Inwood Photographer to Turn Lens on Mexico in Monthlong Photo Residency

Crowdfund: Help Uptown Photographer Emmanuel “DJ Boy” Abreu In His Upcoming Artist Residency in Chalapa, Mexico

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: E.ABREU VISUALS

Portraits of the Heights by Iris Torres for Mango Productionz

 www.instagram.com/eabreuvisuals

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    Help me gear up for the 360 XOCHI QUETZAL: Summer Artist Residency in Central Mexico. Not only is it my first residency, but I am also the first photographer ever accepted, out of 160 applicants. I'm looking forward to exploring the community of Chapala and other parts of Mexico, forming relationships with its residents.  I have based my photography in my community, to show some of its history in real, positive, and beautiful ways, because it has had a bad rap in the past. I would like your support, so I can explore the real, positive, and beautiful things I see in communities around Mexico.

I was chosen "because his work was so fresh and original. In a world saturated by photography and video, his work really stood out, which is remarkable." - Deborah Kruger

Chapala, Mexico. Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez

What Am I Raising Money For?

  As stated before, I was accepted to the artist residency in Central Mexico, specifically  Chapala, Jalisco for the month of May. Thanks to the wonderful visual artist, and supporter of other artists, Deborah Kruger, I get to go to a part of Mexico that's not only beautiful, but close to other amazing parts of Mexico like Guadalajara. I still can't believe that I not only got this residency, it's the first one I applied to (I'm batting 1.000!). The residency, which has hosted a number of really cool artists like Yuki Siroi, Justin Lytle and others, will be the best opportunity for me to launch my travel photography career. I will be traveling around as much as I can around Mexico along with a fellow photographer/poet, who will inspire me even more to create and appreciate my surroundings. 

  I will be visiting different communities around Mexico, and will be trying to get to know each individual person I come across and really get to know the areas where they live. I also want to observe and find what makes them different from other neighborhoods. Then I will capture them in a way that reflects what I learn through photos and video. 

Where Is The Money Going Exactly?

  The funds will be going towards a couple of new and exciting equipment purchases to allow me to get new, interesting and unique perspectives. Assistance in flight purchase is also needed. You won't be alone in this fundraiser, I will be selling a few of my own items on other websites in order to make the total amount of this indiegogo campaign much lower. I will also be ordering used or refurbished items to keep the costs lower.

If you help me meet my fundraising goal you will help me purchase:

1. Canon 5D MK III-With its full framed sensor I will be able to open up the possibilities, literally, in capturing the world.

2. Quadcopter-To achieve aerial shots of beautiful landscapes including the largest lake in Mexico, "Laguna de Chapala" surrounded by endless mountains. 

3. Canon Wide Lens-Recently, my widest lens was "injured on the job" and I sent it to get repaired, but realized that I will need a wider lens to really get some better images. I am looking at the lowest price, while keeping the best quality possible, for this.

4. Go Pro Camera-To use with Quadcopter and to have extra interesting angles for various shoots.

5. Insurance-As I am traveling to a whole different country, I need to protect my equipment from anything that can happen like accidents, theft, mother nature getting mad I forgot to call her. 

6. Canon Battery wall adapter and Memory cards-These two are to further my venture into time lapse photography. Check out this video to see some of my work that uses this.

7. Hard Drives-New reliable storage is something I really need

8. Other things-travel tripod, smaller tripods for small spaces, and more. 

If you help me exceed the fundraising goal you will:

• Assist me with my travel costs (flight, taxis, buses)
• help me give thanks, in the form of food, supplies, or gifts, to the communities and families who will allow me to document their everyday lives.

Who Is Emmanuel "Dj Boy" Abreu?

          I am a New York City-based photographer and cinematographer (and yes, I also Dj) whose passion has been growing ever since going to the Dominican Republic at the age of 10 with his family, and a camera. More than a decade later I decided to pursue a career in the visual arts, and since then I have been part of many great community organizations and projects like Word Up Community Bookshop, Nutcracker Inc, The Uptown Collective and a number of my own projects. My personal work and collaborative works have been recognized and published on different media outlets like The New York Times, Huffington Post, The Village Voice, Bill Moyers, Time Out: New York, DNAinfo, gothamist, The Manhattan Times and more. You can also check out my work on some  indiegogo campaigns I helped with like the aforementioned Word Up, United Palace Theater, People's Theatre Project, The Morris Jumel Mansion and others. My goal is to capture the positive human spirit and the culture within each community I visit, along with some beautiful landscape and street images, and eventually become a travel photographer.  

Word Up Community Bookshop on Opening Day

  A great example of how much I care about my community, and my work in an indiegogo campaign, is the time I put in for Word up Community Bookshop. With a collection of strong, creative and hard working volunteers, we successfully managed to fund our dream bookshop! I have volunteered at the bookshop since its inception in 2011, and have not stopped capturing, working, and enjoying it since. I created a few videos for the campaign, and helped with many other aspects of the fundraising from online to on the street. After a very successful campaign, Word Up was invited to an Indiegogo panel at Woodstock Film Festival, and I went up (along with Mike Fitelson who was representing the United Palace of Cultural Arts' indiegogo, which I also helped work on) and spoke on behalf of our beautiful organization.

For more information about me and my work visit www.eabreuvisuals.com

Kids jumping into river in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic

What Do You Get if You Contribute?

          Not only will you be pushing a fellow community member (Washington Heights/Inwood, NYC, NY, USA, Earth, Milky Way) towards reaching his ultimate dream of becoming a travel photographer, but you will receive awesome gifts you can either keep, and put them on your or coffee table, or you can gift them to your loved ones.

There are many cool things to choose from like

• Unique Postcards I will be creating and collecting in Mexico. 
• Fine art prints of photography I have already taken and photos I will take on the trip. available in different sizes. They will b professionally and carefully printed bu Washington Heights/Inwood printer Antoon at Uptown Fine Art Printing Studio. 
• Solo or family shoots of you and your loved ones, or hated ones, that's up to you :-)
• Photowalks with me in which I will show you the most beautiful views of Washington Heights and Inwood, NYC from the most known to the least known, and you will be able to capture the beauty and learn new techniques to get better images. 
• and much more. Check out the perks list on the right of this page for the full list. 

What Happens If I Don't Raise All The Funds?

          If I don't collect all the funds I am asking for here, then I will rank what the most important equipment and items are and only use the funds for those items. If I can possibly raise them elsewhere I will, but the trip will still happen and I will still deliver the best possible art I can with what I have.

Fireworks on Sherman Avenue, Washington Heights, New York City

    The 360 XOCHI QUETZAL Artist and Writer's Residency Program is a residency set up by a great artist, Deborah Krugerand company, to give a once in a lifetime opportunity to writers and artists from all over the world to help feed their artistic souls. They support us by giving a beautiful private space in Chapala, along with a generous food allowance, for a full month. You are given freedom to do whatever inspires you, and all that is asked in return is for the artist to hopefully make progress in their art, and maybe leave something behind as a token of appreciation. It is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who needs to just get out of their day to day lives and focus solely on their creative endeavors. There have been a couple of amazing artists that have already participated and created beautiful work so far, and I am excited to continue adding to it. As the first photographer ever chosen for this opportunity, I will be doing my best to deliver the highest quality and most creative work for this residency, my supporters, and most importantly my own artistic growth.

Mother and son in Moca, Dominican Republic

          There are many ways you can be a part of this besides financially contributing, although it definitely is the best way you can help. One of the easiest and still effective way to get this campaign where it needs to be is by spreading the word. You can do this by sharing on twitter, facebook, tumblr, youtube, google plus, instagram or whatever else you use. There are also good "old fashioned" emails you can send out to your friends and family.

          Keep an eye on the campaign updates as I will be hosting an event in order to raise awareness and funds.

Thank you so much for looking and I hope you will support me. 

Here are some more samples of my work.

Native Traditions in Inwood Park, New York City

Church in Moca, Dominican Repubic

Sledding in Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights/Inwood, New York City

Henry Hudson Parkway view from George Washington Bridge, New York Side

Mi Tio and Friend in Moca, Dominican Republic

Snow Fall in Inwood Hill Park, New York City

Artist Tess Performing at Whin III Show