Photographer’s work on display By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer
Monday, January 5, 2009 10:08 AM PST
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
Jorge Estrada’s “Self-Portrait,” a composite photograph, is one of many images on display at Cafe 101 in El Centro on Saturday.
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
“Balloons” by Jorge Estrada, a photograph on display at Cafe 101 in El Centro.
Artists commonly use a paintbrush to express themselves, but Imperial Valley resident Jorge Estrada uses a different tool: a camera.
“Ever since I was a child I always wanted to use a camera,” Estrada said in Spanish.
After taking a photography class at Imperial Valley College in 1980, Estrada focused his attention on photography because he “liked it so much.”
Estrada’s wizardry with a camera is in full display as his photography will be exhibited for the next two months at Café 101 in downtown El Centro. The exhibit started Saturday at the café at 510 W. Main St.
The small eatery is now adorned with a series of colorful images that reflect Estrada’s thematic take on life and all things personal.
A wood-framed house sits in a clearing in one photograph while another features a series of partial images of a model’s face. The pictures were shot during the past six years, said Estrada, who is now a photography instructor at IVC.
Other examples of the 60-year-old photographer’s work are too numerous to mention but can be seen at the café in a virtual feast for the eyes.
Originally from Mexico, Estrada immigrated to the U.S. in 1965 and started working the fields as a truck loader in places like Salinas and Arizona every season.
The labor-intensive work left Estrada with a back injury that required surgery in 1977. A year later Estrada moved to El Centro, where he began taking English classes at IVC in 1979. Four years later, Estrada earned a photography and cinematography degree from IVC.
But Estrada contracted the viral disease known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, which left him partially paralyzed. The illness had him undergo two years of physical therapy.
In the end, Estrada triumphed and has been summoned to be a judge in a photography award conference, he said.
“Practice, is everything,” he said.
Salvador Rodriguez, who co-owns the café with his wife, Mayra, said he once took a class with Estrada, whom he holds in high regard.
“I’m proud of him because of his good work with pictures,” Estrada said. “I think he’s one of the best artists in the Valley.”
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