Mia at the Royale San Francisco, California. 2009. Medium format. Part of the series Women: A Portrayal of Strength

My series Women: A Portrayal of Strength is about women who evoke strength and take ownership over their lives; women who have lived through difficult experiences and challenges and have overcome major obstacles. It is also about young dreamers that are setting huge goals. The image entitled Mia at the Royale is a portrait of a friend who is an actress and playwright who does amazing monologues and has pushed her career forward with great power. Though creative work is a difficult path to choose, she has made a successful career through hard work and passion.

About the Artist

Born in New York City and raised in the Dominican Republic, Rocío Russo studied Advertising Communication at the Universidad Iberoamericana de Santo Domingo. Throughout her college years, Russo felt a strong passion for photography, and in 2005 she relocated to San Francisco, California, and received her MFA in Commercial Photography at the Academy of Art University in Fall 2008, with an emphasis on Environmental Portraiture. To learn more about her work, visit www.rociorusso.com.