We are our memory, we are that chimerical museum of shifting shapes, that pile of broken mirrors
– Jorge luis borges –

Mónica Riveiro. Gijón, 1971

Photography entered my life unexpectedly, and it has stayed with me ever since.
Rolls of films, bathrooms turned into darkrooms, red lights, and chemicals that smelled of mystery—this is where it all began.
Every image I create is a fragment of a world that exists between the visible and the invisible, between memory and imagination.
I have explored light, shadow, landscapes, portraits, and the abstract; I have worked with the tangible while chasing the intangible. Always with the same purpose: to capture the emotion, the essence, and the fleeting instant that escapes everyday perception.
My photography is a journey into the conscious and the unconscious, a space where I discover myself—and, I hope, where the viewer discovers themselves too.
Between Dreams and Reality is not just the title of my website: it is the way I see the world, and the way I invite others to see it, to feel it, and to pause for a moment to truly look.

Here you can read about how I entered the world of photography.

More about me

EDUCATION

1991. Introduction to Photography Course (three months) covering shooting, developing, and printing, taught by Alejandro Martínez.
1992-93; 93-94; 94-95. Three academic years of black and white darkroom, composition, portrait, landscape, slides, and a specific course on the zone system at Gesto Academy, Gijón, taught by Antonio Merediz.
2003. Portrait course by Ferdinando Scianna in Salamanca.
2010. Workshop by Encarna Marín on "Everyday Portraiture."
2011. "Workshop by Rebeca Saray 'Photography from Dreams'"
2012. Workshop by Raul Lamoso about fashion, advertising and fx.
2016. Workshop by Juan Valbuena "Creating books"
2019. Workshop by García de Marina "The creative process"

TEACHING

1998. Practical Introduction to Nature Photography Course, organized by SEO (Spanish Ornithological Society).
2002. Introduction to Black and White Photography Course. Youth Center of El Espinar. Segovia.
2010. Introduction to Digital Photography Course. Adult Education Center of El Espinar. Provincial Directorate of Education.

EXHIBITIONS

1993. Group Exhibition on Portraits, at Fotocentro, Gijón.
1995. “Interferences.” Group Exhibition at Casa de Cultura de El Llano (Gijón). Asturian Nature in Black and White.
2003. “Images with Memory.” Cultural Center of El Espinar.
2005-2008. “Four Seasons.” Group Exhibition of Nature Photographers (AEFONA), traveling through Lleida, Toledo, Burgos, Portugal; and collaboration in the audiovisual presentation of the same.
2014. “The Inner Me,” in Pilar de La Horadada, Alicante.
2016. “Eternal Present,” First Photography Conference of Pilar de la Horadada, Alicante. Accompanied by a presentation titled “Aiming at Emotions, Shooting with the Heart,” along with an audiovisual display.
2020. “Stories of Liquerique.” Joint Exhibition with photographer Carlos Conde at the Antiguo Instituto de Jovellanos in Gijón.

AWARDS AND HONORS

1993. Second Prize at the Casa de Cultura de Pola de Siero Contest.
1995. First Prize in Color Photography “City of Gijón.”
2000. Runner-up Prize in the Segovia Holy Week Contest.
2003. First Prize in Nature Reportage. El Espinar City Council.
2004. First Prize in the Reportage “A Year in El Espinar.”
2004. Finalist in the Nature Photography Contest at the Montbarbat Center, and 5th Prize in 2005.
2005. 1st and 3rd Prizes in Nature Photography, El Espinar City Council.
2006. First Prize in the ASMA-ASBRU Contest in Brussels, with the theme Asturias, and First Prize awarded by the public in the same contest.
2016. Finalist in the Canson Infinity 2016 Contest.
2018. Special Mention in the “Your Story” category at the III Signo Editores Photography Contest.

PUBLICATIONS

Reports and photographs in various media: Turismo Rural Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Revista Integral, Diverse City newspaper from New York, El Adelantado of Segovia, El Espinar newspaper, Guía Escudo de Oro, book covers…
Publication of photographs in the book “Cazadores de luz” (The Best Photographs of the Great Spanish Photographers), by National Geographic. RBA Libros, 2007.
Publication in the July 2024 issue of Frames Digital Companion of an article titled "Windows to Insight" (with text and photographs).
Publicación de portada del libro poemario del escritor José Manuel García Confín de la espesura.

JOBS

Desde el año 1997 hasta la actualidad dirijo mi propio estudio fotográfico realizando reportajes sociales (bodas, infantiles, embarazos…)