Community Corner

Photo Gallery: Carlos Moreno Wants to Change the World

Moreno grew up in IB and around California and wants to continue taking photos as a freelance photographer so he can document change and, when he does his best, inspire people.

Carlos Moreno has taken pictures for Imperial Beach and Coronado Patch for the past two months, but his career and love for the craft extends far beyond Patch.

Moreno has published work with the New York Times, the Rockefeller Foundation, voiceofsandiego.org and the Center for Investigative Reporting, to name a few.

Moreno tries to make change a central theme of his work and is what he typically wants people to see when they look at his pictures. To him that means photography that connects people as he observes and documents a “never-ending circle of expectations and circumstances.”

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The goal of his personal work is to put the viewer in the photo subject’s shoes, and “bring a sense of renewal, understanding, and hope to people who need it the most.”

“Change is a natural phenomenon, a part of life that is needed and that occurs whether we embrace it or not,” he said.

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Sometimes photography can shake people to their core and if you’re lucky people respond and do something about it. I hope to reach that in my photography one day.”

To see more of Moreno’s work, visit his website and click here to see his latest photo story, The Abdullahs: Picking up the Pieces.

Growing up, he moved around from Los Angeles to the Bay Area and IB.

“Usually every time I have moved back (to IB) it has served me at a transitional point in my life. It just seems to work out that way,” he said. “I do not know how long I will be living here, but I am using the time to reconnect myself with the city I knew growing up as a boy.”

As a kid, he wanted to be a history or anthropology professor because of his enthusiasm for cultures and how people live, but National Geographic solidified his love for photography.

“The photography in the magazine was like candy to the eyes. It instilled such a sense of adventure in me and a deep passion in wanting to live the life of a photojournalist,” he said.

Moreno graduated from San Jose State University in 2010, where he learned the photo craft under the guidance of Michael Cheers and former San Francisco Chronicle photographer Kim Komenich.

Photo books by Robert Frank, David Burnett, Joseph Rodriguez and Richard Koci Hernandez taught him “what visual work meant and evoked in others. Without them, I probably would be teaching history right now,” Moreno said.

So what’s next for him?

He wouldn't turn down an opportunity to shoot full time at a well-known publication like the New York Times, or to be a photo editor someday, “but that might not be possible in the future, as papers keep folding and traditional news keeps evolving,” he said.

For now, he wants to continue working locally for publications like Patch and continue taking pictures that inspire people and he personally enjoys.

“I think I don’t have an end game. I am still young, so I keep that in perspective. I’m still learning what my voice is in photography and what I can contribute to the industry,” Moreno said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here