About Me...

Diana Vargas

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Diana Vargas was born in Rochester, Minnesota in 1971 and moved to her native country, Colombia, when she was 16. Although she has a background in business and marketing, her passion has always been photography.

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As a child, she traveled often to Colombia and was captivated by the beauty and diversity of its rural landscapes. Her camera became her constant companion- a way to collect and preserve the memories of her family trips. After settling in Colombia, she continued documenting the milestones of daily life. Wanting to move beyond snapshots, she began taking online courses to learn how to use her camera’s manual settings to create more intentional, meaningful images. 

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During the pandemic, she spent several months on her farm in the Colombian countryside. Looking to stay creatively active, she began taking online contemporary fine art photography workshops with Argentine photographer Ines Miguens. Although surrounded by nature during the pandemic, Diana initially struggled to find images that felt meaningful. The landscape around her appeared overwhelmingly green and uniform, and her photographs lacked contrast and depth. As part of her workshop, she began taking long walks, combining meditation with the search for images. Over time, and through her coursework, she began to understand how elements like fog, reflections, and shadows could bring depth and emotion to an image—allowing her to move beyond conventional, predictable compositions.

This shift pushed her to observe more intentionally. The tools she was learning, combined with a sensitivity awakened by the uncertainty of that time, helped her slow down and become more present. That transformation is now reflected in the tone, rhythm, and visual language of her work.

As her attention to detail deepened, Diana began to recognize how nature offered quiet scenes full of meaning—leaves marked by imperfections, dry branches wrapped in fog, grasses illuminated from behind. She discovered that when light and shadow come into balance, even the most simple subjects can reveal profound beauty. Diana sees her own story reflected in these natural rhythms, and that connection moves her to treat each stage—each moment—as something worthy of being seen. Her work invites the viewer to pause, to look slowly, and to connect from their own sensitivity.

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Diana is intentional with every image she creates. She carefully removes distracting elements that might interfere with the visual experience but also selects discrete and delicate textures and filtures to enhance the beauty of her work. 

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For Diana the printing process is essential to the final image. She selects only the highest quality  papers for their texture and the way they respond to light—choices that are crucial to the overall visual experience and help preserve the integrity and strength of the photograph.

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Awards & Exhibitions

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Solo Exhibitions

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2025 – "Armonía de la Madre Naturaleza" , Schumacher Jewelry, Bogotá

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Selected Group Exhibitions

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2024 – 8th Biennale of Fine Art & Documentary Photography, FotoNostrum, Barcelona

2024 – The Grayscale Photography Exhibition, Decode Gallery, Tucson, Arizona

2024 – Still Life, Praxis Photographic Arts Center, Minneapolis

2024 – Leaves & Petals, Fusion Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Awards and Recognitions

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2024 – Category Winner of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award in the category “How Women See Women”, FotoNostrum (Barcelona)

2024 – Invited to exhibit at Haute Photographie – Haute Rotterdam 2025

2024 – Honorable mentions at Praxis Photographic Arts Center and Fusion Art

2024 – Image selected for the Grayscale exhibition at Decode Galler

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