Natalie Sosa’s Gentle, Pretty Pictures are a Vibe
To use a modern phrase, I absolutely vibed with Natalie Sosa’s photographs. Her works and I instantly hit it off and I knew right away that I wanted a second date, so I moved from her Twitter to her website, and the more I learned about her photographs, the more I began to fall in love with them.
Moving away from the dating analogy, Sosa creates beautiful pictures. She’s relatively new to her photographic journey, and by her own admission is still educating herself on the vastness of the craft. Despite that, not only does she display a huge amount of potential, she already boasts a body of work any photographer would be proud of.
For transparency, I’m also fond of Sosa’s journey because she’s from a country that’s close to my heart, Mexico. For all the bad press the country gets, I know first hand that it’s a hub for art, beauty and exceptional creativity, Sosa is evidence of that.
While still young, she made the decision to leave behind her Latin American lifestyle and move to Japan, causing quite the culture shock. That didn’t stop her pushing through and it was a life experience that will serve her — and the photography she creates — forever.
Them Frames: Hey Natalie, how do you feel about the photographs you’re currently creating?
Natalie Sosa: I’m taking my time to explore photography and the thousands of narratives you can create with images. I’m studying a lot of different artists, and since I didn’t have an artistic background before, I took my time and learned from others. So, sometimes I feel frustrated, to be honest, because I’m trying and not always getting the results I want, and other days I get so happy to be in the place I am, and to trust my vision.
Them Frames: If someone asked, “what type of photographer are you?” What would you tell them?
Natalie Sosa: I wouldn’t label my work; sometimes I love editorial photography, then I go out and take street photography or landscape; even macro photography seems fascinating. You can combine different styles in one series, creating a stronger narrative.
Them Frames: You like making photographs outdoors, what are some of your favorite places to create images?
Natalie Sosa: I love being surrounded by nature because I feel so safe alone and not crowded by thousands of strangers. As a woman living in Mexico City, you can get this anxious feeling of constantly being in a dangerous situation, which sucks.
However, I do like to walk around the city. That’s why I was so happy in Japan for the security you can feel as you walk around the city. But now, in my current situation, what works better for me is to go to a forest or a natural place where I can be my complete self without all these negative feelings. But if I’m in the city and find something interesting, I record it with my phone like a still video. By now, I have thousands of videos, and I have to find the time to put them somewhere public, maybe soon.
Them Frames: Can you share one photograph you made in the past 12 months that you’re really proud of and explain why, please?
Natalie Sosa: I like “Bloom in NYC” because I took it on a bad day. It was a bad day because of the weather and how I felt. I was so anxious, sad, and nervous, and even though I felt like that, I pushed myself outside my limits, saw this composition and took this photo outside a flower shop.
Them Frames: You’re part of the Fellowship Trust. Can you tell us more about the organization and your relationship with it?
Natalie Sosa: Fellowship is an organization whose mission is to empower photography in the web3 world. I’m currently on the team taking charge of the writing and more; that’s how I’m learning photography and improving my skills. It’s like my school but cooler because I can talk directly to people I admire, like Chadwick Tyler and Alex Cartagena, they are my mentors, and I’m reading a lot from the photographers I love.
Them Frames: Let’s talk about your collection, Removing the Veil of the Loneliest City. What inspired the collection and what is it about?
Natalie Sosa: I felt way too lonely while living for the first time in a country where I didn’t even know the basics of the Japanese language—no friends and in a very different timezone to talk with my family in Mexico. So I found quite a peace from taking long walks, which was my only activity for the first three months.
Then I got friends and time to travel outside, so I improved. Taking photographs was my little game, and I was portraying the reality of the way I was living in a beautiful city like Tokyo, but in a very emotional mood that I wasn’t talking about with anybody.
Them Frames: If you could choose one song that perfectly accompanies your photography, which would it be and why?
Natalie Sosa: Pu - Arca, it’s so sweet :-)
Them Frames: Finally, please finish this sentence: “I need photography in my life because...”
Natalie Sosa: it’s my nature; It’s been so long with me that I would be so confused If I practiced something else.
