Eddie Ortiz

I shoot Houston on foot, especially places where it does business. My role is mostly patron first, then photographer. The pictures are usually void of people, which has evolved into the through line. Where people exist in a frame, they are obscured, present through their activity rather than their face. A figure in the frame turns the photograph into an account of someone else's experience. An empty frame leaves the position open, so the viewer either stands where I stood or imagines themselves in that moment. Frames featuring a person invite you to exchange places with them. Experiential is luxury. The photographs are an argument for what's already there. Coffee shops, bookstores, libraries, taprooms, retail interiors, and the streets they sit on. If your project needs images a viewer can step into, reach out.