Domestika Maestros: Viki Ospina
A pioneer of Colombian photojournalism, her camera has captured the last 50 years of the country's history
When Viki Ospina started taking photographs, being a photojournalist and a woman were almost incompatible. Still, working alongside other photographers who struggled for decades to claim their role in the world, she managed to find a place for women in this profession. Along the way, Ospina also captured all the contradictions of the recent history of Colombia through the lens of her camera.
The photographer meets us in her studio to enlighten us with all her wisdom, accumulated over decades of constant work. Passionate about capturing the true essence of things, and about transmitting everything she learned throughout her extraordinary career, Ospina reviews the most important moments of her life in the following video.
Pioneer of Colombian photojournalism
When she was just twenty years old, Ospina bought a Canon F-1 and began taking pictures of everything around her. She never imagined that, eventually, this would end up being her job. Back then, it was very strange to come across a female photographer.
One day she swapped jobs with another photographer who was assigned to cover a demonstration: he would be in charge of the session Ospina was originally booked for (some photos in a club,) and she would take his place at the protest. One of her photos, a police officer beating a student, ended up on the cover of the newspaper El Periódico the following day, and thus began her career.
A unique perspective of Colombia
Ospina has captured famous personalities but also ordinary people in their day-to-day life: her camera has been witness to all the contrasts and contradictions of Colombian society in the 20th century. From capturing the greatest joys and the deepest sadnesses, Ospina has developed a unique perspective throughout her fifty-year career.
For her, a portrait, be it of a well-known person or an ordinary citizen, should reveal the deepest essence of the subject. To achieve this, she still relies on film. Ospina has never stopped working with this format, as it allows her to better appreciate the material nature of the images and to control the entire development process.
To photograph is to cultivate a perspective
Ospina is convinced that taking photographs is an extraordinary way to communicate our perspective on things to the rest of the world, but one should never enter the profession aiming to become famous. She still sees photography as a trade to devote a lifetime mastering.
"Your place in this world is not to meet anyone's expectations, but to be yourself, always."
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