Meet Jay Vee | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay Vee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
Success is different for everyone, but to me, it’s doing what you love and making a positive impact on the people around you.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My photography work consists of colorful and candid photos of people and places while traveling from time to time or just being out and about at home. I was hugely inspired by watching movies from Wong Kar Wai, Terrence Malick, Stanley Kubrick, Wim Wenders, Yasujiro Ozu, David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Richard Linklater and many others. The visual composition and the feeling of longing in some of their movies has been inspirational to my work.

I guess my photographic journey started back in high school when I took classes on photography and took my old digital camera on my Summer travels, but I put it aside as I was studying film in college and doing admin work in the music industry. After a creative slump, I started exploring film photography and fell in love with the artform because of the discipline and how most film cameras are built differently amongst each other, giving different shooting experiences.

With photography, there’s been some challenges that comes with the territory. First, I’m always changing up my style, finding more unique subjects to photograph and starting conversations while not letting social media dictate which types of photos guarantee more likes. But at the end of the day, it’s important to shoot whatever makes you happy.

Second, traveling with rolls of film is always tricky because security scanners at airports can potentially damage your film so I always opt for requesting hand-checks with airport security first and buying and developing my rolls of film locally when I can.

Third is finding cost-effective ways to shoot on film, especially in this economy. I recently bought my own scanning kit and scanned my own film, which took time but saved me money in the long run. But I do miss the convenience and cost-effectiveness of shooting digitally, which I might go back to from time to time.

Finally, one of the biggest challenges about being a creative on the internet is standing out while still remaining private. I know it’s counterintuitive if you’re going to establish yourself online and get people to follow you, but I’ve always felt that it’s less about showing my face and more about letting my photos speak for themselves. I usually don’t show my face online, but I’m more than happy to show it in person!

As for what I’m excited for, I’m trying to work on a few more photoshoots and eventually a photo book, but I’m also looking at ways to give back to the photography community. I’ve been met with so much support and want to pay it forward in the near future.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a San Diego local, there’s way too many places/neighborhoods check out such as Balboa Park, La Jolla, Torrey Pines North Park, South Park, Normal Heights, University Heights, Convoy, El Cajon, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Solana Beach, Coronado, Little Italy, Seaport Village, Encinitas, Del Mar, and so much more. With so many great neighborhoods and so many great spots to eat and drink, it’s hard to even speedrun your way to fully experience what San Diego has to offer.

But special shout-out to another area that’s near and dear to my heart, which is Barrio Logan. It’s near the neighborhood I grew up in and there’s so much culture and so many places to hang out in that area.

But if it’s your first time in San Diego, I always recommend having an empty stomach and trying out carne asada fries and/or the California burrito.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Honestly, there’s way too many people to credit along this journey, whether it’s my family and friends who’ve encouraged me to keep doing what I love doing, every film lab I’ve visited, my mentors, and everyone who has followed my journey. If you’re reading this, you know who you are and I really can’t thank you enough and wouldn’t have been here without you.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jay.villaa/

Image Credits
Model: Vince Obiajulu
Stylist: Krisnoff Padua
Agency: No Ties Models