About Roberta Alvarado
Photography has been my language since I was a teenager. It has always been a way of seeing, remembering, and reimagining the world. What began as a quiet calling grew into a lifelong practice rooted in intuition, observation, and reverence. Today, with over 30 years of experience, I approach my work as both a visual historian and an artist who listens before the shutter clicks.
I believe photography is more than documentation. It is a vessel for truth, connection, and legacy. Whether I’m capturing family portraits, intimate moments, personal branding, or cultural events, I bring the same quiet intensity and minimalist approach. I travel light. I let the story lead. I trust my eye and the energy of the moment without relying on an overload of gear.
My foundation is in 35mm film and darkroom processing, which still shapes how I work today—deliberate, patient, timeless. I am most drawn to culture throughout the Americas and the movement in everyday life. From assignments to exhibitions, I seek the grace in the unscripted and the dignity in the overlooked.
My work has been exhibited and published widely, from the Brickhouse Art Gallery and California Museum to features in VoyageLA and Paramount Pictures’ The Big Short. In 2023, I was honored to be a guest artist at the 5th Jornada de Artistas in Mexico City, sharing work centered on cultural continuity and remembrance. I also served as an Art Ambassador for the Del Rio Trail Project, where I photographed and featured Sacramento artists including Kimberly Mayden, Farris Wilks, and Ayiana Shon. See the series at [New Bird Studio link].
Ongoing projects include Layers of Life in Death: A Photographer’s Path to Hanal Pixan, exhibited at the Consulate General of Mexico, and a growing archive focused on Día de los Muertos and Indigenous perspectives across North and Central America. My lens often lingers in spaces of grief, memory, and celebration. I do not see darkness—I see life’s richness and fragility. My goal is to help others recognize that, too.
While I have supported and guided a few emerging photographers, I hope to deepen that role. My aspiration is to help grow a new generation of documentarians committed to shifting the American narrative. Not just to include diversity, but to center it. We must show the true face of this nation: multicultural, ever-evolving, and worthy of being seen in its full humanity. Photography, when approached with care and context, builds bridges across generations, cultures, and lived experience.
Value Statement:
I photograph with purpose—to honor stories, bridge communities, and help us remember who we are. I believe in showing up with heart, being in service to the moment, and creating visual records that contribute to collective healing and understanding.
If you’re here, welcome. Whether you’re looking to document your family, your business, your passion, or your community, I’d love to connect. Most images in this portfolio are available for purchase as museum-quality fine art prints. Sizes and pricing available upon request.
Let’s talk.
Info@NewBirdStudio.com
I respond to all inquiries Monday through Friday, 10am to 5pm
Info@NewBirdStudio.com
I respond to all inquiries Monday through Friday, 10am to 5pm
©2018 Roberta Alvarado Images may not be copied, printed or otherwise disseminated without the expressed written consent of Roberta Alvarado.
