An Inspired Chat with Justin Leveillee of Providence, Rhode Island

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Justin Leveillee. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Justin, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
Right now I am chasing freedom. More specifically, I am chasing my passion which I am hoping will lead me to freedom. I just started my photography business, Embrace Living Photo, after years of being a hobby photographer. I am starting off by offering prints and lessons locally and online and hope to branch out into other areas eventually.
Working a boring office job truly numbs the brain, and for someone who is keen on adventure and novel experiences it has begun to really drain me over the last few years. If I was to stop chasing my passion and just accept a life of working a job like this, I worry I will lose my fire and focus and succumb to a miserable life like so many other people out there.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Justin Leveillee, I am a landscape photographer with a deep love for wide-angle lenses, the ocean, and the challenge of capturing nature at its most dramatic. For years, I’ve been chasing light and tide along the coast, always looking for that perfect mix of mood, motion, and detail that makes an image come alive. What started as a casual hobby during a trip out west has evolved into an all-consuming love affair with capturing the world through my lens.
It has now blossomed into me starting my business, Embrace Living Photo (www.elphotoart.com). I currently offer fine art prints and lessons locally in Rhode Island and online. What’s great about my lessons is that each one is tailored exactly to where you are in your photographic journey. If you just got a camera, I can teach you the basic of what you need to know to shoot or I can give you advanced techniques to truly elevate your game if you have some experience with a camera.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
This is a good question, and one that hits me hard. For years I tried to build my life inside this perfect little bubble to make everything as easy as possible to avoid struggle. Work in the job I know and make decent money, even though it is mind numbing and does not serve me in any way to grow. Live in in the paid off inherited house even though I do not like the location or living arrangements. Do not make investments with any sort of risk just in case they didn’t work out, etc. Every decision was a “safe” one, and while that served it’s purpose, it has left me wanting so much more. It did not help me grow and move forward.
What it did do for me however, was offer me a safe space in which to dedicate myself to personal growth. I have been able to use the preceding years to develop myself in ways that I may not have been able to if I was constantly grinding and worrying about where my next meal was coming from. I need to let go of that desire to feel safe and step into the unknown in order to bring forward not only a new chapter in my life, but a new way of living that feeds my soul.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
What a deep question! For me, it is the fear of being destitute. I mentioned in a previous question how I built my life in a bubble to be safe despite not encouraging or offering me the opportunity to grow and find fulfilment in my work. That was all to make sure I wouldn’t end up poor. It is the reason I can not seem to step out of my current arrangement still to this day, even though I know it is what is best for me in the long run. To change now, would be to step away from the only thing I have ever known, the thing that has allowed me to live a life that has been good, just not fulfilling to me. Stepping out is to risk being destitute, to risk having to struggle monetarily. That is one reason I started my photography business. When I build that up, it will offer me a bridge to change out of my current job and move into a new situation with a way to make money. It will simply offer my logical brain the life line it needs to have in order to feel comfortable moving on to something new in life.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Building my photography business, Embrace Living Photo! As I explained in a previous question, photography is my ticket to freedom. It will allow me to have an income while also having the freedom to pursue my passion and use my creative brain power. The ability to do something meaningful to me is more important then making money at this point in my life. I just need to make enough to be able to hold on and do what I love full time. My passion for this craft runs deep and burns brightly. Until the business takes off, I will continue to hone my craft and fine tune my portfolio with exciting new images.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I built the exact life I had envisioned minus the riches, and found it did not satisfy me. It turns out that, and I believe this is true for most people, we build a life we are told we should build. Once I had mine set and started to focus on personal growth, I found a whole other side to myself. I found that material things don’t matter to me anymore. I found that what matters most, money can not buy. Unfortunately, money is necessary to “buy” me the freedom to do the things that really ignite my soul. To wander about, exploring nature with no where to be. To spend time in the vastness of the US west, hiking and working on my photography. To live a life free from the pressures and burdens of modern society that wants to keep us wrapped up in the rat race never taking a deep look into our soul to find what really drives us along.
I find it quite funny how this works, and unfortunately I think this is the necessary route that people have to take. One needs to get themselves to a certain place where they can focus on other things besides the basic human necessities in order to have the time to look inward. If you are so worried about how you are going to make rent, put food on the table, take care of your kids etc, it is going to be very difficult to do some meditative soul searching.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elphotoart.com
• Instagram: @embracelivingphoto

Image Credits
Justin Leveillee