Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Fajardo.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey in photography began just under two years ago during the summer of 2020 after a friend of mine launched his first clothing brand online.
I remember him reaching out to me and asking me to help photograph him, as well as a couple of my other friends wearing his t-shirts, since he figured I could use the camera my mom had to take better pictures than he could with his iPhone. I ended up borrowing my mom’s little Canon Rebel T7 that night for my first ever photoshoot, taking pictures of my friends behind the local Belair all night.
Although I had a great experience with my close friends, I was ultimately disappointed with many of the photos I had taken, mainly because I was not able to operate the camera in order to carry out my creative vision properly. This failure inspired me to do a little research on how to use the camera- all of its technical aspects, as well as the controls used to operate it.
After thoroughly grasping the basics of the camera, I curiously ventured deeper down the rabbit hole- learning the basics of exposure, compositional techniques, how to edit photos in Lightroom- the whole nine yards.
Almost two years and thousands of photos later, my burning passion for the art of photography has led me across the entirety of the state of California, as well as into several neighboring states such as Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Hawaii- traveling completely solo everywhere I go.
My love for photography can be attested to by the deep, vivid landscape photography I have produced throughout my travels, as well as the dynamic, abstract street photography I often capture from time to time.
All of my work and more can be found on my website elifajardophotography.com, where you can find my complete portfolio of work, as well as my own print shop where you can purchase my prints in various sizes and paper types.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nearing the end of my first year of learning, I knew that I had begun falling in love with photography. However, I realized at a certain point that I had no idea what I wanted out of it- where was I going with this?
I started to question things like what genre I wanted to focus on primarily, whether or not I wanted to pursue a career in photography, if I wanted to one day start a business with my photography. All of these questions brought me anxiety and caused me to question my motivations in what I loved doing, wondering whether or not the effort I had put into this hobby was truly worth it.
Fortunately, during this period of uncertainty, I officially started traveling by myself. I remember my first solo trip being out to Point Reyes National Seashore, in which I drove out to the coast and photographed the area surrounding the Point Reyes Lighthouse. Entering this travel phase, in which I began to feel more and more comfortable on my own, I was gifted a sense of clarity.
At some point, I came to the conclusion that travel had become the perfect outlet to practice photography in. As I photographed more and more beautiful locations and the various stops along the way to them, my portfolio grew and I became increasingly more skilled and confident in my work. This led me to realize that my real talent and purpose in photography was not only just to take beautiful photos, but to travel the distance in order to capture them.
This epiphany founded my love for travel and lit the fire under me that pushed me to dedicate my work to creating fine art photography, as well as documenting my travels along the way.
It also granted me the ambition to start my own website and online print shop, as well as pursue publicity through showing my artwork on the walls of various coffee shop venues in my hometown of Sacramento.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a photographer – I specialize in mainly fine art and travel photography, the bulk of my work being landscape and street-based work. I am most well known for my curious and adventurous nature, traveling far from home across the different states, in order to create my finest works.
I have to say I am most proud of my work along the California coast, in which I have created some of my favorite long exposure photographs, which also happen to be some of my most popular works. My work is unique because many of my photos are shot at longer, more compressed focal lengths, resulting in a tighter more focused image.
This differs from more common landscape photography techniques, as wider focal lengths and panoramic images are found more often throughout the genre. I also believe in deep shadows and contrasty images, which I feel create a more vivid, dramatic picture, invoking different emotions through my work.
The vast majority of my portfolio, as well as the images available in my print shop (elifajardophotography.com), are a testament to these beliefs.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Considering the rise of social media platforms, as well as the drastic improvement in camera technology, I believe that the photography industry in the near future may lose the ability to produce exceptional artists that leave their mark on photography history and culture, and could possibly succumb to things like trends and popular followings.
With the increasing amount of content creators as well as platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok producing seemingly endless amounts of new trends, it seems as if many talented photographers are becoming increasingly overshadowed, with many talented artists, unfortunately, becoming lost in the mix.
The oversaturation of social media platforms has also led to a lack of uniqueness within the industry, with it being so easy to create and publish work on the internet that seemingly breeds a lack of creativity and exceptionalism.
Many photographers today also rely too much on technological advantages that camera and tech companies continue to produce, breeding a portion of lazy and dishonest photographers that use automatic systems and editing software to manipulate and distort images from reality.
Although this kind of technology has its place in some areas, such as automatic shooting modes being used in sports, or Photoshop being used to edit blemishes and small details in photographs, some photographers choose to use these methods in egregious ways, tarnishing the spirit and honesty photography presents in the world of art.
Although my opinion may seem pessimistic and daunting, I still have faith in the future of the photography industry. I do believe that there is an outstanding amount of artists within the rising sea of creators, that have the potential to leave their mark on photography and keep the industry rooted in true artistic form, possibly inspiring others to pick up a camera and begin their journey in photography.
Contact Info:
- Email: elifajardophotography@gmail.com
- Website:elifajardophotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phajardo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phajardo
Image Credits
Eli Fajardo Photography
