We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ash Gongora. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ash below.

Hi Ash , thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

When I was growing up, I used to attend a church out in West Dallas in the now “trinity grove” area as a child up until I was a teen. At the church every time around December a huge celebration would be held for Our Lady of Guadalupe, and a group of dancers, Matachines, would start off the celebration. I would always gawk at how amazing these dancers would perform in native attire and start off the celebration with a bang. It was one of the many moments I cherished growing up, in where dance set off a fire in my creativity as an artist. I was heavily inspired to start off a series of different variations of dance, that not always was the classical performances we typically see.

I met an array of dancers in college, which taught me a thing or two to understand how to photograph dancers and what to expect. I started to reach out to friends and model search online to start a Cultural of Dance series. With this series I photograph various types of dance from different cultures, and so far have been able to collect a few styles for my series. I have been working on this project since 2010, and hope to continue it until I can document as many as I possibly can!

As part of my series I reached out to the Matachines back in 2020 and photographed them in studio. The group has evolved over the years and has become a family tradition for some of the people who continue to dance. They are not the same I saw as a child, but instead some were grandchildren of those who did back then. I’m still working on their photos, but have been able to finish a few that I shared online. This project holds a special place in my heart, for me, it protects and showcases the art of dance. It tells a story of different cultures, emotions and history. I am still searching for other dancers to add to my series, and hope I can learn more about others within in my community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always been an artist in anything I have ever done. That even included getting in trouble in class for always drawing on my homework or tests. I didn’t realize how powerful my creativity was until my mom bought me a barbie polaroid when I was around 7 years old. It opened a medium I didn’t realize would become my full-time career today.

I got into the industry by working on my own style of Portraiture to eventually landing an internship during college that completely changed my perspective with photography.

I had the opportunity to photograph live shows, grand openings, local breaking news and other fun events in Dallas. This eventually opened my eyes to photograph bigger events and eventually land various work with other local publications. I also met some really amazing people throughout these years who took a chance on me and showed me the ropes. I’m forever grateful for the community I met all these years.

While I do photograph glamorous events, gorgeous couples and amazing creatives in Dallas, my passion for photography will always be telling a story through my eyes. I have adapted to creating art in a moody and fashionable style. There’s just something about art that will forever have my heart!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I had no idea that I was even capable of turning photography into a full time job. I started off working in retail for so many years. I had mastered customer service and was able to make little time for photography with the schedule I’d get in the retail industry. If I ever had a weekend off, I’d book any gig I could. While in college I tried so hard to balance school + work + photography, but seemed to suffer with the lack of time management. I couldn’t put photography aside, so I would schedule shoots with friends, anyone of the dance department or make models calls with people back home in dallas. I worked in the service industry, then again to retail and eventually couldn’t balance school anymore.

I had wanted to put photography first, and it just wasn’t working out for me. I moved back home to dallas and tried to find a balance. It took a few years but photography started to pick up for me, I would pick up random gigs or book portraits sessions with anyone who would hire me. I raised my rates every year, started collecting new equipment and finally started seeing the growth I dreamt of. My best friend was a real motivator to give myself a chance. I’m going to be real honest, the first time I tried to be full-time I failed…miserably. I had no idea what I was doing or how to balance all the business side that photography required. I picked up a new job and soaked in as much knowledge I could to try again when I felt it was right.

It was finally time for me to pull the plug in 2018 and try my hand once more as a full-time photographer. I can happily say it was the best decision I ever made and at the perfect moment that worked for me. I have discovered that I am wildly capable of doing anything I put my heart and mind into. I am still learning and growing, but man it feels so good to trust yourself. I really cannot say I did this alone, I had the best support system on the planet that pushed me to believe in myself and guide me along the way. It truly takes times and a ton of discipline to be self-employed.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is creating art that provides raw emotion and tells a story through the subject in the imagery. I love playing with the styling, the subjects personality and the lighting to create a feeling. It’s so powerful to create something with so many variables, whether you follow the rules of design or manipulate the art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashleygongora.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashgphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashgphotos