Gustavo discovered his passion for graphic arts and photo darkroom experimentation during high school in 2000. After graduating high school, he went to school in Los Angeles to pursue movie making. Realizing that this path was not for him, he decided to pursue analog photography instead.

By the guidance of his high school professors, he designed his personal darkroom in his home garage. He furthered his education by taking photography classes in a few community colleges. Since then, large format photography is what has been the driving force to continue his passion in film photography.