Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jose Marcos Carvajal Tarazona. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jose Marcos, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My name is José Marcos Carvajal Tarazona (located in Tunja, Colombia) and through Tarazona Estudio, my artistic focus revolves around a deep exploration of the relationship between human beings and the natural environment. My proposal distances itself from mass commercial photography to focus on fine-art photography—organic, sustainable, and crafted with the highest artisanal value.
My work in the studio is built upon three conceptual and technical pillars that define my identity as a creator:
1. Nature Revealed: My Chemical-Free Photography
The core of my botanical research lies in chlorophyll printing (chlorotype) and organic developing. Instead of using industrial photographic papers or traditional chemical reagents—which are often highly polluting—I use nature itself as a photosensitive emulsion.
The Living Canvas: I carefully select fresh, living leaves from various plants.
Light as a Sculptor: I expose these leaves to the sun beneath negatives or special acetates that I prepare, allowing solar radiation to selectively break down the chlorophyll. The image reveals itself slowly and organically, integrating symbiotically with the veins, textures, and shapes of the plant. Each leaf is a living matrix.
2. Lumorphosis (My Concept of Light Transformation)
Under this signature concept that I have been developing, I conceive light not merely as an element to “illuminate,” but as an agent of change and pure visual creation.
Experimental Techniques: My artistic production includes the use of light painting (painting with light during long exposures) and double exposures created directly in-camera.
Unique Results: This allows me to guarantee that every photograph is an unrepeatable piece, imbued with a mystical atmosphere where I capture movements and hidden details of daily life and nature that the human eye usually overlooks.
3. Exploring the Invisible (Macrophotography)
Another crucial facet of my studio is macrophotography, which I build from an artistic and experimental perspective (using accessible tools such as reversed lenses or extension tubes). Through this technique, I seek to:
Halt the fast-paced rhythm of the viewer, forcing them to observe tiny settings.
Discover textures, geometries, and micro-landscapes in insects, plants, and organic elements, reinforcing that sensitive bond with the Earth that I deeply inherited from my mother’s sensibility.
Through my work at Tarazona Estudio, I do not only seek to produce beautiful images, but also to propose an ecological, pedagogical, and reflective alternative on how we connect with our environment, proving that art can be sustainable.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Tarazona Estudio | Organic Photography & Sustainable Processes Welcome to my creative space. I am José Marcos Carvajal Tarazona, and through Tarazona Estudio, I place my photographic vision at your disposal; a space that breaks away from mass commercial production to offer you fine-art photography—conscious, ecological, and crafted with the highest artisanal value. Here, I transform traditional photographic processes into experiences in total harmony with the Earth.
If you are seeking a unique piece for your collection, a visual project with a sustainable identity, or wish to learn how to develop using nature as your canvas, I invite you to explore the services I have designed from my workshop:
My Artistic & Professional Services
1. Custom Chlorophyll Printing (Chlorotype)
I transform your images, portraits, or visual concepts into everlasting pieces of botanical art.
My process: I use fresh, living leaves as a photosensitive emulsion, where sunlight reveals your image, integrating it symbiotically with the plant’s veins and textures.
The result: I deliver an organic, unique, and unrepeatable work of art, subjected to a rigorous dehydration and preservation process with UV filters to ensure it endures over time.
Ideal for: Art collectors, memorable gifts with an ecological soul, or sustainable editorial projects.
2. Fine-Art & Conceptual Photography (Lumorphosis)
I develop your photographic projects under my signature concept of Lumorphosis, in which I conceive light not merely to illuminate, but as a living agent of visual transformation.
My techniques: I apply light painting and double exposures directly in-camera to achieve mystical atmospheres.
Ideal for: Album covers, fine-art editorial photography, brand campaigns with ecological values, or portraits seeking to completely differentiate themselves.
3. Macrophotography of the Invisible
I capture the hidden beauty within the tiniest settings of our environment through experimental macrophotography techniques (using reversed lenses and extension tubes).
My focus: I discover organic textures, geometries, and micro-landscapes.
Ideal for: Botanical research projects, natural cosmetic brands, artisanal jewelry, or interior design requiring decorative prints with a natural soul.
My Educational Services & Training
Workshops on Chlorotype & Alternative Photography
I share my knowledge and the sensitivity toward the Earth that I inherited from my mother through theoretical-practical workshops (available both in-person and virtually).
What I will teach you: Everything from the correct selection of plant material and the preparation of high-contrast digital negatives, to assembling contact printing frames, solar exposure, and my biological fixing techniques.
Target audience: Photographers, visual artists, environmental educators, and anyone interested in creating art without polluting chemicals.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes, absolutely. My creative journey is driven by a very clear mission: to reconcile the photographic act with the rhythms and processes of Mother Earth.
We live in an era of immediacy and digital overproduction, where we consume and discard thousands of images per second. My main objective is to peacefully rebel against this haste through fine-art photography that is conscious, organic, and deeply respectful of the environment.
This mission is sustained by three fundamental purposes:
Healing the bond between art and nature: I want to demonstrate that it is possible to create photography of the highest aesthetic value without resorting to polluting industrial chemicals or disposable plastics. By using the chlorophyll of a living leaf as a photosensitive emulsion, the Sun becomes my developer and nature itself becomes my canvas.
Making the imperceptible visible: Through concepts like Lumorphosis or experimental macrophotography, I seek to halt the fast-paced rhythm of the viewer. I want to force them to pause, to observe the geometries of an insect, the veins of a leaf, or the mysticism of light in motion, reminding them that we are part of a living and sacred microcosm.
Honoring my heritage and sowing pedagogy: I inherited this deep sensitivity and love for the Earth from my mother. For this reason, my mission does not end with creating a piece for a gallery; it is fulfilled in my workshops, sharing this knowledge with others to build a community of artists and environmental educators who understand art as an act of preservation and respect.
In short, my goal is for each piece that leaves my studio to be not only visually beautiful, but to act as a poetic reminder of our own fragility, the impermanence of life, and the urgent need to reconnect with our environment in a more harmonious and sustainable way.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of this journey is the ability to slow down time and alter the perception of the viewer.
In a world that moves at a frantic pace, where images are consumed and discarded in a second with the swipe of a finger across a screen, making someone stop in front of a living leaf to observe the details of a portrait printed by the sun is a true daily miracle.
There are three specific moments in my process that fill me with deep gratitude:
Nature’s element of surprise: Working with organic matter means I never have absolute control. When I open a contact printing frame after days of solar exposure and discover how the veins of the leaf have merged perfectly with the features of a face, I feel a profound complicity with the environment. It is a genuine dialogue between the light, the plant, and my intention.
Honoring memory and impermanence: Seeing how an element as fragile as a leaf becomes a vessel for memories, poetry, and history is deeply moving. It is a way of embracing the impermanence of life and transforming it into a sacred object.
The awakening in others: When I teach my workshops and see my students’ eyes light up as they realize they don’t need toxic chemicals or industrial tools to create—that nature itself provides the canvas and the emulsion—I feel my purpose is fulfilled. Passing on that sensitivity I inherited from my mother and planting that ecological seed in other artists is, without a doubt, the greatest of my rewards.
In the end, what is most gratifying is knowing that my work does not merely decorate a space, but rather plants a question, creates a pause, and reconnects people with the Earth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tarazonaestudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarazonaestudio/?hl=es-la
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jose.marcos.3994885
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@josemarcoscarvajaltarazona7514
Image Credits
Foto de perfil: Carlos Andres Cruz
Retrato de Jardin: María Claudina Tarazona
Lumorfosis modelos: Sara Jimenez, Johana Monroy