#ThroughMyLens: Hector on Intentionality and Immortalizing Moments

For this edition of #ThroughMyLens, we spotlight Hector (@hecofilms), a photographer and creative director from Calgary whose work bridges emotion, music, and memory.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about who you are as a photographer? Hi. My name's Hector. I'm a photographer and creative director from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and I've been shooting since 2013. That's when I first picked up a camera. In 2017, I started shooting portraits because that's what I was wanting to do. And then I got introduced to the world of concert photography in 20 2019. And yeah, I fell in love with it then and have been doing it since. That's kind of where I love to be right now.

What themes, stories, or emotions do you try to capture through your photography? 

I mean, as far as emotion and themes go with photography, with concerts specifically, it's important for me to capture these moments as people remember them. So, you know, when you look at that photo, you're remembering — almost reliving — this experience that you just went through, being at the concert. And if you weren’t there, I want the image to make you feel like you were there through that image. That’s really important for me.

And as far as fashion editorials go, it really depends on the project — it’s a project-to-project basis. But at the base level, I for sure want people to feel some sort of emotion. If I’m shooting a family, I want you to feel, through looking at that photo, what it’s like to have a family — what it’s like to be with a family — you know, just that kind of thing. Just making sure that emotion translates — the emotion I’m trying to convey in whatever specific project — that it translates through the image at the end of the day. So when you’re looking at it, you’re feeling some emotion.

And I mean, with Instagram now, these days you can attach music to the images. So that’s another really key part for me. With all the images I’m posting and whatnot, it always goes along with a song. There has to be a song that also drives that emotion for me, at least. So yeah, when posting on Instagram or wherever, I always try to have a song that matches that kind of vibe, that kind of energy that I’m trying to convey through the image.

So it’s all about emotion for me — whether I’m trying to make you feel melancholy, whether I’m trying to make you feel happy, whether I’m trying to make you feel rage, you know? And that’s not just in fashion editorials — it also comes through in concerts. Because a lot of different artists have different energies and different characters.

So, yeah, just getting whoever I’m taking a photo of — especially in a concert — whatever energy they’re bringing, whatever theme, whatever world they’re building, whatever role that artist is in — bringing that to life through an image is very important.

For instance, like Rema — he raves, he rages. He’s in a very dark world thematically right now. So looking at an image from that show, I don’t want the image to be, you know, super bright or anything like that. But I want you to feel like you’re raving, like you’re raging within, you know? So shooting it in black and white as opposed to color — maybe.

But yeah, that’s just an example of how I can convey that emotion through the image. And that goes for concerts and editorials. At the end of the day, I want you to feel something looking at the photos. If you’re looking at an image and you’re not feeling anything, I feel like I haven’t done my job, you know? So it’s always a feeling — it’s always with a feeling.

Why is it important for you to create photography that holds meaning or impact?

It’s important for my photos to mean something to people. And, first of all, it has to mean something to me, right? Because if it doesn’t mean anything to me, it can’t mean anything to anyone else. So it’s important for me to first find that meaning in what I’m doing so that it translates to other people.

And it’s just important because, you know, with photography, you’re immortalizing whatever subject it is, right? That image is here forever. I may be gone, but that image stays. So my work is going to be here forever, and people are going to be able to look back — look back on these times or this moment in time — and see a piece of history, a piece of this moment that we’re in right now.

So with concerts, it’s important for me because I’m documenting experiences that people had and documenting these performances — these artists, whether it’s them on stage, off stage — people down the line are going to look back on this. There’s a lot of history with music, and people are making history every day, doing new things every day.

If I can capture these moments and, like I said earlier, if I can immortalize these moments for people 30 years from now to see — you know, it’s crazy that with a photograph, in a hundred years, someone can be looking at a photo that I took. I might not even be here anymore, but my photo is still here.

And that can mean something to someone. You don’t know what that sparks in someone else, right? So it’s important for these photos to hold up and stand the test of time — to have meaning, not just for me but for everyone else — and to be something that people a hundred years from now can look back on and still be inspired by.

So I think that’s really why it’s important for my work to have some sort of meaning — first to me, and then to everyone else.

Can you share a moment or experience that shaped your journey as a photographer?

In terms of moments that shaped me as a photographer, I think there are definitely a lot. But when I think about it, I don’t think of a specific moment — I think of a period in my journey as a photographer, which was when I started shooting film. I got introduced to film by some creative friends that I was working with back then.

At the time, I was just being a student, learning more, you know. They introduced me to film, and I started watching YouTube videos and really fell in love with the look of film — how the colors were translated through it. Even just the film cameras themselves, the glass, the lenses — how different that all felt from shooting digital — all of that really fascinated me.

I got really interested in shooting film, and it taught me patience. It taught me how to be intentional when I’m shooting. Obviously, we don’t really shoot film for concerts these days — maybe someone does, but personally, I haven’t seen it — but it still taught me to really be intentional with what I’m shooting, no matter if it’s a concert, a birthday party, whatever it is.

That intention is really important because with film, you can’t waste. You have a certain number of frames you can shoot, and you just can’t waste it. You’re spending money on this film — it’s expensive, you’ve got to get it developed — so you don’t want to waste it. Of course, I’ve gone through a lot of blank rolls, but that’s all part of the learning experience.

When I moved into concerts after shooting film, shooting digital felt so easy — you could just spray and shoot a thousand images because you knew at least one had to hit. And that was my mentality early on with concerts: just keep hitting the shutter, just keep shooting. But as I kept going and editing, I realized that wasn’t efficient at all.

Shooting film taught me to step back, analyze what I’m shooting, and be intentional with the poses. I didn’t want to waste film — I’d spent so much money, and it had to come out right. Bringing that mindset into concerts, I learned I didn’t have to capture every single thing the artist was doing. Instead, I would watch what song was playing, grab a few shots. If I already had plenty of shots of the artist at the mic stand, I didn’t need to keep shooting more of the same thing — otherwise I’d just end up with a billion nearly identical photos, trying to pick out slight differences.

So after shooting film, even with concerts, I learned to step back and really read the room. Read the artist. See where the music is going, what the performer is doing. It helps if you know the songs or know the artist, but even if you don’t, you can still get a feel for them — learn the performer as you shoot.

Taking that step back, watching for cues, reading the energy of the room, reading the performer, and anticipating the right moments — all of that shaped my intentionality as a shooter. It also taught me patience, both with shooting and editing, and not to rush the process.

I think that period — shooting film — really shaped how I shoot now, for sure.

‍What’s something you want people to understand about you beyond the lens or beyond your photography?

Beyond photography, I love music and film, I make music under the name HecO and I have also been involved in the film industry in many different ways, as a cinematographer and lamp operator. Music and film are two sources of joy for me, I cant begin to express how much I love them! Over all this I love God, and love serving in the church as a drummer and in whatever way honestly. I love people and I am extremely privileged to be able to work in an industry where I get to meet and interact with many different people from diverse backgrounds. It has truly taught me a lot and I hope that I can continue to be an extension of Gods love to everyone I come in contact with. I am forever grateful.

How does your photography connect to conversations, movements, or inspire change?

More than anything I want my work to spark conversation about creating in a city that isn’t a creative hub. I am not where I want to be but I have been able to accomplish a lot while being in this city. I have worked with so many talented people as well. It is important to me that people see the journey and understand that it is very possible for them to make things happen here. Being from Calgary, people often make it seem like you cant get things done and flourish creatively. It would mean a lot to me to have a hand in changing that conversation.