I often say baseball was my first love, but i’ve come to realize that it was photgraphy first.

A woman with dark hair and tattoos sitting on a sofa in a living room, surrounded by plants, pillows, and decorative items, with a mural of children playing hanging on the wall behind her.

An indoor space with a gray door, a green sofa with pillows, a person sitting on an orange chair, a decorative pillow with floral pattern, a colorful rug, potted plants, a large mirror, a wall tapestry depicting people in outdoor scene, and a window with plants on the sill.

A woman with dark curly hair and glasses looking down, with a blurred background.

I met Elisa at an agency party on U st, in Washington, D.C. I get out of the elevator the room is stacked with agency creatives in suits. Meanwhile, I am in my Nojin Nojin, black wide-legged uniform. I see and greet my friend Andrea Carlota, who wore a white dress with the head of a poodle dog stitched to the front. Elisa was standing right behind her, wearing a black beanie with devil horns, comes up and hugs me as if we had known each other for years. From that moment knew we would be homies.

During this session, Elisa and I had been planning to hang out for weeks, but as adults in the arts. We kept pushing out meetups. The day came when Elisa invited me to her new Studio in Baltimore. We drove to her house and picked a tattoo machine, then we rode to her new spot. In an old factory in the middle of town, historic, large, and full of wandering memories floating through the halls, finally, we arrive at her studio. We open the double doors and reveal the open space with smaller offices inside. “ This isn’t a studio, this is a community,” I said to Elisa, “ EXACTLY!” Elisa exclaimed. She was stoked. So was I. Thanks Eli!

ELISA

MURILLO

@ELISABERAYAR

A young man wearing headphones and a white tank top with curly hair, holding his hand up with black painted nails in front of his face, outdoors with trees and a clear sky in the background.

A young man with dark, curly hair wearing a white hoodie, wearing over-ear headphones with a light-colored headband, is adjusting the headphones on his head. He is indoors with a blurred background that includes a potted plant and a lamp.

A young man wearing headphones, looking down thoughtfully while holding a basketball outdoors under a clear blue sky.

JARED

MCCAIN

@JMAC

I haven’t had the opportunity to shoot many celebrities. But when I do, I hope they are all as kind, loving, and down for the cause as Jared. As a former athlete, Jared was exactly what I expected. Someone who loves who they are and loves to work. One thing I will always take away from being an athlete is the importance of loving what you do equally as much as you love yourself, because authenticity will shine through in your playing style. This guy is all of that and more. His subtle forms of resistance and not allowing external factors to steer you away from who he is is beyond admirable. It makes him special. Like the kids commenting on his tiktoks, I too want to be more like Jmac.

A man wearing a red bandana with white and black patterns is partially illuminated in a dark setting, with his face angled upward and eyes closed.

A person posing with his hands up as if he were punching the camera, its blurry but we can see him standing outdoors near a street or parking lot, with bright lights in the background.

Kevin Sequera, better known as ICEODC, Mi primo, mi pana. Kevin has seen me grow up and become the person I am today. The first time I met Kevin, I must have been 2-3 years old, so I can’t remember much. He has always been a controversial figure in my family, which comes with the territory of being a rapper and idolizing WU-TANG in Venezuela in the 90s. Kevin was the first person to let me shoot a music video for him. He had just moved to the US and was releasing his first album in 10 years. I shot it on an iphone 6 or 7, the first iphone to have great 4k 60fps. I made a rig out of PVC pipes and a phone holder, something out of a DIY YouTube channel. It had been a while since we created something, so these images in a way symbolize us looking into the future as artist trying to make it.