The experienced photographer often reflects his life's adventures in his work; this is the case with Hector Sanchez. When he was six years old, his mother gave him the confidence to snap family photos "since he was the only family member who did not cut their heads off." Hector was born and raised in Key West where he spent most of his adolescent years. He attended primary and secondary school near Georgia's Stone Mountain but his summers and vacations were spent in his true home, the off-beat resort town of Key West. The contrasts of rugged Stone Mountain and smooth emerald waters, rural living and the cosmopolitan ambiance of Key West were stimulating environments for the novice bilingual photographer.

   Hector learned the basics of developing snap shots after a family friend gave him an attic full of reliable vintage darkroom equipment. Then, his father gave him a Pentax K1000 35mm camera when he received his first technical photographic training in a sixth grade photography class. He proved his photographic skills when he won first place at the Monroe County Fair for a time lapse photograph of the Episcopal Church tower in Key West. Serving as photographer for his Key West school yearbook matured his skills and convinced him that photography would be a part of a lifelong career. In college, he found a mentor while taking classes with Professor Chuck Hasham, Photographic Director at Miami Dade Community College.

   Hector was now prepared to free lance, photographing Karate classes, Ballet students, weddings, little league baseball teams, models, and covered numerous special events in South Florida. While making a living as a part-time free lance photographer, Hector was trained as a surgical technologist where he learned the intricacies of photographic detail in surgical equipment and anatomy, where lighting and clarity were essential to excellent images. Commercial photography became his next stage in photography. He spent hours studying catalogs and magazines to learn the secrets of thoughtful layouts to make inanimate objects appear as distinctive works of art. As a consultant, he photographed commercial kitchen appliances for a Key West restaurant supply company; photographs for an article, The Legacy of Key West for Faircount International, Inc., publishers of the Rolls Royce Owners Club 1998 Desk Diary; a promotional campaign for a new women's perfume for the Key West Aloe Cosmetic Company; the cover and an article for Smoke Shop Magazine (March-April 1996); promotional brochures, catalogs and postcards for Wings of Imagination, a shop specializing in tropical and exotic butterflies; antique cigar paraphernalia for a cigar calendar for Geiger Brothers, Inc. Other promotional brochures and catalogs were photographed for the Key West Havana Cigar Company; interior images of the Speakeasy Inn, Old Customs House Inn, and Casa 325 Suites, Key West Guesthouses; Coca Cola Distributors of Key West; Cayo Magazine, and an array of other commercial projects.

  Hector's goal is to perfect commercial photographic skills while completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at The Rochester institute of Technology, then, to become a full time commercial photographer.