If you were asked to think of Los Angeles, what images would appear in your head? LA is a forever changing landscape and has produced many artistic cultural icons in the past century alone. Every generation is different, and each generation finds a way to create a timeless representation of the city within their work. There will always be those who feel a calling to their trade and these are the people, who through sweat, suffering and hard work make up the fabric of LA and give the city her heart and soul.
I sat down recently to chat with two of the up and comers to the LA game, they had plenty to say about make-up, photography, modern art and their hometown city – Los Angeles.
Q. Tell us a bit about yourselves, names, ages and where you grew up.
A. My name is Andrew Quesada, born in 87 and I was born in Montebello, CA. During my early childhood my parents lived in East Los Angeles, when I was older they moved to Bell, CA which is a suburb just outside LA city limits.
G. My full name is Gloria Rios I was born in Guanajuato, MX and came to live in Los Angeles with my family when I was still very young about 5 years old. I am also the youngest of 13 children.
Q. Andrew what sparked your interest in photography?
A. As a young kid growing up my parents were into art. My dad was into photography and my mother was an artist. It was all around me, I grew up picking up this art book or that photography book watching and hanging out with my parents. My dad would shoot pictures of me and my mom would draw the pictures that he shot. It was their little collaborated work, their thing they did, that is how I grew up.
Q. At what point did you realize photography and being a photographer was more then just a hobby for you?
A. I realized that there isn’t much anything else I would rather be doing with myself. There is a trip I took once to Melrose, down by Fairfax, just after my birthday. I spent hours down there talking to the people in the stores, I took pictures of them, and I took pictures of the stores. That’s basically where it started for me, right there. I met everyone on Fairfax, to this day everyone kind of knows me out there. That was the perfect day.
Q. Gloria, when did you decide you were going to start pursuing make-up seriously?
G. I think I’ve always been in love with make-up, ever since I was a little girl. As far as pursuing it, well I found myself in the mortgage industry in my mid 20’s and realized it had nothing to do with my love and my passion. I really wanted to do make-up so I put myself through make-up school. The mortgage industry was really going off at the time and was lucrative but I made the decision to leave and pursue my dream. It was the right decision for me.
Q. At what did you yourself start wearing make-up?
G. Umm, I would have to say at the age of 12, maybe 13. I always played with different colors. I never got into trouble playing with make-up.
Q. Colors are a big deal for you, your nickname “Glo” hints at it too, what sorts of colors are you into?
G. I like bright colors! Neon colors to be exact. I love the way they scream out loud. There are other artists who are afraid to work with color. I am not afraid to put colors together even if they are not complementary because when I do it they are. I really don’t know or care if it goes with the color wheel and yes I do know the color wheel. You can keep it simple but yet still be dramatic.
Q. How did you feel while you were going to school?
G. To be honest I felt like I didn’t belong, I went to school in an upscale neighborhood and I was the only Latina in the class, but I knew what I wanted and I was out to get it. I let nothing get in my way. My teacher was great, she challenged me and that is what I wanted, this isn’t just a hobby for me, it is my career.
Q. In the make-up world, what type of make-up is your favorite to apply?
G. Dramatic make-up definitely, doing make-up for a specific type of shoot and even now with Andrew working with his preference which is natural and camera lighting. It affects how I apply the make-up. I have to focus on what he wants and is trying to get out of picture.
A. Our work consists of a very raw LA feel, while neither of us is in front of the camera you still feel us there. It’s gritty and edgy, like LA.
Q. There’s always going to be changes in your work, how would you describe your work now compared to your earlier work. Especially the most recent projects you’ve had with Glo.
A. My earlier work was sexually raw in nature. I was enjoying doing the work and it was getting tons of attention but I wasn’t quite feeling complete in it. I knew I wanted to shoot high fashion I just didn’t have the resources or someone as amazing as Glo.
When Glo came into the picture I realized what an impact she had on how these girls looked and it brought out the side I wanted to bring out a long time ago. It was a turning point in my life and had a huge impact on my work.
G. I consider my early work paying my dues. I did lots and lots of photo shoots with very demanding photographers and clients. I worked very hard and learned. Slowly I built my portfolio and developed my style, with Andrew I feel I can express my style, my love of high fashion tinged with the LA color and feel. That’s when my work started to change, working with someone like him, we’re both creating, working off each other’s talent.
Q. What would you compare your photography to?
A. I would rather not compare my work. Let’s say, I provide raw images, real emotions. I shoot girmy, gritty, colorful, diverse, 60’s-70’s vintage warmth, fashionably new, with a bit of old school flavor while still sticking to my roots, and not forgetting where I came from.
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Q. What was your first photo shoot together?
G. Actually it’s very odd, we had just met and where hanging out, drinking some beers. Andrew was taking pictures of a girl named Andrea and I somehow got into the pictures, and they were good. A few weeks later we decided to toy around for the afternoon. I bronzed my body and it was decided not to shoot my face. We were working with the aura of mystery.
A. It was all very cool, Glo….she has a very expressive nature. It really gets my brain thinking. It’s almost like we finish each other’s thoughts. There are so many details and layers to that photo we wonder if anyone even notices. To this day, that picture gets a lot of attention. I get a lot of e-mails from my website about that picture. It’s great, I guess you can say it’s my logo now.
G. My nail polish is chipped my that picture and it really was bothering me, Andrew said to roll with it, looking back now I realize it lends that bit of grittiness the picture and that’s what we’re about.
Q. What inspires you?
A. I am inspired by high fashion and Los Angeles. To me LA has overwhelming artistic settings, the people, the landscapes, the old buildings, the streets. . I am a fan of everything. Art and music go hand in hand, when I am working there always has to be music playing in the background too.
G. I would have to say LA too. I worked at the Hollywood Bowl summers as a teenager and spent my days roaming up and down Hollywood Blvd with my girlfriends. There was color, high fashion and inspiration everywhere. I also love high fashion magazines, I can spend hours checking out details.
A. Also, I used to spend weekends with my dad roaming around LA taking pictures, people don’t realize LA is very big.
Q. Where did the nick name Glo come from?
G. Well I’ve always been called Glo because it’s short for Gloria, after I became a make-up artist at Mac my friends naturally gave me that nickname because of my use of bright colors. Also, during my dark times it was my “Glo” that led me in the right direction, “glow’n in the dark.”
Q. How did you get the name Bang Bang Photography?
A. It sort of started off as joke amongst my friends. We’d joke that I was going to shoot someone or shoot them and always insinuated and playing with that double meaning. I am a huge Quentin Taratino fan and the song Bang Bang from Kill Bill just seemed like the perfect fit for me.
Q. Will you guys please share a little unknown fact about yourselves for our readers?
G. What people really don’t know about me is how much my brother Marcelino affects my work. He was an amazing artist with the most amazing eye for detail, I strive to make my work as detailed and perfect as his drawings. He passed away not long ago and it is very hard for me to talk about it.
A. My first camera was a 1958 Minolta, it’s very special to me and I still have it. It’s the camera in the photo with Glo.
