Meet Brandon Moningka

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Moningka. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Brandon, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I was just having a conversation about this with someone I look up to whose opinion I value. I realize the process of keeping creativity alive has remained the same and evolved in my life. At the end of the day it’s about discovery and rediscovery. There’s a constant dance between the two. Discovering new sources of inspiration and rediscovering old ones. Whether it’s working with someone you’ve never worked with before, whether it’s in nature, or in a book, or from a conversation over coffee we may find inspiration in places we least expect.

This year was full of firsts for me. I shot, printed, and bound my first zine, produced and presented my first solo photo exhibit, and my wife and I were first time vendors at a fashion based market with other talented artists. Each one of those experiences were rich with their own lessons and rewards. All those experiences taught me that one of our most reliable sources of inspiration is ourselves. Challenging ourselves in new ways comes with its own risks but can give us a sense of pride and growth and ultimately fuels creativity.

If you have an idea I say do it. Just make sure your motives are pure. And even if your motives aren’t pure as Alan Watts once said, “It’ll all come out in the wash in the end.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

If I’m completely honest first and foremost I’m a full time dad and husband. As cliche as that might sound, everything I do is for my family and comes second to them. Some may think of this as detrimental to my career but I think it’s an advantage. It functions as a beacon that helps me make sense of everything. It gives me purpose bigger than myself. I believe everyone needs that. And it doesn’t have to be marriage and children. Just something that drives the ship.

That being said, when I’m not fulfilling my role as a father and husband I’m behind a camera. As of now I’m focused on two things, becoming represented by an agency and entering the fine art photography space. Both of those things I’ve yet to accomplish. In the meantime, I primarily work in the fashion space, in editorial, and have been more active in creating personal work. When I say personal work I don’t mean working alone. I mean work that isn’t bound by anything but the act of creating.

On that note, what’s exciting about what I do is getting to meet the people I get to meet. Not because of how well known they are but because of the skillsets they bring. That’s truly exciting to me. I have the privilege of not just knowing creative directors, art directors, designers, stylists, make up artists, graphic designers, producers, videographers, directors, cinematographers, and other photographers. I also have the privilege of working with them.

I remember my very first editorial photo shoot. The stylist for the shoot was big and worked with some amazing talent. I won’t name names but one of her regular clients was Beyoncé. And there I was producing, leading, and shooting a concept that I’d come up with. And there she was with the team in my living room discussing all the looks and asking for my approval and input. It was surreal. And it’s only gotten more surreal. Call me naive but I live for this.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I believe this relates to the previous question but needs unpacking. As I mentioned, what most excites me about what I do is working with talented people. With that not only comes technical skills but personal skills. Not everyone has technical skills. That’s where the saying comes in, fake it ’til you make it. Not everyone has personal skills. But personal skills are harder to fake.

I believe having personal skills has been largely impactful on my journey. Can someone get away with having zero personal skills and thrive in their field? Absolutely. Some people don’t think they need personal skills. Some people lack personal skills not because they’re jerks but because they’ve never learned them or were brought up in environments where it was lacking.

Which leads me to a second quality I believe helped me. I do my best not only to treat people well but to protect the vulnerable on set. I remember being on set where the PA was being mistreated, the producer was yelling at an intern, or the models were being overworked. Like you can literally see it on their faces. And I believe there’s a reputation and karma that follows that.

Lastly, I believe that openness is key to growth. Sometimes being open does mean faking it ’til you make it. Taking a risk and saying yes to something you may not have experience in. Sometimes being open means being willing to fail. Sometimes being open means not always manifesting some specific future but receiving whatever the universe gives. You’d be surprised what manifests.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m currently looking to work with an agency that understands me well, sees there’s space for someone like me in the industry, and has my best interests in mind when it comes to agreements and building relationships with clients. I’m also looking for an agency that crosses over into fine art space. One whose emphasis is to develop artists not just help photographers get jobs.

I identify as Pacific Islander, American, and Indonesian. But my ethnic background is diverse. My father was born in Manado, Indonesia but raised in Bali. My mother was born and raised in Hawaii and has Native Hawaiian ancestry. I was born and raised in Southern California. I would love to work with an agency who not only can help me tell my story but help me develop it in different ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandonmoningka.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaipo81/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-moningka-17b753176/

Image Credits

Talent: Janthavy Norton, Sophia Kelly, Bella Lauren, Jayr Avila, Paris Berelc, Izzy Hernandez.
Creative Directors: Joey Barba, Javier Bandera, David Rivera.
Stylists: Christine Garcia, Jill Vincent.
Make up: Teresa Robles, Esperanza Denise.