Valerie Topete is a very skilled rider for a top New York City
courier company called Mercury Rises. She started as a freelance courier
and for three years she pushed herself to create a reputation that
suited her drive and dedication to the job. It was that dedication and
competitive nature that led her to Mercury Rises and top rider for her
new company. Topete credits her success with her ability to multi-task.
Bicycling around the Big Apple everyday gives her the perfect
opportunity to search for new and unique viewpoints for her photography.
Always quick with at least her smartphone, she is always ready to
capture the perfect image. Her fascination with everything New York City
inspired her to start taking pictures of the architecture and people
that she would see each day. As she became more versed in the layout of
the city and began exploring parks and gardens with her two boys, Topete
has more recently taken an interest in botanical images.
Topete
started off by just posting her favorite images to her personal social
media site. The albums that she would upload of her treks around the
city were so popular and the overwhelming support from her friends and
family encouraged her to go professional. After conferring with some
friends that already had online stores for their craft goods, Topete
took their advice and created her own website. After launching her
online business, Topete saw great sales and the demand for her work is
skyrocketing. She continues to produce new images and uses her time at
work and with the family to look for inspiration across the city.
Her
interest in photography has grown and she has recently taken an
interest in the process of developing her own photos. While Topete took
photography classes in high school, the actual development of film was
never something that was covered. After researching different local
options, she found a four-week class at her local junior college that
would introduce her to the process. Now educated in basic techniques,
Topete spends her evenings after the boys are in bed in her makeshift
darkroom in the basement.
The project of developing her own
photos has been a long endeavor, but one that has renewed Valerie Topete’s dedication to her art. She has been able to explore different
exposures and enjoys being able to develop her own photos. While the
process is time consuming and the chemicals can be expensive, she
believes that the fact she is processing her photos herself makes her
photography more of an art form. In addition, the new development styles
that she has been playing with have sold very well on her website in
addition to the traditional prints.
