French Fries with Photographers: Women’s Backstories - Fabiola Zamora

Interview Matthew Burgos / matthewburgos

To revisit a passion, one may think to have been burned down opens an ascent towards the axis - the replenishment of the divine order of self, desire, and soul; the shift in balance to return to normalcy. In the industry of photography, Fabiola Zamora has embarked on such a journey to revisit the joy capturing images once blessed upon her. Her gratitude towards collaborators for commissioned projects and lookbooks sustains. This time, she fuses them with her navigation to come back to taking photographs for the love of the activity, grounding herself in the roots of her upbringing in photography.

Zamora regenerates what she has learned about herself, her visions in her creative undertakings, and her concepts of life and travel to amplify and pass them onto her audience through images. As French Fries Magazine helms the interview, the México-based photographer ruminates over how she broke through the industry once perceived for men and why she conceived her publication 192, a biannual art and fashion magazine, to name a few.

The flesh of photography, the adoration towards the pursuit of power and confidence - the source of mankind and philosophy - and the personification of emotions and the coveted sensibility. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, you are what you think all day long. In Fabiola Zamora’s bible, photography acts as a medium to converse with self for every identity.

Model Aliya Pronto Production Danaé Salazar

Matthew Burgos: Hello Fabiola! What have you been up to lately? Did you discover any new creative pursuits? Could you share how your day-to-day routine looks these days?

Fabiola Zamora: Hello! I have been extremely busy lately life- and work-wise. On one hand, I am about to move to a new place - a house in the South area of México City that my husband and I have been renovating for the past eight months. A place with spacious open areas and a garden. These act as a consequence of the pandemic. 

Another consequence is that I have been exploring more of my photography. For many years, I have gotten used to working mainly for commissioned projects and stopped doing shoots for the joy of doing them - with no purpose other than capturing images and having new experiences. Returning to this has been very enriching. I feel that I am searching for something. I do not really know where it will take me, but the journey has felt good, so far. 

MB: Going back to your earlier projects and images, I have noticed that most of the photographs are for 192 Magazine, a publication you spearhead. Why did you establish the magazine? How do you juggle with working for commissions and the publication?

FZ: Having lived in New York City for four years working at a photo agency, I decided to move back to México City in 2007. I was born and lived here for most part of my life, but at that moment, I did not take the time to see what was going on in the photo and editorial industries, so when I arrived, I discovered that not much was happening and that there was something needed to be done. Thirteen years later and after an afternoon with my business partner, we decided to launch 192.

For years, the magazine has been my daily job. It requires a lot of time, attention, work, and passion. In the end, it is a business, and you have to take care of it a lot. Let us say a big amount of my time and energy goes into 192 while the remaining for photo projects, mainly commissions for other magazines, campaigns, and lookbooks for fashion brands, to name a few. Since a few months ago, I have worked more in order to have much more time for my photo projects and organize my time efficiently to keep up with the magazine operations. Everything has been coming along, so far.

MB: Let us dive deep into your ethics in photography. As I rifle through your portfolio, portraits underline your compendium. The expressions your subjects exude come out as natural, raw, and genuine. They no longer pose for the camera, but they interact with you through the lens. Does building a relationship with your subject essential? Do you instruct them with certain poses? How do you create a nurturing atmosphere for them?

FZ: I like to develop moodboards for my projects before shooting them. It is something I extremely enjoy doing. Not only do they help me with the models, but they also create a mood and feel that resonate with how I envision the shoot. It is important to make the models feel good and confident. When you connect with them, everything just flows.

MB: Emotions play a pivotal role in photography. They color the photographs, narrating unspoken thoughts through images. What emotions do you tend to provoke from your subjects? How do emotions affect your life and photography?

FZ: I am all about emotions and sensibility in work and life. For me, both move everything - the energy and intention you put into what you desire or do. My idea or mood depends on what I look for in the images, but I always try to achieve strength and power as an imagery to produce timeless images. 

MB: A penchant for natural beauty means accepting its full and all-encompassing forms. In your photographs, bare bodies take the center stage, projecting power and confidence without a sliver of embarrassment. What does power and confidence entail in the worlds of fashion and photography? How do you balance them? Based on your experience, how do the fashion and photography industries use power and confidence?

FZ: Power and confidence are elements everyone attempts to pursue. Confidence brings power in a positive way. In my case, I believe that all the nude photography I shoot searches for those bodies and souls empowering power. For me, the inside connects with the outside. 

MB: One’s body acts as a vessel of their soul, the womb of spirituality and individuality. Your photographs encourage the viewers towards self-acceptance and finding their self-worth. What advocacies do you pursue in your photography? Do spirituality and individuality permeate your philosophy in photography? What do self-acceptance and self-worth mean to you?

FZ: What you are, what you think, and what you believe in reflect enormously in your work. I believe there is always a bit of who I am in my photographs, which makes the scenes mine and only mine. Self-acceptance and self-worth are being happy with who you are. Life is definitely much easier and enjoyable when all of these are in their place. 

Styling Ana Luisa Blumenkron Hair & Makeup Alberto Pérez Model Sam @ New Icon

MB: Aside from portraits and fashion shoots, your portfolio also houses travel images. From the gentle lull of the blue sea to the nostalgic orange and purple sunset, the photographs allow viewers to reflect on life and appreciate the present and time. First, do the places you visit hold special memories to you? How do they inspire your photography? Then, acknowledging where you are today, what are you thankful for? 

FZ: I would say another passion of mine is traveling. For me, it is the best source of learning and inspiration. Every trip I make has made a strong impact on me, my life, and my photography that I will always bring back a memory or an object from a trip into my work. 

MB: In French Fries Magazine, we have started the series French Fries with Photographers: Women’s Backstories to narrate the daring stories of female photographers across the globe who are breaking boundaries and cultural norms in photography. Is gender relevant in the industry of photography? What are the politics behind the industry that are hidden from the public? What has been a striking moment for you

FZ: Fortunately for me and in my work, being a woman has never been an issue or obstacle, yet it is a personal and fortunate case that happens to me. I know and acknowledge that it does not apply for everyone. Today, I find myself surrounded by a legion of women photographers that I admire, whereas before there was a limited number of women photographers, at least in my country. For some reason, I have always had amazing women around me that have been my biggest inspiration and role models, starting, above all, with my mother. 

MB: Women across the globe may find photography interesting and toy with the idea of pursuing it full-time. Yet they may encounter a variety of fears: of not breaking through the scene, of not taking amazing shots, or of being undermined by those who have more experience. What would you tell our creative women in such cases? 

FZ: We all have fears, and I know that we work a lot to surpass them and become the person we are and we want to be. I believe that effort and passion must never disappear to get us to where we want to be, to continue where we are, and to get further in our dreams. For our women: never stop, keep working, and trust yourself no matter what. 

MB: Before moving to your next project, I would love to know: how do you like your French fries?

FZ: Very crispy with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and ketchup. 

What is this French Fries series about?

What runs behind the lens remains unspoken and concealed unless each narrative unfolds in a series of heartfelt stories, humble beginnings, fiery passion, and divine yearning to capture the impermanence of time. At French Fries Magazine, we desire to kindle, if not to reignite, the depth of the iceberg and the substance of the women photographers who aspire not only to let the impermanence of time be captured to linger, but to leave footprints and be remembered in our digital-connected reality. It is no longer enough that we marvel at the photoshoots they have done, productions they have designed, and commissions they have worked on to unravel the beauty and glam of the art, culture, and fashion themes that they had in mind. This time, we fuse our voice with the women’s backstories to concoct revelations that resonate to our diverse readers across the world.

We wonder about what goes through the conception of their concept, the founding of their mindset, the grounding of their ethics, and the value of their character as a photographer and creative. We strive to ask questions that dig beyond the surface, open up their emotions, and strip their narratives bare. While we touch on the common questions a publication asks to a photographer in an interview, French Fries Magazine barrels through every nuance that affects the women photographers’ artistry and craft, from their personal experiences with what goes behind the industry that the public fails to know about to the euphoria they emit throughout their creative journey. We envision interviews where they lay down their camera on a coffee table as we position two chairs that sit adjacent to one another and host candid conversations over a platter of french fries. 

We want to cross boundaries and break limits through intimate stories sourced from raw, pure, and translucent storytelling. We yearn to echo the plots of our women photographers and amplify them to inspire and influence women of all ages, ethnicities, and identities. We anchor to bring forth a communion of hardship, history, fruition, and faults behind the art, culture, design, and fashion visuals women photographers deliver for mass consumption. We invite you to embark on this voyage with us.

Welcome to French Fries with Photographers: Women’s Backstories.