Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Estella Mora Lopez. I was born and raised in a small town on the coast of Northern California. I started creating art at the small elementary school I attended from kindergarten through eighth grade. I did ceramics with Kathy, jewelry with metal man, drawing and painting with Harriet and Wood shop with Ron. It was a privilege to be exposed to so many different mediums at such a young age.
Now, I attend California College of the arts in San Francisco. I major in photography, specifically film and photo documentary.
I only picked up a camera about five years ago. I started with a digital canon camera, and then disposable film cameras. My first "real" film camera was a canon AE-1. I loved this thing, I shot on it nonstop. I later got another camera and another and another and another, half of which didn’t work. Now I’ll shoot on a $20 Yashica I got at an antique fair or a $40 plastic Holga.
I’ve traveled across the country with both cameras. I take them everywhere I go, to the beach, high up on the mountains, deep in the forest and through the fog. I love the feeling of it all.
When did you start surfing? What were your first boards. What has surfing taught you?
I’ve been surfing my whole life. Both my parents surf and taught me how to surf at my local break. I started with a soft top, I remember it was blue and super long, it felt so big under my small feet. I also loved boogie boarding, I used to pride myself on being able to do a 360. I tried lots of boards until I found one I really liked, a 10’ Arrow. This board was wide and super easy to control, I loved surfing on it.
A couple years after I got that board, I bought my dream board, a 9’8 mustard yellow Bing. I love this board. There’s a deep concave on the nose making it super easy to hang 5 or 10 and a moon tail which makes the board turn like a gem.
I feel such a deep connection to the ocean and everything it has to offer. Because of this I often find myself photographing the water and the waves. Surfing has taught me not only to be patient, but to accept that not everything is going to work out the way you want it to. Surfing is more fun when you let everything go and enjoy being out in the water.
How did you get into Photography?
I got into photography in high school. I’ve always loved taking photos on my phone, I have thousands and thousands of random photos. I started with a digital camera and moved to film in 2019. I got into medium format in college. I love both formats and don’t have a favorite, I’ve been shooting on mostly 35mm this summer. I've been trying to take my camera more places, less thinking about the perfect shot, more about shooting as much as I can. It feels good to get a roll of film back and have “imperfect” photographs, it’s all part of the process and most of the time those photos end up being my favorites.
What are you working on now?
I’ve been mostly taking photos of the people and places that fill my hometown. An ever changing place so I try to capture as much of it as I can in each moment. I’m fascinated by human connections to others and to the earth. I think a lot about how we all ended up in the same place at the same time. How nothing is actually really in our control and sometimes you just have to let the universe do its thing. I want to be able to look back on all my photos and remember the good times because I know it’s not always going to be like this. I’m young, I’m growing and changing, so is everything around me. I try to capture these ever changing moments as much as I can.
Have you shown your work and what that experience is like?
Yes! I’ve had a couple solo shows and been in five group shows. I love showing my work and hearing what people have to say about it. It’s so interesting to hear how different people interpret my work and interact with it. It’s a really beautiful thing when people get together to sit with your art, it feels really special.
Additional Information
Estella was part of the re-imagining team for the withitgirl relaunch in 2020.
All photos by Estella Mora Lopez: @fromthewildflowerss
Photos of Estella surfing by Tennessee: @sea.beetle
Holga Cameras: Lomography
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