Today we’d like to introduce you to Juliette Mansour.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Juliette. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a first-generation American of Colombian descent, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia with a blend of three cultures. My passion for art started at an early age, but it would remain dormant for many years, though I had a strong attachment to a Kodak Instamatic camera from the ages of 7-12.
As a young child, I travelled often and began exploring other countries and cultures. With a bachelors in Romance Languages and strong interest in fostering cultural understanding within my own country, I went on to earn a graduate degree in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language.
After a few years, my career took a fast left turn into the fields of web technology and communication. All the while though, I sensed that something was missing.
In the years that followed, I discovered my “long lost” artist and all the ways I had kept this artist hidden. I began to find opportunities to merge my language, technical and creative skills in my career to allow myself more time for discovery. Visual arts and photography began to take a more prominent role and this allowed me to reconnect with the energies that drew me to people and cultures.
I purchased her first digital camera and began dabbling in the genre of street photography. Before too long, Juliette Mansour Photography was created as the artistic branch of my professional website, Casa Dresden.
Today, I enjoy a comfortable balance as a contractor by day and in my free time I actively grooms myself as one of the few self-proclaimed classic street photographers in Atlanta. I became so fascinated by this genre and the impactful life of street photographer, Vivian Maier, that I founded The Atlanta Street Photography Group, where I’ve enjoyed experimenting and collaborating with other street photographers in the group.
I enjoy both analog film and digital photography mediums and other genres as well, but my focus is mainly street photography. Photographing candid, meaningful life experiences to which most of us can relate helps me strengthen my own awareness of who we are, how we interact in the world together, and to life itself. As I share that awareness with others, I hope to inspire more awareness because as we become more aware of who we are and how we interact in the world, we bloom and prosper. We become nicer, happier people. We do better things in the world. I care deeply about people and I care about the diversity of the cultures in which we live, so street photography is my small, artistic contribution to life and to people.
I still actively travel within the United States and abroad, including my mother’s country of Colombia where I enjoy reconnecting with family and capturing new scenes on the streets of cities such as Bogotá and Cartagena. My work has been featured sporadically in Atlanta in group shows, online magazines and social media outlets.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My mission is to share the experiences from my creative pursuit, to encourage and inspire others toward a deeper awareness of themselves and each other, as well as towards conscious living in general. However, I was not clear about what I wanted and for too long, I questioned my photographic art, wondering if it would ever be good enough – until I began asking the question, “good enough for who?” Until I asked that question, I’d say the road had been more like a roller coaster filled with self-effacing moments mixed with highly encouraging accolades.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Juliette Mansour Photography of Casa Dresden story. Tell us more about the business.
Casa Dresden began as a way to pool all the skillsets I have and provide creative services to many industries. Juliette Mansour Photography evolved out of a deeper desire to discover my direction but has ended up more as a way of helping others connect with their own creativity. I care about many things, but I use art, my professional skills and experience in photography, communication and my love of personal growth and awareness to feed these things I care about which include, cultural diversity, self-awareness, meaningful communication in all its possible forms, and last but not least, art and the passionate, creative pursuit of practicing art.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I’d go beyond that to say that to be truly prepared, I had to believe that opportunity would arrive. It took a long time to really embrace that belief, but once I did, I began to believe in myself as a consequence and that’s when I started to feel more comfortable with myself and my work. No one could create luck for me – only I could.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.casadresden.com | http://www.juliettemansour.com
- Phone: 404-477-4557
- Email: juliette@casadresden.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/casadresden
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/casadresden
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/casadresden
Image Credit:
Juliette Mansour Photography of Casa Dresden
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