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Ethel H. Blum Gallery
Diana Escobedo Lastiri surely is a world traveler. Raised in Mexico City, she finished high school in India,
 then came to College of the Atlantic. As part of her studies at COA she spent three months in London as an intern for a photographer.
But it was during her time in Paris last spring when Lastiri says she "became a photographer." As a stranger photographing strangers, Lastiri focused on the quiet moments she noticed in others, reflecting her own sense of quiet on the street. Her work will be exhibited at COA's Blum Gallery from October 1 through October 15 with an opening from 4 to 6 on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
The bulk of Lastiri's exhibit is a series of black and white portraits of strangers - often photographed in quite a startling way. Lastiri says she was suspicious of her comfort level when she had a camera in her hand.
 Feeling that the camera gave her a false confidence, she forced herself to become as vulnerable as she could be. So, camera in hand, Lastiri would walk the streets of Paris looking at faces. Once she found a likely subject for a portrait, she would literally lie at the stranger's feet. Says Lastiri, "I would lie flat on the ground in the middle of Paris and shoot at them. You can't imagine what it was like, cars driving beside me, people walking, dirt and dogs... But I was too secure with a camera, and I felt I had to deal with that through
 the photography itself, and just lie down."
Eventually, says Lastiri, her teacher, the American photographer Halley Pancer, helped her to realize that she didn't have to physically experience vulnerability in order to recognize the power a camera holds. Still, she says, knowing she could make herself vulnerable when the situation required it, she found strength in a time of great personal change. This growth, she says, is reflected in both her life and this work.
In her artist's statement, Lastiri writes, "I felt very fragile throughout my time in Paris. It was a lonely journey, a journey that taught me love, challenged my understanding of it and made me love even more. ...
 Some photographs took 1/50th of a second, and some my 22 years of life."
In addition to the series "Strangers in Paris," Lastiri will also present selections from the series "No Negative Space," as well as her experimental narrative photography.
The exhibit of Parisian images runs from October 1 through 15 at the Ethel H. Blum Gallery at College of the Atlantic. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be an opening Wednesday, Oct. 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, please call 288-5015.
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