Who is Palomacello?
Hej there! I'm Paloma, a birth photographer and videographer passionate to contribute to a safer environment for women, mums, and their babies with my work.
We still have so much to learn about human's earliest stages in life. Images, and art in general, are powerful ways of bringing hard-to-discuss topics up in conversation.
Quick facts about me
1. Being a little girl I was so intrigued about how cameras worked. Still, I had no idea I would someday become a professional photographer.
2. Although I've worked with a camera for almost ten years, I was about to become a professional cellist when I quit my cello studies just before graduating.
Before I realized that music wasn't what I wanted to pursue professionally , I always thought I would one day become a formal cello teacher.
3. I was a cello teacher's assistant during my last years as a student. I loved teaching and making it easier for young students to decode cello playing and how abstract music can be.
4. In my early 20s I had an emotional breakdown that made me reconsider what I wanted to do with my life. It was a time of great uncertainty and where I felt very lost, but certainly one of the periods of my life that I am most grateful for. This was when I quit music and allowed myself time and space to explore and see what felt right.
5. Photography came to me when I had to look for things to do because I suddenly had so much free time. It all started as a hobby, but I was so curious that I haven't stopped learning to this day! I have learned everything I know by exploring, going online for information, and attending RBG Escuela's amazing lessons and masterclasses. I was one of their earliest students, and it has now become the biggest online photography and videography school in the Spanish-speaking community.
6. Finding my own truth made me want to help others live a life in alignment with themselves. To do so, I created a Youtube channel, my slow-growing project, that makes me learn new skills and more about myself at every step of the way.
7. I was born in Granada, a small town in the south of Spain where I lived until my wife and I decided to move to Sweden in 2021.
WHY!? You may ask. Well, we realized that we needed more nature and green, and a little bit less people around. We love it here in Sweden! 🥰
8. I love dancing with my wife, but I am so embarrassed to dance in public 🙈
9. We live in a small house in a little village, where we share our lives with our dogs Hermes and Aria, that came with us from Spain, and our Swedish cats Milo and Nej.
How did Beginnings come to be?
1. I have always been attracted to the mystery of pregnancy and the intimacy that mothers share with their babies. I watched my first birth on TV when I was a tiny girl and was hooked. It was late at night, and my parents were sending me to sleep. Since then, I remained curious about this world and wanted to know more.
2. As a beginner photographer, I told a friend I would love to photograph a birth once. At the time, I considered it a unique thing that would be so great and different. Everyone I told this to thought I was crazy. Who would want you to do that? That will never happen, they said.
3. One day, a friend sent me the link to a Facebook post where I could read about the winners of an international birth photography contest. That day opened up something for me. I learned that birth photography was a thing. I wasn't that crazy after all. I could become a birth photographer myself 😳
4. I have pursued the freelancer/independent path since I started reading and learning about financial independence after the big crisis I experienced in my 20s. Working at a restaurant and cafe for years after leaving my cello studies made me realize that I want to be free to choose what I do, where, when, and for how long. I think I have always known this deep inside of me.
Believe it or not, I still work at a restaurant here in Sweden. You have probably met me there 😜 Fortunately, I am much happier with my working conditions and environment now. Still, it is definitely something that I feel is not for me.
5. I called this project Beginnings after my favorite Anne Geddes' photo series Beginnings. Anne Geddes was an idol for me as a girl. I always wondered how she managed to make babies fit into flowers. I always loved the Beginnings series, which she released when I was an adolescent, for its delicacy, softness, and minimal vibes. You can check it out here. I believe this was one of the seeds that bloomed for me in my journey, leading me to where I am today. Calling my project Beginnings honors it in a way.
6. I deeply resonate with documenting things as they naturally unfold before my camera. That's why I don't work at a studio. This creates a big challenge for me as a photographer/videographer, since I have to compose the scene to be pleasant to the eye in a scenario that is always new to me. It is a constant work in progress.
7. Things like birth, breastfeeding, and the world of babies and maternity, in general, are still a mystery for too many people. Nobody thinks about any of them unless they are going to become a parent. They are still so taboo, and people tend to think about them with disgust. We have so much to learn about what it means to become a woman and a mother, and about our needs as female mammals.
Also, about what it means to be a baby and their needs as human cubs. I believe there's no other way but to connect to our instincts and dare to follow them. I hope that my work can in some way, contribute to this change.