"Turn right here," Mr. Estevan says, directing the driver of his newly purchased 1962 Lincoln Continental into one of L.A.’s burned out backstreets, where the old heart of the city can be traced by following its veins, the streetcar tracks, which once pumped blood in and out of a thriving downtown. Here, too, is where Estevan intends to photograph his subject, Academy Award winner Adrien Brody.

Adrien steps out onto the pavement and click, click, click, in under an hour, the shoot is complete, cover and center spread accomplished, using one or two lenses, no lights, no assistant.

Since that day, We’ve done several shoots with Estevan. It’s always been the same—several rolls of film shot on one camera at a thoughtful yet rapid pace. I’ve been within feet of him as he works and I’ve observed how he lets his subjects breathe, offering them the rare opportunity of being themselves. Maybe that’s why Estevan’s subjects look like they want to speak to you from the mute stillness of a photograph.

In an industry dependent upon airbrushed beauty and armies of makeup artists, the screen image sometimes fades as something far more intriguing emerges. Seeking to "capture the person at their most beautiful," Estevan accomplishes this without trickery.

His subjects are generally shown in natural light, comfortably standing alone and without props, rather than being pounded by harsh studio lights and buried beneath tons of makeup. It’s the same with actors ranging from his friend Danny Trejo to his latest superstar subject, Dennis Hopper, both of whom have benefited from the self-taught street wisdom of a master who looks deep, capturing their essences better than most anyone else.

Estevan has shot several covers for RISEN as well as features and covers for Rolling Stone, The Source, The Fader, and other national magazines. When mags want it real, they call Estevan. Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine.

Risen Magazine: Where are we going right now?

Estevan Oriol: Wolfgang Puck’s. It’s fine Italian cuisine made by Wolfgang Puck. They got some healthy food, you know. It’s like a higher-end chain restaurant. We go there because we get sick of eating everywhere around here.

Now, down here in the middle of all the buildings is where they have all the arty-farty restaurants.

RM: How do you feel about it getting that way down here in your area?

EO: I don’t like it but what can I do? I don’t have millions of dollars to buy up these buildings and preserve them. If I could afford to buy them and preserve them, I would.

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