The NGHTMRSNDRMS Project, as I call it, began when I was 16 years old. I’m about to be 37 now. I was trying to define a series of feelings I liked to keep hidden from everybody. Initially, the project was called “Nightmares and Dreams,” but with time I removed the vowels, just for fashion, it’s the easiest way to explain it. To make it sound the less complex possible, I bring the nightmare with my shadows, and the models bring the dreams with their light and beauty.
I swear I try to add light to my work but in the end, they always have these dark tones I can’t avoid, it’s part of my personality, something I just can’t explain, and something that, up to this day, I still don't know how to overcome. This continuous fight between light and shadows is what, I consider, give beauty to my photography process. I am not a purist, raw images disturb me, I have to intervene them, in a way, destroy them, make them my own, and I only can do that with digital machinery, that’s why the slogan of my project is “Playing with cameras and computers”. A finished photograph is nothing more than the result of a kid playing with his toys.
The project has allowed me to meet and shoot a variety type of people, women mostly, of different origins and styles. I like the idea of exploring the models’ personalities throughout the shooting, they arrive inside of a shell and I can witness how they begin to unveil and liberate their true selves, accompanied by some joyful music and a very comfortable atmosphere.
I love the sea, my last publications have had it as a background, and I enjoy the vibe it transmits to women. I always try to find sceneries with multiple shapes and colors, so they can help construct a kind of different concept, not all the beauty in a picture has to come from the model, I enjoy giving the background its deserve relevance. For aesthetics, I ask the models to paint their nails white; I like the way the nails shine in the dark areas.
I always hope that people can see something interesting in my work, it’s not perfect, but I can assure you it has been made with passion and dedication. I can expend hours shooting under the sun or rain, and then expend days in front of a computer making ten versions of the same image, this creative process is a lifestyle, I enjoy every part of it and I try very hard that my enjoyment can be reflected in my photographs, like the ones I’m sharing today with you.
Nicolás Hernández
From Bogotá. I take photos, I edit, I write
and watch some shows on TV.
I need to do more exercise and eat less junk.
I'm a happy man, living with my three dogs,
two are in Heaven, but we still talk.
I was born in 1981.
I had to because there was
no other choice at the time.
I was forced to learn how to crawl
to feed my senses, my act.
After a couple of earth rotations,
I learned to walk and I ran.
The wind finally hit my face.
Suddenly, I could see and I saw.
The world was sick,
but I realized I had the power
to still see beauty in it,
so, I stayed.
And here I am
playing with filters
and trying to manage
my ego levels.
NH.
I'VE HAD MANY NAMES
Names always have been something very hard for me to deal with. Just call me Nick or Nico if you are from where I'm from.
Joakim Dohundae when I was 15.
Juan Nicolás Arturo from 18 to 23 years old.
Maximiliano Salazar in my early 30's.
Narciso Nicolás Maximiliano when I was
about 34 years old
and currently, NGHTMRSNDRMS. I am 41.
I'm the one that says: "Mmm... How did he take this picture? I should try to do something like that... How do I make it look like I'm not trying to copy it? I will never be that good..." After a month, I'm the one that says: "Mmm... I think I just created my own style." Two days later: "Now I find it very basic, people are not going to recognize it." Two months later: "I'm tired of blue but all my work has been blue." So I begin to use yellow, eventually, I'll get tired of yellow as well. This insurgency of my creativity happens because I'm only an - Everyday human - and I just can't become a slave of a style or a color. For slavery, I already have my work and my socially imposed routines. Instead, this intent of art that I call "My nightmares and my dreams," is my road to freedom and I can't compromise my free will.
What else can I complain about? At the moment I'm obsessed with Salmon and Brown... Etc.
NH.