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Photographer Profile Sample
Photographer Jei Andujar will tell you that his work and technique are "simple." "There's not a lot of magic in what I do," he claims. In one respect, he is right. A captured encounter between people – once strangers – on a street in Milan or at a parade in Central America is at its core straightforward, as distant worlds meet in the purity and commonality of human experience. But his gift for elegant simplicity is only a point of departure for this young photographer. Just as passion introduces timelessness to a day and casts a sense of effortless poise to a task, magic crackles in the intimate space between Andujar and his subject, in the moment his images meet your eye. Landscapes, urban streets, natural wonders, and people… His images reflect Andujar's embracing interests. "I love people," he says, "I love faces." Not surprisingly, for someone who seeks opportunities to encounter new cultures, he also values travel. He began life as an observer and as a respectful participant in varied cultures of the world. A small child traveling with his mother, he saw more of the world than most people twice his age. He continues to seek opportunities to leave his adopted hometown and his perspective to experience others. "First, I go out with no camera and just walk." He believes, "It's not the things that you see that you really bring back. It's the conversation with the kid on the street. It's the people who invited you to their home." Only after greeting and talking to the people he meets, does he bring his camera. Asked at what age photography consumed him, Andujar thinks for a moment and responds, "Wow. I began shooting photos early on." He pauses to recall a specific age and admits he picked up a camera so early in his life, he has "very little recollection" of exactly when. But he remembers a defining moment: "When I truly became passionate about photography, my life just circled around it." Call it magic. Say it's simple. Better yet, discard the definitions that too often limit our hearts and minds. But look at one of Jei Andujar's photos of a man in Vietnam preparing lunch, or a girl in Kuala Lumpur gazing openly forth. You may find that you see yourself with more clarity and the world with more compassion. And that, simply stated, is magic.
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