MATEO BORRERO

In this Golden Shot Photography Awards interview, MATEO BORRERO reflects on the path into photography, the ideas behind the awarded work, and the visual language that continues to shape their practice.

I am a Colombian professional photographer and engineer currently living in Bogotá D.C. I am Master in Artistic Photography and my artistic journey began approximately 12 years ago with an intensive period of technical training, accompanied by hands-on photography practice across different parts of my country and the world.

The winning photograph, “Water Line,” was taken in the Amazon and features a member of the Ticuna indigenous people alongside a 500-year-old ceiba tree. The image illustrates the environmental impact that has severely affected the water level of the Amazon River; the tree’s bark reveals the river’s former water mark—a level that has been dropping critically year after year due to the impact of climate change.

I captured this image during a photography expedition in the Amazon; I set out by boat from Leticia, Colombia, and after traveling for several hours along the river, I met a Ticuna indigenous man. While documenting his region, I encountered these beautiful trees but also came face-to-face with the environmental challenges the area is facing.

Through photography, I aim to reveal the environmental issues facing the indigenous communities, their animals, and the species found near the banks of the world’s longest river. I also wish to showcase the beauty and majesty of these trees, as well as the striking visual qualities of the indigenous people who still live along the Amazon.

The greatest challenge in creating the image lay in the travel time required to reach the site: first, a flight from the Colombian capital to the city of Leticia, followed by several hours by boat along the river to the location where the indigenous man and the ceiba tree were situated.

I specialize in travel and documentary photography, capturing people, landscapes, urban scenes, and animals, aiming to reveal beauty and reality despite the challenges of each location.

In my work of portraying and documenting places and communities, the most important thing for me is to capture the reality of the people and their surroundings, while highlighting the appealing, special, and striking qualities that create unique and memorable scenes involving those people.

My photographic influences are Sebastião Salgado, Steve McCurry, Cartier-Bresson, and the Colombian photographer John Quintero, with whom I had the opportunity to go on photographic expeditions in various parts of the world.

It is an honor and a source of pride to have won this award, and it serves as both a source of motivation and a great responsibility to continue creating impactful images.

The advice is to take the risk and participate; simply by going through the process of creating and presenting images, you strengthen your personal photography portfolio.