SAN ANTONIO — Dominique Beltran was only 5 years old when she held her first camera.
“It was one of those disposable, just a Kodak, one of those disposable ones you could get from Walgreens or Walmart,” Beltran said.
She took pictures of everything: her family, graffiti and just random people in the community. Beltran even admitted to snatching her mother’s camera and taking it on school field trips.
It wasn’t until high school when she owned a DSLR camera, which ushered in opportunities to generate an income.
“It’s great that you can make a profit, you can make an income, but that’s not my … I know that’s not my purpose on Earth,” Beltran said.
She’s not your ordinary photographer. It’s not because she’s a queer Latina, but because she’s legally blind in her right eye.
“Growing up I had to wear an eye patch to train my right eye to get stronger. I had a few surgeries just to correct the vision and strengthen that muscle,” Beltran said. “I don’t want to be known for a disadvantage or a disability or anything like that.”
Beltran, also known as Domsquiat, has established herself as a household name in the street photography community in San Antonio — even though some people don’t even know what she looks like, they know her work.
She credits other photographers such as Carmen Pena, also known as onelovephotogsatx on Instagram, for instilling a confidence in her.
“As many as female photographers that are in San Antonio or throughout the world, we are basically the underdog when it comes to exhibitions, even going on the photo opts,” Pena says.
National data on photography shows that men made nearly $11,000 more than women in 2019, but that hasn’t hindered Pena from capturing San Antonio through the lens of her camera or highlighting other women through her street art exhibition “Street Fatele.”
“We haven’t really heard about an all-female exhibition before, but after the first show and the success of the first, it just kept getting bigger and bigger,” Pena said.
Pena believe like any other art form, there shouldn’t be any rules.
“It doesn’t matter what gear you have, it doesn’t matter if you are shooting with a point and shoot, or a DSLR or what have you, it doesn’t matter,” she said.
Beltran believes it’s a welcoming culture like that, that can definitely bridge the gender gap.
“For as long as I’m here, I want to use that gift to give back to my community, and I want to inspire other women and to inspire other people who may be lost on their journey,” Beltran said.