Today we’d like to introduce you to Maurice de la Falaise.
Hi Maurice, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in San Diego, CA and raised between Tijuana, México and Los Angeles, CA. Growing up with two cultures simultaneously, I was able to expand my perspective of creativity.
In 2000, a new form of parties were created in Tijuana and I was encouraged to start DJing that lead to start organizing and promoting my own parties in L.A. for many years. In 2001, I was invited to be a part of a bi-monthly party night called Par Avion, a mix of international indie-pop dance music in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, etc. that lasted for about six years and introduced me to new people in the city as I was fairly “new” in town (I officially moved to L.A. in Feb 2001) after that I started DJing for another party called Transistor (60’s, Mod, Soul, 80s) and in between started an all Spanish Indie Party called Automático and started setting up and promoting shows for bands. In due course, I started getting more gigs and invitations from other parties to DJ at. As a teenager, I was always a fan of taking photos, something I learned from my mom while looking at her teenage photos. I wanted to do that and create memories of my friends at that time. That inspired me to start taking photos at the parties I was djing at through the 2000’s and 2010’s.
Around 2010, I got invited to collaborate for a London based blog called Mademoiselle Robot, creating content of my life in L.A. and Tijuana. It made me get more into portrait photography and a couple of years later, I created TIJUANA TEENS, a photo series of teenagers from Tijuana inspired by my teenage years growing up between L.A. and Tijuana. Eventually, it leads to a series of themed parties and a proposal to do a TV series (still in the works) based on that. In the meantime, I got the opportunity to tour with bands like Stereo Total and La Femme that led to a plethora of more opportunities in photography, as a tour manager I started working with more bands and artists that let me document them. I got a chance to photograph Moby for the cover of a food magazine based in Spain and more opportunities to photograph people like Lady Gaga and many Latin-American, Spanish and French artists along the way.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been incredibly lucky and priviledged to have been able to be in the right scenarios. My struggles have been not been able to fully afford professional equipment but I work with what I got.
I am constantly trying to learn new learn editing skills because I constantly see a photograph in many ways.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize as a DJ, cultural promoter and photographer. I think I am known for all three for the past 20 years. I am most proud of being able to meet amazing people along the way that trust and like what I do. I am able to differentiate and at the same time mesh the cultures I grew up with and the ones I am learning about.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
A few that stand out are learning about music at an early age through my mother playing her records from the 50’s and 60’s. The first book I got on my 9th birthday “Cuore” by Edmondo De Amicis and motivated me to read more books growing up by my grandfather. My long summers/spring breaks in Los Angeles with my family. Long drives in Tijuana with my grandmother and to Balboa Park in San Diego.
Contact Info:
- Email: mauricedelafalaise@gmail.com
- Website: https://delafalaise.tumblr.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/delafalaisephotodiary
- Facebook: facebook.com/mauricedelafalaise
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MDLF
- Other: mixcloud.com/mauricedelafalaise
Image Credits:
All photos and styling by Maurice de la Falaise
