The Tribune

By DANIELLE BARNES

Some people know what they were born to do from a very young age. They dashed around with stethoscopes wrapped around their necks, "healing" everyone in sight, or walked behind mommy in the kitchen, helping bake cakes and tripping over an apron much too big for them.

For Melissa Alcena, the realisation of what she wanted to do with her life did not occur in during childhood, but rather at a point when she needed inspiration the most.

After graduating from high school she did not take the usual route of going straight off to college. Instead, she stayed home and worked for a company that did not move her in the direction she needed to help boost her creativity. She decided to take action, which soon led to her discovering her passion for photography.

It all began with snapping photos at the Post Office. Melissa captured subjects who may not have been considered models in the public's eye, but through the lens of her camera she found a unique beauty in each of them. During this time, she discovered her calling.

Inspiration sparked and her new goal was to become a professional photographer. She wanted to gain more experience and attempted to find a university that would help her enhance the skills she had already acquired on her own.

Melissa's first step toward becoming a photographer was travelling to Cuba, where she spent four months immersed in the local culture. What she remembers most about this experience is that Cuba has a culture which "slaps you in the face". The people she captured along the way allowed her to a build a portfolio which eventually led to her enrollment in Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada.

After graduation, she started working in casting. She went out and found people to cast for print advertisements. Although her life was starting to unfold in a promising direction, she had a feeling that she was not good enough to become a professional photographer.

Five and a half years later, she decided to apply for permanent residency in Canada. This process did not turn out to be as easy as she expected and she soon experienced stressful episodes which led to her returning to the Bahamas.

However, her move back home resulted in some dark times for Melissa. As she struggled to find jobs that were not entry level positions, she slipped into depression.

During two months of stagnancy, Melissa shifted back to what really made her happy.

"I started slowly just taking self-portraits here and there as a reason to get up out of bed," she recalled.

"I was doing something, I was creating (and) I was only thinking of what was happening in the present moment. I didn't have a chance to think about what ifs and the past; I had to focus on what I was doing and it felt even more fulfilling."

She shot more and more images and posted them online on Instagram and Facebook. She received messages from people interested in her work and began photographing those who appeared the most interesting to her.

Melissa went back to Canada and lined up 30 people with uniquely appealing features. She spent the summer taking their portraits. Eventually, she was approached by Vice Magazine and offered a job, but decided not to stay in Canada because she felt she needed something that would provide her with a more stable income.

After returning to Nassau, she felt more content than ever before in her life.

"When I came back for good I was OK with that because I was tired of the city at that point and I felt like I got everything I needed out of it," she said.

"There's always something you sacrifice for a dream, and I feel like I wanted to have security because I spent so much time doing the opposite."

Her final move back to Nassau gave her the inspiration she needed to fully launch her career as a photographer. Today, she captures everyday Bahamians and searches for people who are not typically recognised as photogenic. This has made her realise how much of an art form photography really is.

"I found that living in the Bahamas, a lot of people aren't exposed to photography as an art form. Photography is mainly considered a service," she said.

Melissa describes photography as a process where you interact with a subject and get to know them.

"You kind of utilise a bit of psychology so that they are comfortable with you and then you start building up to taking pictures. There's a goal in mind to kind of portray a personal life they never see of themselves, but not in a way that is false," she explained.

For Melissa, her life as an artist does not stop with photography. She hopes to dip more into the field of videography as she continues to express herself through her lens.