Francisco Garcia on finding the pandemic’s silver lining and the excitement of new possibilities

Francisco is a Toronto-based photographer who specializes in Fashion and Advertising Photography. He is also the Co-Founder and Visual Director of anti/matter studio, which is both artistic practice and a commercial collaborative studio for hire. Some of his most notable clients include Holt Renfrew, Nike, F. Miller, Ray Ban, HBC, and Roots.

We have spoken to Francisco about his experience as a creator amid COVID-19 and how, for him, the pandemic translated into an opportunity to go deeper into his creative practice.

Photographs from Francisco’s portfolio.

Talking about lockdowns and the impact of social distancing on his work, he noted how the pandemic made him more open to possibilities. He found that he could ‘fail’ in a way that he wasn’t comfortable with before – he felt more vulnerable, and more present in the moment. He even gained a new love for film photography and started to develop film in his own bathroom!

There's a very special thing that’s happening, which is that we’re having a lot of time to ourselves and our own thoughts in our own minds to think about life. I'm learning so much about photography again and I was at a bit of a low there, it was more like you know, go to the studio, shoot, get paid, pay the mortgage, just in that bubble, and then COVID hit. No money? Oh okay, so how do we do this? Yeah, you just start learning again. It kind of feels like I’m coming out of college again.

Posted on Francisco’s Instagram with the caption “Self-Portrait // Feb2021”

Francisco commented that this excitement about the new projects he started in lockdown came from a combination of trying to cope with the situation, spontaneity and a deep new-found creative desire. His practice, and the inspiration that came from seeing others pivot with their creativity, ended up giving him an overall positive perspective.

I feel like more people, because of COVID, are taking more chances on being creative, they're being more real and expressing themselves how they want to express themselves.

Fabulous prints available on Museum Grade Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper here.

Even though he faced many challenges such as being unable to work for a long while like many other creatives, Francisco found the bright side of this pandemic by going back to what he is most passionate about, and finding new ways to rediscover that passion.