“Becoming a MoPho”: An Interview with “Koci” Hernandez (Part One)

mophoapp:

I first came across Richard “Koci” Hernandez when he reached out to my partner Sion Fullana about a possible project he was considering doing. Sion immediately said “Check this guy out!” and we watched a series of Lynda.com videos about Koci that blew us away. When the app Instagram exploded, we were happy to see Koci — known for his arresting, multi-layered work (as well as his penchant for capturing people with hats) — quickly becoming a superstar user with tons of followers who were just as enthralled by his images as we were.

 

I’ve since had the pleasure of meeting Koci in person when I visited San Francisco in October for my Hipstmatic gallery show and the 1197.is conference — the latter of which Koci was a guest speaker and presented an intensive workshop (along with Dan “Konstruktivist” Cristea), as well as an early-morning photowalk, to excited attendees. I was pleased to discover that he was just as awesome as I hoped he’d be and much more — incredibly smart, talented, funny, charismatic and unbelievably generous. He has an incredible passion for photography that’s deeply infectious — and all the MoPhos at 1197 were captivated by him.

 

With an impressive background that includes being a national Emmy award-winning video and multimedia producer, as well as a photographer for the San Jose Mercury News and currently a professor at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Koci is one of the busiest people that I know — but he was still excited to squeeze in some time for a Skype interview with me earlier this week.

 

And so…PART ONE:

 

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The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. William Shakespeare // from an incredible 15 min photowalk with @_raygun (Eric) after the #1197is workshop in SF. // #sanfrancisco #dancristea #konstruktivist #iphoneography (Taken with instagram)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, everyone! // Lower Haight - San Francisco // #1197is #sanfrancisco #konstruktivist #dancristea (Taken with instagram)

There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment. - Robert Frank // #konstruktivist #dancristea #sanfrancisco #1197is #lofimode (Taken with instagram)

PAUL AUSLOOS I work as a cat. - Paul Ausloos // #sanfrancisco #1197walk #1197is #konstruktivist #dancristea // I’m so grateful and happy to have met you, Hai @xxxyxyz (Taken with instagram)

I don’t really think that the technique really determines the veracity of the image. It’s what the image does to the viewer that determines whether it’s right or wrong. - Roy DeCarava // #konstruktivist #dancristea #1197is #sanfrancisco (Taken with instagram)

Mission St. #sanfrancisco // #1197is #dancristea #konstruktivist // Shooting in San Francisco is a joy and pleasure that no other city in the word can satisfy my hunger for photography. It’s a joy and a gift at every corner of a street. D. (Taken with instagram)

Out Of Control // It is idle to await unanimity. Robert Dale Owen // #sanfrancisco #dancristea #konstruktivist #1197is #1197walk // Guys, thank you do much for all the kindness, this has been an amazing experience here in #sanfrancisco and I cannot wait to share the rest of the takes. D. (Taken with instagram)

One of the many reasons why I live SF us the fact that the people here are truly & incredibly full of character. Hours away from #1197is See you soon :-) Dusk walk at 7:00AM #konstruktivist #dancristea #sanfrancisco (Taken with instagram)

WWW.1197.IS // Tomorrow taking off to San Francisco for the #1197is workshop. Really looking forward to this day that has been over 8 months work in process. Looking forward to meet everyone who’s going to come to the conference as well. The workshop will consist on a large curriculum on Story Telling / Image Processing / Street Photography Seminars and much more. See you soon :-) D. #konstruktivist #dancristea #toronto (Taken with instagram)