Interviews
Aaron Mendoza
Aaron Mendoza is a photographer and cinematographer from the Philippines, currently based in Northern California. His work blends travel, lifestyle, and conceptual photography, using soft tones and dreamlike imagery to explore themes of belonging, introspection, and connection. Through expansive landscapes and distant figures, he captures quiet moments that invite reflection. His collaborations include SOHO House, Microsoft, Sony Music, 88RISING, and Instagram, with features on platforms like Apple and Fisheye Magazine.
Can you tell us how your journey with photography began and what initially sparked your passion for documenting the world around you?
I began my photo journey in 2016. Albeit, I was not good at it at the time, but I had a desire to document and create memories of my life. My little travels and moments I experienced.
You’ve mentioned that being in nature helps put life into perspective. Can you share a specific experience where a natural setting profoundly influenced your outlook or creative process?
I find that nature brings out a feeling of connection, not only myself, but to the world. That I feel as if I’m am but a small piece in a unique and profound human experience. It’s at times where I travel to these quiet, subtle parts of the world that bring out this inner peace in myself. It speaks for me when I don’t know how to communicate my own thoughts.
Nature brings out a feeling of connection—not only to myself, but to the world. It speaks for me when I don’t know how to communicate my own thoughts.
In a previous interview, you spoke about the challenge of comparing your work to others and the journey to finding authenticity in your art. What advice would you give to emerging photographers struggling with self-doubt?
Comparison is a constant battle for me to this day. Though I always try my best to remind myself of how significant I, and everyone sees this world in a distinct and unique way. The feelings of impostor syndrome come and go, but creating art for my personal love and passion always stray me back in the right direction.
Your photography often features strangers in expansive landscapes, creating a sense of shared experience. What is it about these distant human figures that resonates with you, and how do they contribute to the narrative of your images?
Having distant people in my landscapes, whether I know them or not has been a way that I’ve always taken photos since I started. I’ve always been introverted in my approach, and that reflects in this. I think I can attribute my own feelings to those I capture, distant and obscure but also at peace.
Having grown up in Northern California and frequently visiting places like San Francisco, how have these environments shaped your artistic vision and the themes you explore in your work?
California has always been a huge inspiration and backdrop to create my work. There’s such a wide blend of city, to nature. Busy areas full of life and character, to areas where you can drive to that are completely empty. It’s those contrasts that allow me to experiment and try out new techniques in my work.
With a substantial following on platforms like Instagram, how do you navigate the balance between creating art for personal fulfillment and engaging with a broader audience? What impact has this digital presence had on your work?
I’ve always preferred to leave my personal life separate from the art I share online. It wasn’t until recently that I even started feeling comfortable with sharing how I look on social media. There’s times where I prefer being completely disconnected between my personal life and the things I share of course, but I find it comes at a balance.
