria's Secret photographer Russell James

Trip to Monterey, California

I just spent the last week in  Monterey, CA.  Little did I know how beautiful northern California really was. During our stay, my mom and I drove around for hours, stopping at cute places alongside the road to take pictures. Bellissima!!