Creativity is often rooted in the spaces between our conscious and subconscious minds, and the work of @ambatamb feels like transmissions from this realm. I first stumbled across her work on Twitter, and we caught up in DM's about a wide range of topics. Let's dive in.

To begin, can you introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Amber Laura Paredes, I’m a photographer and filmmaker from Southern California! I started filming when I was a kid, using my parents old camcorder, and I got my first DSLR camera in 2012, and the nickname “AmbATamb Photography” was born. I was heavily influenced by the music scene where I grew up, going to backyard shows and documenting bands became a huge passion. But I was never always limited to just concert photography. I grew love for capturing moments of all genres. My work never stayed in a stagnant place, I feel. If I were to describe my work, it would be ‘cinematic’, or ‘other-worldly’, or even just ‘abstract’.

One of the reasons I'm such a fan of your work is that you bring this really beautiful sense of the surreal to life... I'm wondering where that particular influence comes from.

I am heavily in tune with my dreams, it’s almost as if I could be lucid dreaming with how much visual representation that I get in my dream state. Some of the places I’ve visited in my dreams have inspired projects and pieces I’ve created... just completely different worlds. Also, very cliché artist here, some of the darkest emotions I’ve ever felt is what inspires my work. There were few projects that I’ve worked on in the past that were inspired by happiness, more so turning the pain I felt into art.

That act in itself is so powerful - beautiful things have been created from pain, and every emotion applies of course! In more recent times, I’ve been inspired by love. Real, true, pure love. Friends. The constant change of time, growth. Emotions are ever changing and using them as the fuel for your craft is amazing.

Wow what a beautiful answer. It's interesting what you said about dreams, I was wondering if that would be part of the answer here as your work really does seem to emanate from that realm, that space between waking and dreaming we call lucidity.

You are great at translating visuals from that space and bringing them forth into reality. I also can relate to creativity emerging from difficult ideas and emotions, and I'm curious how the ideas inspired by love manifest themselves in your work. Are any of those pieces out in the wild yet?

I’ve actually been working on a grip of music videos for different artists over the past few months! They haven’t been released yet, but they definitely represent a shift on how I’ve been approaching these newer projects. A calmer sense. Of course shooting a bunch of metalcore music videos can always be chaotic, but the translation of different emotions and outcomes in this new wave of projects will definitely be clear! I hope in the next few months I can go out and shoot some new photos - creating in the pandemic has definitely been hard on the whole community.

Yeah definitely a difficult year for creators. I need a lot of input to keep my output fresh, and it's certainly a time where meeting new people and traveling, having new experiences, and socializing are hard to come by. But it's also in ways changing my outlook on creativity and community in really interesting ways. How has the isolation of this past year changed your own craft, and how has it changed you as a person?

This was the longest amount of time that I’ve ever been home. The whole music industry had pretty much shut down, nobody was touring, nobody can play shows. Everything was at a pause. I was out on the road every other month, sometimes month to month, living such a fast paced lifestyle.

At first, the pandemic to me was an opportunity to just be at home and learn some new skills. But over time, there was just so much anxiety, especially everything that is going on in the world. You have so much time to just sit at home and think and maybe even self sabotage like, questioning if your work is even worth it. But as time went on, I was able to focus a little bit more on what I really wanted to do with my work and myself. Focus on the details more. Not even just in my work, but in my life.

I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person during this whole pandemic. I’ve learned to take it slow. Enjoy the ride a little bit. In times where everything is at its worst, remember your craft, and remember the little things. The little things are huge.

That's a great lesson to take away from a situation like this. I definitely feel the same in terms of going from a nonstop lifestyle to actually sitting with my thoughts and emotions. Hopefully we all can reenter the world soon and keep that sense of intention with us.

I started ALLSHIPS as a kind of counterattack on social media, an anti-algorithm social club, a space where we can have longer conversations like this instead of letting our content get chewed up by the rapid pace churn and burn of these platforms. What's your relationship with social media like? Pros? Cons? How does being connected to a community of other artists in real time affect you?

I believe at some point everyone has thought that social media is a toxic place, because it can be. Something I’ll always realize is I have to be invested and involved into social media to continue to present myself as an artist. It amazes me the way social media works, and how beautiful it is that we can stay connected in a community so personally. But then again, it’s also a very unfiltered place and can bring anything to the table really.

It’s so important to give yourself time away from being online especially in times like this. I try to keep my flow of social media as constantly supporting my friends, other artists, sharing work, and of course just having a good time. I don’t have a place in my heart for hate and egos. The artist world online is actually pretty fun when you go into it kind heartedly. At the end of the day, art can spread like wildfire on the internet and I I think that’s a really cool thing for anybody just trying to put themselves out there and show the world what they’ve got.

Wonderfully put. What thoughtful answers. Really appreciate it. Any advice to someone who is embarking on their own creative journey?

The elements of art and creativity have changed my life, it’s who I am. To anyone that ever wants to pursue their passion, whatever it may be, just full send! There’s no limit to what you can do, you just have to keep going. The world is yours and possibilities are endless. That’s the beauty of creativity.