We recently had the chance to connect with Eli Vicks and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Eli, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Music. I spend a lot of time getting lost in hip hop, R&B, soul, and blues to name a few. My portrait work might not be directly inspired by music, but it inspires me as an artist to keep creating.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Eli Vicks and I’m a Brooklyn-born photographer based in Connecticut and New York City. Taking portraits of people on film has had my heart for about five years now. The community, the feeling of going back in time and creating so much with less are three reasons I immediately switched over to film back when I started taking photos. I love using the different film stocks, light, locations and colors present to take a meaningful photograph. One week I might photograph a few professional models I met through Instagram and then the next I’ll shoot three rolls of my friends during our hangouts or road trips. I’m currently working on adding video to my process as well as a few creative events I want to host in the city.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was younger I definitely believed that being an artist could never truly take me anywhere. You never know what could happen when you start sharing what you create with the world or those around you.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
It took a long time for me to become okay with taking bad photos in my personal work. I would see my photographer friends on social media sharing their work and I assumed my stuff had to always be great. I went weeks without creating, but I was lucky enough to eventually learn that it’s all part of the game truly. You just keep learning from each bad photograph as cliche as that sounds.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Documenting the world through film portraiture for sure. I’m always taking photos whether it’s with my film camera or my phone. I love photographing my personal life and having so many important film negatives in my archives.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
Walking through Brooklyn with my Nikon F3 on the way to a portrait session is when I feel most at peace. I usually have my AirPods on while I location scout and take street photos along the way. It feels like nothing matters in life except the roll of film I know I’m about to shoot.
Contact Info:
- Website: elivicksn
- Instagram: @elivicksn
- Youtube: @elivicksn
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