Thursday, May 10, 2012

Closing Reception: The Photographer as Child: Memories of Guatemala
La Casita Cultural Center

La Casita Cultural Center
109 Otisco St., Syracuse

There will be a closing reception and silent auction for this evening 5:30-8:30 pm. The silent auction will feature López artwork that is included in the exhibition. Proceeds will benefit La Casita's Young Photographers' Fund.

Born in Guatemala, award-winning photographer Efren Lopez is a student in the Military Photojournalism Program at Syracuse University. He is also an aerial photographer for the U.S. Air Force and the first reservist to be selected to attend Newhouse's Military Photojournalism Program. He now lives in Arizona.

The exhibit features images Lopez captured on a return trip to Guatemala in 2009. "My life began in a bamboo hut at the side of a road in a tiny town named Petaca, Guatemala, in 1966," Lopez writes. "It's a town so small that it is next to impossible to find on most maps of Guatemala, much less Central America."

Lopez has documented real-world situations and the military around the globe and has captured stunning images in Arizona and Guatemala. His work has been featured in various publications, including the book Arizona 24/7, and has been awarded many distinctions, including first place in the Professional Photography category at the 2008 Arizona State Fair, an honorable mention in the pictorial category in the 2009 Military Photographer of the Year competition, and first place in the 2011 Multimedia Team 19th Annual Department of Defense Worldwide Military Photography Workshop.