Los Ojos De Muerte: Erwin Recinos

Andrew D. McClees (ADM): For those not familiar with you or your work, could you introduce yourself and give a quick overview of your work?

Erwin Recinos (ER): My name is Erwin Recinos and I’m a photographer from the city of Los Angeles. For the last ten years my film photography work has revolved around my perspective of the city I live in. I also work with the website LATACO.com and that has also played a big role in my photography work. The film work I produce is a photo album of my life as a son, a father and photographer.

ADM: You've (as of starting this interview) just released "Exposed" which is a compilation of photos shot on Medium format film. What was the impetus to put together and release the zine?

ER: Actually this zine was produced back in 2018. With the Rona & quarantine it’s given me some time to promote my work. The thinking behind making this zine was opportunity to produce a zine for free. I was approached by some folks at Pow!Wow! Mural festival & PaperCutLounge to be apart of a zine release party for the week long event. I was given specs for printed zine and I produced my layouts. Looking at my catalog of photos I had there were produced that year with a Mamiya C330. I show you snippets of life that I capture in and around this vast metropolitan.

ADM: Oh, rad, I've noticed you have a really impressive, and high output of zines - or at least I swear in the last week or two you've promoted a couple other ones in addition to these two. You mention a bit later that you have different goals for different zines, but is there a connecting thread?

ER: The variety of work is the goal. To not have the work feel boxed in or stagnant with a genre or style. The work has to progress and move and grow as I will. My interest and goals are very different from when I started 20 years ago to 3 years ago.

ADM: You're also about to put out a collaborative zine with SER@LA? What's the zine about, and how did you decide to collaborate?

ER: Seratla and I have been collaborating for a number of years now. It was just a matter of time to put it in print form. The photos from this zine are dated back from his beginnings in 2012-2013. Seratla was paste & sticker campaign with a great logo and theme. I was privi to document his mural painting process. All photos were captured with a digital camera. Color was the only option for displaying and capturing his work. That was key through out the process. I would also create videos for some of the mural I documented.

ADM: Oh that's really interesting - did you learn anything new while making a zine for that campaign - also did you find the video-making process influenced the photos you took?

ER: That zine was a learning tool for a lot of projects that proceeded after it. It made me focus and work thru the process and not just rush thru another project. Learning more with printing and shooting and editing video. This in no way narrow my scope but enhance my awareness of slowing down the process and seeing everything thru the end.

ADM: From the base description both zines seem very different - Exposed being all black and white, where the collaborative zine is all color - that's a fairly big stretch in working styles - did you plan to put out two separate zines from the outset?

ER: Of course. Zines have a life of their own. They can be themed zines with volumes of printed editions. Zines can also be short lived bangers with the right paper and content. The work for both zines i made had time to breath from when they were first captured. As a creative you know when the work you are curating is ready to be presented.

Here is an example of my last two zines I produced last year. Both were the same in color but totally different content. One was about graffiti and the other about wrestling. The decision of the color and execution were already decided. Riso printed was the way to go. I talked with Cynthia Navarro of Tiny Splendor in Echo Park, Ca. She gave tips and helped make suggestions on the final printed zines.

ADM: Riso is really awesome stuff - and the previews of that wrestling zine look really great on your website - how did you get into that project - and more generally how do you find your journalism work with LATACO and otherwise contributes to your photography or informs it?

ER: The zine is titled One year of Bar Wrestling and it was my perspective of this niche wrestling scene that popped up in Baldwin Park, California just 16 miles east of downtown LA. A friend of mine, Dennis bought me a ticket to check it out. That started late 2017 and is still going. Attended a show just before the quarantine in March. As everything is theses days it hit social media and nuked the fridge with a spot on Macaulay Culkin when he appeared on Ellen. Great move for them. I'm just glad I was there when I could see it happen or at least take fruit.

All photos were taken with various point n' shoots. Hard to hold an SLR or DSLR with a beer in hand and craziness going around. It made the experiencing of capturing it more fun with a up close and personal feel in the photos.

In 2010 I started with LATACO as an event photographer and documenting my perspective of Los Angeles. From art shows, graffiti, pop-up events and various music concerts. The scene in front of my camera always transitioned that it helped me grow as a photographer. In the last two years LATACO has taken on a role of trusted local grass roots news organization. The eye of documentarian is now the next evolution and it is shifting my work. Another style that is evolving and it’s great to see.

*Here is my author’s page on the website if you'd like to see the work I've done in the last 10 years.

https://www.lataco.com/author/erwin/

ADM: You're a dyed in the wool Angeleno - what do you look for when you're out in the city shooting, if you wouldn't mind extrapolating?

ER: If on assignment for the TACO I have time, place and photo goals that need to be executed. Also, my interest of local sports, art and events with family will take me anywhere in the city. A camera is always with me so my everyday life living in this city is what I believe I'm really capturing.

ADM: In terms of getting out into a city or a culture - like you do with Los Angeles, or working with LA TACO, or getting into Bar Wrestling - what advice would you give to someone looking to capture that or something like that - both as a personal project and a professional one?

ER: Access, work ethic and luck are really the foundations I use when working on personal & professional projects. Knowing the right people and networking to me is still a thing which gives me access to create personal projects or events to get that professional gig. I believe I've put in the work and met enough of the right people to keep growing as a photographer and a person.

ADM: From Adrian Otero Vila: If you could go back in time and stand next to a photographer when they were making an image, which one would it be?

ER: There are three photographers I'd like to do this with: Mike Miller and his famed photo of Tupac Shakur. Jonathan Mannion and his photo of Notorious BIG when he released his first album. Estevan Oriol and his photo of Dennis Hopper.

ADM: What's one question you have for the next photographer? You can answer it yourself if you'd like.

ER: What is the most important aspect of photography that you have applied to your daily life?

ADM: Where can we find your work and purchase your zines? Any other parting words?

ER: My printed zine work is available via losojos.bigcartel.com. Support people who support you. Your local zine community will thank you.

Hi, If you’ve read this far, thanks for reading the interview. This is usually the part where we stump for donations to keep the website up. This week - in light of the riots, we’d like to encourage you to donate to a cause related to helping out. This whole text block is a link to a better link tree.

Thanks,

The Management.