Gloria Plascencia remembers photographing “La Catrina” like it was yesterday.

“It was El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and I noticed a young lady was beautifully dressed up with a painted face making fun of death,” Plascencia recalled. “She was sitting at her father’s grave and had an umbrella.”

“As I photographed her, she began helping me by using the umbrella to direct the light where I wanted it.”

Now a finalist, Plascencia’s, photograph will be printed in Photographer’s Forum, an international photography magazine.

“‘La Catrina” just popped and I knew I had to enter it,” Plasencia said.

Currently in Photography 4, Plascencia was encouraged by Darilyn Rowan, photography professor, to enter the competition sponsored by Photographer’s Forum.  Known as the magazine for the emerging professional, the annual college photography contest allows students from two-year and four-year colleges worldwide to enter digital or film photographs as well as color or black and white images.

“The competition allows students to display photos to the world and get feedback on technique and content,” Rowan said.

Rowan, Plasencia said, has been an influential mentor.

“Gloria is an exceptional student and one of the most talented students in my 22 years of teaching at EC,” Rowan said. “Her portraits are especially powerful, capturing a great deal of emotion and expression.”

Leaving an executive position at a bank to follow her passion, photography was a hobby Plascencia started when her children were born 20 years ago. Capturing their every movement, she used a basic point and shoot camera to photograph her son and daughter.

“I was obsessed with what they were doing and didn’t want to forget anything,” Plascencia said.

When her children grew up, and didn’t want their mother following them around with a camera, she began shooting landscape photography and enrolled in college.

“It was time for me,” Plascencia said, “to do something for me and photography was it.”

Recently, she entered a contest sponsored by The Daily Breeze and her photograph “Under the Light” was chosen as the calendar’s cover.  One of her life-long goals, she said, is to open her own studio. She encourages everyone to follow a dream no matter what age.