About

Photography as Ceremony — Antü

Hija a Mapu (daughter of the Earth), nieta to Abuelita Moon (grand-daughter to grandmother moon. These are the relationships that shape how I walk, create, and remember.

I carry the names of my lineage with reverence:
Rülkelme from my great-grandmother's line—returning to the roots, rooted in memory.
Mella from my grandfather's lineage—sacred cycles, completion, ancestral responsibility.
Antüpewma—Sunlit Dream—came to me in a dream, offered through spirit as guidance.

Together, my name is instruction: a dreamer who illuminates the path back to remembrance, carrying memory through sacred cycles.

This is not metaphor. This is how I move through the world.

I am a ceremonialist and fine-art photographer of Mapuche descent. Photography as Ceremony is what I offer—not a photoshoot, but a return to yourself, guided, witnessed, held.

We begin with cacao and breath. We move intuitively. We let the camera become a tender witness to what's already true in you. What we create together isn't just beautiful—it's yours. Images that feel like remembering, like permission, like homecoming.

This work comes from years of image-making and ceremony, and from a commitment to see people as they truly are. Before this evolution, I founded Real Beauty: Uncovered, a storytelling project that challenged beauty standards and was invited to museums, media, and the White House in 2016. I'm grateful for that recognition—and I know the deepest milestone is quieter: the moment you feel at home in your own skin.

My practice is rooted in Indigenous memory and reciprocity. I honor lineage, land, and the body as archive. I listen more than I speak. The images we make together aren't just for now—they're offerings for those who come after us.

If you feel the pull, come. Step into ceremony and be seen.
Here, we don't perform beauty—we remember it.

I am Daniela Miranda | Antüpewma Rülkelme Mella.