My Palace in Dallas: Roger Gallegos
“Solitude requires you to move past reacting to information created by other people and focus instead on your own thoughts and experiences – wherever you happened to be”
Welcome back folks, It has been a WHILE! Many things happened after my last piece that took place in Taiwan as many of y’all know. (If not, now you do! ) We are officially halfway through 2023 and things are only about to get better for all of us I’m sure of it! I’m happy to see how the habits we’ve nurtured during the pandemic are now integrated into our lives. We love staying in now and HOME has become a much more important concept for everyone who is finding peace in being alone and enjoying their space.
This is the exact idea that gave birth to this project, I want to know, I want to see, and more importantly, I want to document what the people around me have become after this unprecedented year, they can be artists, comedians and they can also be the people you meet daily on the street (which is quite hard cause apparently people in Dallas don’t walk at all). What is it that they do? What are their stories and what does their Palace in Dallas look like?
Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Roger Gallegos. A talented photographer whom I admire and am constantly inspired by. We’ve been friends for quite some time now and I can still remember the day we met like it was yesterday! Roger is an amazing and dedicated visual storyteller and more importantly, has impeccable taste in his style inside and out. I’m excited to share this piece with you as we talked in his lovely home on a lovely Tuesday afternoon.
Hi Roger! Always good seeing you my dude, Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to talk to me! It’s definitely a long time coming and now we’re here! Before I bomb you with questions, would you like to tell people a bit about yourself? Who are you and what is it that you do?
I’m Roger, a fashion and portrait photographer. Born and raised in Dallas. In simpler terms, I’m someone who loves collecting, and admiring art, whether it’s music, photography, ceramics, or anything mundane like hanging out with friends. I enjoy looking at everything through a creative lens. Outside of being a photographer, I’m somebody’s partner, boyfriend, pug dad, and at the end of the day, just a human.
Starting out at a pretty young age and now having done so many things including an amazing exhibition, Neiman Marcus, and NYFW, what was your journey like? How did you get to where you are now?
So my journey has been really non-traditional, exposed to photography back in high school when I was 16. Before all that I was a kid growing up on Facebook, the internet, all that. In those early years Instagram was really new and I for some reason got a Tumblr account, which was a pivotal moment in my life, I credit the beginning of my creative spark toward 2012 art, music, and skateboarding to that for sure. Everything I got to see online looked so much fun and I kept thinking I could also do that, and it did take me a long time like I said with my background being so non-traditional, and without proper school training all my experiences have been through first-hand and I’m grateful to have everything that led to this moment.
I became a full-time photographer in 2022 and it has been a roller coaster for sure. There are people in my life that I credit, mentors that helped kick off my career: DJ Sober, Patricio Rivera, and people who we’ve met through Emerald Studios. Emerald Studios was an online blog my partner Ariel and I used to run in the early days of our journey, that was our foot in the door into the industry. The blog centered around fashion, music, movies, and things we were into at the time and interviewing Dallas-based artists that we are fans of. Emerald Studios was the greatest way for us to meet folks in the scene, Patricio introduced us to Sober who then introduced us to all these different people through parties and it was one of those right places, right time moment and we were ready for that to happen. I have several lists of people whom I am forever grateful for but definitely Patricio and Sober for being pillars of creatives who have been around for a good while.
I’ve tried a bit of everything, starting with street photography which turned into portraits of people which slowly led to my interest in fashion editorial. Photography has always been my drive even when I was working part-time at House of Blues I’d make time to shoot and to create even if I didn’t have gigs. I quit my job on February 1st, 2020, going full-time into photography, and ended up on the roster of editorial photo assistants for Neiman Marcus after interviewing with them. A few assisting gigs later I started learning what digi tech is and a big thanks to Jared Medeiros for letting me know there are other angles to a shoot not just being a photographer. So for those who don’t know, a digi tech is someone who manages files and makes adjustments as the photographer shoots, you’re the photographer’s second pair of eyes. Those two years of being a Digi tech and photo assistant were slow, steady, and a really stressful time of my life but in a good way. It really got me to sit down and think about why am I pursuing this, and why I want to be a creative in general. My reason behind all these is because I want to set an example for my family, and my sisters and let them know they can pursue an endeavor without following the traditional trajectory. My biggest driver is to leave a legacy and be a role model for kids who look like me.
Somebody I credit a lot of my drive to is my mom, as a house cleaner’s kid I was able to witness a whole separate world through her. I got to meet lawyers, architects, and politicians and I think it opened my eyes to the idea of ”I’m here, but I could also be on a whole other level of spectrum”. There are people I met that I will always remember and these encounters planted a seed on how cool things are and what success should look like in my head. Full circle moments you know, I’m like one big ball of everything I’ve experienced as a child, young adult, and now.
It’s a long story *laughs and there are so many details I didn’t include but I believe everything happens for a reason. So many doors closed on me but I persisted with photography and didn’t give up. I’m still chasing this dream through photography, creating opportunities for people where I can, and trying to find the time to hang with people I love, and as an artist, I’m still growing even after all these.
Cozy afternoon after a long day, this is his favorite spot.
Tell me more about Emerald Studio, is that when you two first started working together?
It started out in 2018 and it took us a while to get it off the ground. Back in the day, we would go to Lula B’s a lot and we met this lady whose husband is Kanye’s cousin Tony Williams who owned a booth there. We were talking about what our interests are and she said “Well why don’t you guys do something together?”. That’s what sparked the blog, and us working together eventually as photographer and stylist. In that era, we weren’t using any stylist and the model would just show up wearing something as close to my reference as possible. Eventually, Ariel would start styling for them and to this day we still work really well together.
It’s been three years since the pandemic hit and I’m glad to see both of us rose up and did many incredible things during and after. What did you do to stay centered and sane? Did any of those new habits carry over now that things are back to normal?
Covid was a really weird time for me and our family, it was also when my sister moved in with us. I think Covid was when I started watching YouTube videos like Never Too Small or those Korean silent vlogs which really sparked our love for interiors. Back then my sister was sleeping in our living room and we needed to figure out how to decorate and make the space functional while staying on budget.
We would go on walks every day for an hour, all the way to Trinity Grove and back. we lived in Kessler Park back then and it was a really beautiful neighborhood. I did a lot of rock climbing too, like ten times a week, so I was very outdoorsy in terms of activity. I liked the solitude when I was on the rocks and if I’m not as busy as I am now I would still want to do it.
Did Never Too Small spark your love for interiors and help form your place into what it is now?
Hell yeah, circling back to what I said before, when I like something I became obsessed with it. We started thinking “Let’s switch out our IKEA furniture” and began sourcing vintage pieces for our place. I’m really particular in terms of buying, I’m not going to spend money on things I don’t like, I have to love it and be obsessed with it. I would put pieces I love on a mood board and when something pops up that either looks like it or reminds me of a piece on there, I pull the trigger.
I feel like as a creative, there are so many layers to us. Creativity falls into all these different categories and they are all extensions of who you are, so I’m trying to be as mindful as possible when I’m curating it. The same way I feel about clothes is the same way I feel about furniture and art, it has to have multiple purposes and I’m more worried about having a unique piece with quality versus something mass-produced.
You’d want your interest to shine through the things you own like if you look around our place, you can tell exactly what type of things we’re into. We’re not buying it cause it’s trendy, or we saw someone else had it. Everything here has a story and everything is unique to us. We are not saying we are the first people to do so and we are definitely inspired by other individuals but we want to make things here uniquely our own.
Now I know you are a really resourceful guy and you’re always sharing new things on your feed while creating new images through your lens. Where do you usually draw your vast knowledge and inspiration from?
A considerable part of that I’d credit to my partner Ariel. I met her when I was 19-20 years old. Back then, we didn’t have tons of money to go on fancy dates so one thing we’d do together was go to Ariel’s favorite place Barnes and Noble. She loves going there and flipping through Vogue and all these fashion publications which in turn introduced me to this side of the world. In a way, we lived vicariously through these magazines, and when I liked something it usually ended up becoming an obsession so we ended up being pretty avid book/magazine buyers, collecting publications we often drew our inspiration from.
I find new things pretty often through Ariel. On top of being my partner, she is someone whom I truly admire and am constantly inspired by. Getting introduced to I-D, Dazed and Confused, all while running our blog was really beneficial for us.
As a photographer you are no stranger to traveling, even more so now being exposed to so many different genres working at Neiman and Fashion Weeks even. What do you think sets Dallas’ art scene apart from all the other huge art hubs like NY or LA?
I would say everything here is homegrown. NY and LA are filled with transplants, with people who are there to seek opportunities. In Dallas, you are creating opportunities for yourself so I’d say people here are more go-getters and self-starters.
Dallas is a really widespread metroplex that creates pockets where creatives are spread all over. Geographic limitation like this encourages collaboration since you're going to run into each other one way or another and creates this really organic working situation. When you are in a city that doesn’t have that many opportunities like those bigger hubs, you’ve got to make them for yourself which is what I think is really what sets us apart. If you’re doing anything good and consistently, you’re going to get recognized.
I agree, Dallas is craving for things from within and we are only witnessing the beginning of it! As a creative born and raised in Dallas, spending quite some time finding and nurturing your creative identity, what do you think of this city?
There is a lot of opportunity if you’re willing to put in the work. In terms of architecture, we have a lot of cool Art Deco buildings but you really have to look hard for them across the city. Sadly there are too many apartment buildings in play now, so the neighborhoods that do, or did have charm are probably gone or became a historic landmark.
If you have the money, time, and will to do it there are opportunities being created everywhere. I love it here and Dallas will always be my home. My family is here and I plan on starting mine here too at some point in my life, purchasing a home and doing all that wholesome life thing. I appreciate Dallas for what it is and I love everybody who lives here.
I was just here last week *laughs and really had the best time at your place. As I look around I definitely understand and can see the purpose and look you insist on when curating your home! Now, the hard part is, what would you say is your prized possession?
The sentimental possession would definitely be this house. This is the house Ariel grew up in and multiple generations of her family have lived here, that is something I will always appreciate. It’s not the most beautiful thing but we are taking good care of it, putting love into it, and treating it as our own home.
Something we really cherished is this, we recently commissioned our friend Ruben this swan painting here, based on an idea Ariel had. Look at it, that’s us!
Another thing as I mentioned before is our book collection, It’s kind of spread out all over the place, either for reading or for decor. Sometimes I’ll finish reading them and put them aside before coming back to reference them again.
Everything here like I said is here for a purpose, like the plants, the books and all.
What we’ve been doing a lot recently is collecting matchboxes wherever we go. Lighting incenses here and there since I’m a huge sound and scent guy. It feels like a warm embrace whenever you come home.
Little parts here and there are also things we love that provide a good sense of humor like you can be creative and still take things in a silly, unserious way. Many pug things lying around the house since we are proud pug parents. We enjoy making things fun where it’s appropriate. Scents, soft lighting, and ooh, this polaroid of Ariel that just fits this frame perfectly is something I adore too.
coming over here, this office is where I spend a lot of time in, like, this is me if I exploded into a room. This place is filled with everything I like, this is where I come in and be inspired. Sometimes I would play some music, light an incense, turn on some soft light, close the curtain, and just escape into my own world. Big lover of these vinyl collections, an extension of my magazine collection, and little motifs of Texas. I love everything in this room.
I went and secured this play table from Retrospekt. They source all their stuff from France and it’s got slots for all the vinyl I own and drawers for my knick-knacks. We really enjoy adding a bit of oomf onto your usual household objects.
And we are almost at the bottom of my list of Qs for today, for those who are interested in getting into this business or starting something of their own. What suggestions or advice you would like to give them or wish you had known sooner?
My biggest advice is to stay true to yourself, and always remember why or who you’re doing it for. Whether that be future, younger, or current you. Figuring out your WHY is really really important. You can chase a dream and keep running after that dragon without any fulfillment if your why is based on vanity. Your purpose has to be in a self-fulfilling way. If you are after money or fame you’re not doing it for the right reason. If you’re doing it to be a better individual and leave the world in a better place, I think that would be the best reason to do so. It’s important to have an achievable goal and want to leave a legacy to the world.
Always pursue a project based on your passion versus the monetary return from it because it’ll always lead to burnout, but if you’re doing something for the sake of love? You’ll enjoy every single moment throughout.
To wrap this interview up, also because I am curious personally, what’s on the horizon for Roger? Are any “Big things coming” in the works for you? What would you like the world (whichever random soul stumbled upon this article) to know about?
Right now I’m developing a new visual language for myself as a photographer. I want to create a strong visual identity for this next portion of my portfolio and my work. In terms of personal project, it would definitely be the Slip Mats project focusing on bringing our friends together and sharing things I’m interested in with them. It could be the music I’m playing that might or the drink I’m obsessing over at the moment.
I’m toying with the idea of opening up a space, kind of goes back to what I said about creating opportunities for other people, exposing them to a different medium of artistic expression through films, books, or things that aren’t so regional like publications across the world from our selection.
I’ll be doing snapshots of the month on my website too, 31 (or however many days are in that month) good photos of what my month looks like, and adding journal entries to them. I plan on revisiting the blog too, interviewing people I’m a big fan of, which was inspired by this project you’re doing actually *laughs. It’ll be me journaling from a photography standpoint capturing moments here and there that are authentic and tying fashion into the mix. It will consist of individuals giving me a tour of Dallas from their perspective or a day in their lives. This is something I’ll be working on simultaneously when I have the free time since everyone is so busy and I am super busy as well.
I WILL be dropping my monthly photo entry on my website on a pretty consistent basis, so when this interview comes out it would be a good reflection of how my month looks like.
James Kung : https://www.instagram.com/j_kung/
Roger Gallegos :https://www.rogergallegos.com/
