All the Things I Missed: A Photographer’s Return to Bogota, Colombia

All the Things I Missed: A Photographer’s Return to Bogota, Colombia



I
left my hometown of
Bogota, Colombia
towards the end of 2011. I would not return
for another four years. When I left, I felt like I was escaping a
sort of creative vacuum, finding my surroundings dull and terribly
uninspiring. I was itching to get away, to distance myself from all
that was once familiar.

As the years outside my country passed and the time of my return
grew nearer, questions circled around my head: how will you feel
when you once again walk down the streets you knew so well? Will it
be the same or will new elements, once obscured by closeness and
routine, reveal themselves to you? The following images are part of
a larger body of work aiming to aid me in answering these
questions.

The project titled “All the Things I Missed” centers around the
idea of return and the experiences that come with it. One can miss
things one holds dear and is now lacking, but one can also miss
things through the myopic effects of closeness. These images shot
in Colombia’s chaotic, scary and wonderful capital are at once an
exercise in memory and re-discovery.

@ortizarenas | ortizarenas.com

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City Guide: Bogota, Colombia