FocusOn Instagramers 1.25: @Koci

Last week I celebrated my birthday with @IgersMadrid in our second Instameet and the first 8 months of our web Instagramers.com too!

I thought it was a good idea to make myself a great gift. Something very special and publish a post that was awaiting in our FocusOn Guests List.

FocusOn section highlighted already 25 photographers this year!

25 persons that make Instagram everyday and move our small Instagram world with their passions and creations.

Today, our very special guest is @Koci

His name is Richard Koci Hernandez…

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But everybody calls him @Koci.

@koci is probably one of the most famous photographer in our small IG World. If you register with a new account at instagram these days you will find him as a “recomended user” and in this case, i think he definitely deserves it.

Not only because he has tons of followers like other “highlighted Instagramers” in this section – he has 42.000 followers today – but really because he brings something “new” every week.

Fond of black and white pics. He simply reflects his “day to day”, his own life, the people he crosses by chance in the street, simple moments and situations. If you are a #streetphotography lover you will definitely appreciate his art. Check his stream. you wont regret it.

Sometimes, I watch his pics and I wonder just how he did it? Did he ask people to pose for his photos or did he simply wait for the perfect moment??

Watch for example, this old man walking “countersense” a sign of “Future” below in this post…

But let´s talk a little about him.

Richard is 40 years old and he lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and his teenage daughter.

He grew up in Southern California but moved to Northern California to attend San Francisco State University in 1990.

He says he has been shooting pictures since I was 14 years old after he got in his hands on his uncle’s camera during a family trip to Yosemite National Park.

Initially, he was inspired by the work of Ansel Adams a famous black and white landscapes photographer but was then drawn to capture the antics of his family.

“I was never without a camera after that trip!” he said.

Despite a few years studying to be a priest in the Catholic Seminary, photography has been my life’s work. During his time in the seminary and after his departure he was photographing anything that moved.

He used to work in a camera shop selling cameras and darkroom equipment and soon found himself shooting car accidents and house fires for a local newspaper. That experience started him on his path to professional journalism where he spent then 20 years!

Richard is grateful with Life. He has been fortunate enough to travel the globe photographing everything from sporting events, presidents, rock stars and everyday folks. “It’s been an immense privilege!”

He has moved from the newsroom to the classroom and he´s now an Assistant Professor of New Media at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Currently you’ll find him “glued” to his iPhone taking pictures and posting to Instagram.

“It’s a wonderful addiction” says Richard and we thank him to share it with us, everyday! And thank you very much to answer to our Instagramers FocusOn weekly interview too!

When did you first join IG @Koci? How?

I joined October 25, 2010. I posted my first image.

A good friend @jrue knew how I loved to take images on my iPhone and suggested I download and share via this new app he was using and loving, called Instagram, the rest is history. I was hooked!

.How long time do you spend a day in IG? I check about 3-4 times a day.

At the beginning my addiction of posting and checking others images was disrupting my life, so I’ve scaled back, to checking right when I wake up, once in the afternoon and once just before bed. Sometimes I fall asleep with my iPhone in my hand while checking IG.

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Why do you think you are so in love with IG?

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It’s the first social network that is purely visual. It’s about sharing a visual experience and I’m a highly visual person.

I can effectively express myself through photographic imagery, so it plays into that part of my skill and personality. I also love how it gives me the power to time travel around the globe. I can be transported to places in seconds and experience things in a simple and visceral way through other peoples photographs.

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Were you already found of photography before?.

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Yes, I’ve had a camera in my hands since I was 14 years old. And I’ll have one till the day I die, no question.

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You were recently highlighted in press and Internet as a reference in Instagram.. How does it feel?

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Humbling. I’m honored and blessed by any attention my image making receives. There are so many amazing creative photographers out there that I’m happy to even be recognized in their company.

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Did it open you new business or personal opportunities?.

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YES. I’ve met some amazing people through IG and other various write-ups in the press about iPhoneography. That’s the best part, meeting like-minded and uber-passionate photographers. The shows, books and workshops are the icing on the cake compared to the friendships.

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You will participate to 1197.is in October. Can you talk a little bit more about it?.

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This was something I was approached about participating in and I’m super excited about.

After launching a website called lofimode.comwith a now very good friend I met on IG, Dan Cristea @konstruktivist we announced our plans to create a workshop around the idea sharing our passion for mobile photography. At the same time the folks at 1197.is asked us to put on the workshop portion of their mobile photography conference.

Dan and myself agreed with the sponsorship of Blurb. It’s going to be a fun and exciting workshop where Dan and myself get 3 hours to teach folks everything we’ve learned about creating images on our iPhones.

Which is your favorite pic? How did you snap it?

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I haven’t taken it yet and I hope I never do!!!

It’s what I’m chasing everyday, that seminal image. The idea that my favorite image could just be around the corner is what keeps me coming back for more everyday, especially when I’m out all day and all my pictures suck. I keep telling myself that the ‘big one’ is out there somewhere and I just have to keep coming back, shooting and hunting for it. I’m never satisfied.

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Do you remember your first Pop? How did you feel?.

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I looked at the popular page when I joined and didn’t find anything that looked like what I was posting so assumed it was only for pictures of animals, sunsets and half naked woman.

I never saw and therefore never imaged a black and white street photograph would make it to the popular page so I never checked and never aspired to be there. I also don’t have notifications turned-on on my phone so I never knew if any of my images made the popular page.

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Do your “non Instagramers” friends and family are bothered by your IG addiction?.

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They’ve come to understand and accept it as part of who I am right now..If you had to recommend just one user to follow?.The friend who got me into IG in the first place is the most heartfelt and inspiring photographer and very under followed, @jrue.

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Something you would say to a new user?

Remember it’s not about the number of followers it’s about community, engagement and feedback.I’d rather have 100 engaged followers who are commenting and enjoying my work, than 10,000.

Thanks so much Richard to accept answering our interview and long life to @Koci in Instagram!