Hello,
I'm ARON
Doctor by training, photographer by passion, storyteller by necessity.
Born between cultures and raised across continents, I've spent my life documenting the threads that connect us all. My camera has been my companion through medical school, across five continents, and into the hearts of communities where every face tells a story worth preserving.
Hello,
I'm ARON
This is my diary:
Raw & Unfiltered
My photography is a heartfelt diary of what I see, the moments I experience, traveling to other countries and immersing myself in the culture.
The Beginning
My love affair with photography did not begin with creative intentions but more with a journey of self-discovery and immortalization. Being an only child I've always felt a weight of responsibility and duty to pass along my history and that of my ancestors.
I can remember avidly listening to the stories of my heritage during family dinners, trying to commit them to memory and being so frustrated by only finding a handful of tattered old photos of eras gone by. I longed to be able to see what they saw, to help tell the stories, to make them more real; more visceral.
The experience urged me to document and attempt to immortalize my life through the lens with the images I create. It is my hope that it can bring future generations closer to me. It was this desire that led me to take my first class in photography at Tulane University in New Orleans in the mid-90s where I was getting my degree in Pre-Medicine and Sociology.
I developed my skills and found that I was able to tell stories with my pictures and it was a great way for me, a self-proclaimed introvert, to interact with people. It empowered and lifted me in a way a gambler must feel as he watches a ball tumbling on a roulette wheel.
The Art
My photography is a heartfelt diary of what I see, the moments I experience, traveling to other countries and immersing myself in the culture. As a street photographer, it is important to me to capture a moment, the feeling –without manipulating my subject or the environment. I try to be a fly on the wall and capture exactly what I see. At the same time, I try to capture the unusual or the ordinary, but in a new light.
"For me, the art lies in the capture, not later enhancement of an image. What you see is what I saw, unfiltered, raw and grabbing the energy of that exact moment."
Photoshop has revolutionized photography but being a purist, I shy away from post-production of my work. It is through my images, that my viewers can see and experience cultures, faraway lands and the emotions captured by my lens.
Some of my images can be unsettling (eg: a dog meat market, poverty) and others lifting, human and inspiring. For me, as an artist, I want my images to elicit emotions good or bad.
What currently inspires me is the people of Vietnam: I shoot mostly children and the elderly. I find their innocence and wisdom interesting subject matters. In any case, I always try to incorporate visual elements in my shots that tell a story and are not just "pretty" pictures.
For me, not only is the image important, but also the title. I have always believed that the title of a photograph adds another dimension to the image. At times, the title of the shot is apparent to me before I take the picture. When possible, I always strive to find a title that makes my viewers think one step beyond the image.
Today
Recently, I have decided to take a sabbatical as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist to pursue my passion of photography. I have been living in Vietnam since 2014, but have been regularly visiting since 1995 when my parents moved here (and still live here). My mother is Vietnamese and my father was born and raised in Chile to German-Jewish parents. I spent my adolescence in Nairobi, Kenya, but have been fortunate to have lived all over the world including Cameroon, Spain, Puerto Rico, Chile and the US.
I would love to continue to travel the world to take pictures, meet people, and teach medicine along the way, perhaps even host my own TV show one day 🙂 (see the video below!).
My dream would be to work with National Geographic taking cultural street photography (if anyone can introduce me I would appreciate it!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to journey with me through my photos. I hope you enjoy looking at my pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them....
Aron's Timeline
With all my travels, it can get a bit confusing (even for me!). Below is a rough timeline of my travels. As you follow along my timeline, the hyperlinks will help you follow my story.
1978 –1980
🇺🇸 New Orleans
Early childhood in Louisiana
1981–1986
🇺🇸 New Orleans
Lusher Elementary School
1986 –1993
🇰🇪 Nairobi, Kenya
Adolescence in Africa
1993 –1995
🇺🇸 Tulane University
New Orleans, discovered photography
My Philosophy
Coming from a film photography background, I believe the art is in capturing the moment, not creating it in post-production. That's why I always keep it minimal and authentic.
All my photographs receive basic color correction and lighting adjustments to ensure they look their best, but I never crop, heavily manipulate, or artificially alter the images. I enhance what's already there - adjusting contrast and color balance to accurately represent what I witnessed, but the emotion, composition, and story remain exactly as they happened.
What you see is what I saw, just presented in its most vibrant, true-to-life form.
Aron's Timeline
With all my travels, it can get a bit confusing (even for me!). Below is a rough timeline of my travels. As you follow along my timeline, the hyperlinks will help you follow my story.
2014
Moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2006
Moved to San Jose, California, USA; Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Private Practice
2002
Moved to Boston, Massachusetts, USA; OB/GYN residency at Boston Medical Center
1998
Moved to Ponce, Puerto Rico; Ponce School of Medicine (North America)
1997
Moved to Santiago, Chile
1996
Moved back to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane University
1995
Moved to Madrid, Spain. Junior year abroad. Universidad Compultense (Europe)
1993
Moved back to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane University
1986
Moved to Nairobi, Kenya (Africa)
1981
Moved back to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Lusher Elementary School
1980
Moved to Yaounde, Cameroon
1978
Moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1975
Born Nashville, Tennessee, USA (North America)
