Through My Lens: Gustavo Fernández Coria, Artist Of Light

By Bill Wilson

Fiat Lux” Latin for “Let there be Light! — Third verse in the Book of Genesis.

“Never stop seeing the light to achieve an excellent photograph," observes San Miguel de Allende photographer Gustavo Coria.

Gustavo Coria didn’t start out to be a professional photographer. He studied Veterinary Zootechnician at UNAM in México City. “It’s a profession I do not practice. My experience has focused on photography in its various fields: press, scientific, journalistic, and artistic,” he notes. Like many photographers, he started taking photographs when he was a teenager and turned that skills and love into a profession that moved him through many jobs and lands. He eventually studied at the Active School of Photography in Coyoacán, México City.

Coria is originally from México City, but has traveled extensively and lived in London, Palma de Mallorca, Buenos Aires, and Honduras as well as in many states throughout México.

He has been a photographer for over 40 years and has more than 20 years experience teaching photography. He's taught at the Escuela de San Carlos & The Centro Cultural Casa Lamm in México City, and The Instituto de la Cultura in Yucatan among other institutions. He is currently teaching at the Universidad San Miguelense and the Sindicato: Espacio Cultural Alternativo.

For three years Gustavo was chief photographer for This Magazine, the cultural magazine of San Miguel. He has participated in many solo and collaborative exhibits in México City, London, Barcelona, Bombay, Istanbul, and other major cities. His interests in photography include landscape, archeology, architecture, food, gothic cemeteries, and conceptual & abstract photography. He is currently working on an exhibit on Siqueiros and his Influence on Urban Art.

During his photography work over the years, he has achieved many of his photographic goals, “This currently has led me to an ethnographic understanding of my country, México, and abroad with photographic exhibitions, both in México and in different countries in Asia, Europe, and South America,” he explains.

How did you come to live in San Miguel de Allende? “For over 40 years, visiting San Miguel Allende and living in the surrounding areas of the State of Guanajuato," he said.He adds that his favorite type of photography is analog, developing and printing photographs taken with analog cameras. But like many photographer, “I’m currently working with digital photography,” he concludes.

Photos by GustavoFernandez Coria

IG @1carbonelli