So I am going back to school. I decided I want to become a professional photographer. Actually, it is not just ‘a decision’, I have always had a passion for photography, but I had arrived at my limit, and I knew I needed to take some serious classes to move on. Then I came in touch with Andy Goldstein. At least, with his school.

To say I liked it from day one would be an understatement. I got swept away by my ever growing passion, and my desire to do more and go further every day. Every time I leave class with a new homework I  think ‘OMG! How am I going to do this!”, and every time it turns out to be a piece of cake, and a great experience…

One of my first home works was to take 40 pictures of an empty bench in a public park. This was quite a challenge. Buenos Aires is full of parks, the parks are full of benches, and the benches are… full of people. People who have nothing else to do then look at the people around them. Just taking your camera out already makes you feel like a park attraction. But however strangely, after the 1^st 10 pictures I didn’t feel the eyes on my back anymore and before I realized it I was laying on the ground in the middle of a busy park to take the bench from just another angle.

Another homework was, taking 40 pictures of an abandoned car. That’s easy. There are abandoned cars everywhere, but guess what? There are none if you need one! I asked about everyone I knew –the car mustn’t just be abandoned, it must be located in a neighbourhood where you can take out your camera without getting yourself killed.

It is my tennis teacher who send me to Villa Urquiza, a neighbourhood I didn’t know. He said it’s no problem that I’m wearing tennis clothes, the streets are empty at this time. Go now, he said.

So there I was, in my tiny little tennis skirt taking pictures of the most beautiful abandoned car, nicely rusted. On my knees, hanging over the car, I couldn’t remain invisible. In the Argentine style men passing buy in their cars pushed their horns, whistled or shouted whatever- After a while there were 3 men standing next to my car, with heir arms crossed per their chest. I tried to ignore them, I was highly concentrated on my job. They had no option then to call my attention and told me that they were wondering if this car was beautiful or ugly. Maybe they meant the scene –a scarcely dressed woman hanging around an old rusty abandoned car- I gave a short and polite answer, trying not to give away my foreign origin, and they smiled.

That’s when I realized it hadn’t worked, I couldn’t hide my foreign accent. I am sure I was talked about that night at home, with their wives. You know Maria, today I saw this crazy, practically naked foreign woman taking pictures of an abandoned car! And when I told my friends about my car experience, they asked to show pictures, not of the car, but of me, taking them… They wanted to have a good LOL. Too bad. Maybe I should have asked my 3 fans to take one?