Author: Montserrat Velazquez

Holy New Year 

I took this photograph on January 1, 2024, at 2:50 AM before leaving our baby Jesus behind. For the past two years my family has decided to rent a small party hall or restaurant so we can celebrate New Years together. We have become an overwhelmingly big family and as funny as it may seem, we don’t fit in our small apartments anymore. It is a tradition as Catholics to recreate the Nativity of Jesus, that’s why there are so many Baby Jesus in the picture because almost everyone in my family has one. The composition was arranged by my cousin based on how well each Baby Jesus fitted in a spot, by pure chance ours ended up in the middle. 

Yikes 20 Candles 

I took this photo on June 18 at 10:10 PM as I was standing from a middle high vantage point while my family was singing Happy Birthday to me. I could not believe I was turning 20 years old and leaving my teen years behind was a very emotional moment for me. I had thought about this moment for which I purposely bought 20 candles to represent every year I had lived. As I blew every candle one by one, I thought about all the good and bad things I had gone through. When I got to my last candle I thanked God for the opportunity of living so much surrounded by my loved ones.

Old Money Vibes

My family loves spending days off productively and visiting new places especially beaches during the summer. I took this photo on July 17 at 7:04 PM at Coopers Beach in the South Hamptons minutes before leaving. I was waiting patiently for the right moment to capture a beautiful image of the beach. My decisive moment was when I noticed the seagull flying close to the moon and instantly took it. I almost missed it by a second. It was our first time visiting The Hamptons and I can say it was a wonderful experience. We were able to see so many beautiful mansions and a different lifestyle.