Photography

What I see through the camera

Documentary, street and portrait photography. Tap a photo to see it full size.

Covid in Querétaro, June 2020

One shift inside a COVID care area, June 2020. Everyone who appears gave their permission.

A nurse fits a mask on a patient — Viridiana fits a mask on a patient, settling the oxygen nasal cannula beneath it. The patient remains visibly distressed the whole time.

A health worker in protective gear leans back to rest — As the hours pass inside the care area, fatigue grows. A chair, a wall, anything will do for a couple of minutes before you go see the next patient.

A masked patient by a window — The few less severe patients try to walk a little, get close to a window, see some daylight. But they are alone and cut off from their families; the anguish inside is plain, watching the person in the next bed sometimes get worse and worse.

A person in protective gear sitting and leaning back, exhausted — Almost eight hours since going in; dehydration, heat, fatigue and frustration pile up. A couple of seconds to recover. The shift is almost over.

Long, dark corridor of the COVID area with staff at the far end

A hospitalized person sitting on their bed, seen through a curtain

A nurse in a full-face respirator looks at the camera

Central market and mine, Querétaro, July 2021

During the photo-essay workshop with Ashley Gilbertson (Witness).

A girl checks her phone in a dark corridor of the market — A girl is checking her phone in the lower part of the market. Central de Abastos, Querétaro, July 23, 2021.

A young man rests sitting in the bed of a pickup truck — A young man rests after unloading his pickup truck. Central de Abastos, Querétaro, July 23, 2021.

Miners push a cart loaded with stone — “Gonzagas” and his co-workers push a cart loaded with stone out of the mine. Querétaro, July 24, 2021.

Old Havana, September 2019

Street photography.

A man’s face emerges from a cloud of white smoke

A dog on a cobbled street in front of a man sitting by a bicycle taxi

Passengers standing in a nearly dark bus

A classic car drives down an empty street

Portrait

Three photos from a portrait series I started in 2019.

Black-and-white portrait of a laughing woman in a white shirt

Black-and-white portrait of a woman in a white shirt

A woman with a towel on her head leans on a green-tiled wall

© Juan Manuel Fraga Sastrías. All rights reserved; the people photographed gave their permission.