BIOGRAPHY Playing with a used camera my cousin bought at a near by pawn shop, I introduced myself to photography. From then on, my interest grew and I began buying my own equipment starting with an old twin-lens camera, which I took around with me every where I traveled. Graduating from PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN as a designer, I was asked to photograph many of the products made by the design firm that I worked for. Finally, with the encouragement of a friend and my father, I enrolled in to The Germain School of photography, then at West 26th Street, in Manhattan. While in school, I was trained in all aspects of photography from developing prints to processing transparencies and working with the 4X5 style camera. While working as the assistant designer for The American Museum of Natural History and still going to photo school, I started freelancing in photography for private clients as well as for publications. I began my photo career shooting with various public relations firms, such as The ROLAND Company. Then I went on to work with publications such as 1199 NEWS, FREQUENT FLYER Magazine, NEWSWEEK and VIVA MAGAZINE, a former supplement of the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. I continue to shoot for the Spanish newspaper EL DIARIO LA PRENSA, photographing well known Hispanic artists and government leaders and covering news events in the city. This work included photographing food of various Hispanic food carts and restaurants in The Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, many being high-end culinary establishments in of themselves. It's been known, that Hispanic food is a fine combination of the diasporas of indigenous people from areas of the Caribbean and Central America mingling with traditional, Spanish and African foods, which make some of the most comforting foods in the world. Photography has given me the privilege of meeting people and being with people from all walks of life. It has been an honor to meet so many who are the fiber which makes The City of New York. Victor M. Matos, Photographer