Meet Eli Jacquez
February 9, 2017
Meet Eli Jacquez, a junior at Forge who wants to use his photos to show people the deeper meaning behind simple things.
Talon: When did you first realize you liked photography?
EJ: “I started to fall in love with photography about a year ago. I went to pick apples in Culpeper and I was on a hill that could see all over Culpeper. The scenery was beautiful and I decided to take a picture of it. That picture is what made me fall in love with photography.”
T: How does taking pictures make you feel?
EJ: “When I take pictures, it’s not to just take up my time to get through the day. When I take a picture, I have the feeling of peace. When I look through the peephole that lets me see what the camera picks up, I just feel an overflow of peace and comfort. Something that gets my mind off of the world and I can be who I am.”
T: When/where/how did you learn how to use the camera?
EJ: “I learned to use a camera by a photographer at my church named Wes Rose. He told me everything I needed to start to take photos. He told me what each button is and how to take clear photos. Ever since then, I’ve figured out how to edit and how to take my time with my photos.”
T: How long have you been interested in photography?
EJ: “I’ve been into photography for about a year. It is something that I will never give up.”
T: What do you see yourself doing in the future with photography?
EJ: “I see myself doing it as a hobby. I say hobby because the career of being a campus pastor at my church is what’s been always on my mind before photography was a hobby.”
T: Why do you like photography?
EJ: “I like photography because it takes me into a world where I don’t deal with life. It takes me to a calm place where I don’t feel stressed or annoyed. It’s cool to me because what I see through the lens, I want to share the beauty with other people. We all look through things differently or through different lenses, so I want to show people what I see.”
T: What kinds of pictures do you like to take?
EJ: “I like to take pictures of people and the actions they do. I also like pictures of nature. First, taking pictures of people and their actions is showing their character. Of course, taking pictures of their good actions is what people should see. They should see that we all aren’t perfect. But when we try, people should see that we can all make a difference, together. Second, taking pictures of nature is something that is so amazing. Say you take a picture of a flower with depth of field. The flower is in focus, but the background behind it isn’t; it’s beautiful. It shows that in nature, we take for granted what we have. We should take time out of our day and look deeply into nature. We shouldn’t take nature for granted.”
T: Tell me your photo-taking process.
EJ: “When I’m at home, I get my camera charged up and go outside and explore what I think is ‘photo- worthy.’ [I’m] Not saying all things aren’t worthy, but some have more meaning behind other, like a flower. You take a picture of the flower with a depth of field to make the flower in focus and the background out of focus, you have a pretty flower. To me, that represents that a person who is true to who they are blocks out all the temptations that make them a fake person. It shows their beauty of a person.”
T: Do you edit your photos? What is your editing process?
EJ: “Yes. I take about a couple of days to edit. When I edit, I don’t want to just throw a photo with terrible editing. Like I previously said, my photos show meaning. I take that much time so I can put more meaning behind it. I put as much as I can to make it look like how I imagined it as.”
T: Where do you like to take photos? In a studio-like environment, nature, etc.?
“I use the sun as a light and take human photos outside with nature. It has more meaning.”