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Angel Barclay
@angel.barclay
Photographer based in the US
Multiple people can look at the same place, the same person, the same thing, and each one learns and takes something different from what their eyes see. Photography is the way I show the world my perspective through a camera lens; my passion for photography stems from my desire to communicate with the world.
I embarked on my photography journey when I was fourteen years old when I bought my first camera – an iPhone 4. I never went to photography or film school, even though it was one of my goals, but I continued to chase the dreams I had. When passion calls there is no other choice but to answer it.
"When I was young I was really distracted, I could never focus on one specific thing, and yet photography always stuck."
When I got my first phone, I realized how much I enjoyed using the small camera. I started taking pictures constantly to the disregard of my family, except for my brother who always encouraged me. When I started taking pictures it was not something that people around me understood, it was something different from what everyone else was doing. I was discovering a new hobby, not only for myself, but for most of the people I knew. Having the support of my brother while I discovered photography in the Dominican Republic allowed me to explore this challenging new idea. I taught myself photography and only took feedback from friends and family. As I discovered other content creators on YouTube, like Peter McKinnon, I felt more inspired to pursue my passion.
"Developing my passion for photography introduced me to new kinds of technology and has continued to push me to use new techniques and equipment."
However, growing up the way I did and not having the “proper equipment” at my fingertips, I learned, at a young age, to utilize all the resources I could get my hands on. My eyes became the only thing I needed to create, taking pictures with each and every blink.
Life is hard and challenging, there’s no arguing that. For me, true happiness is not about the car I drive or the house I own, but rather doing something that I wholeheartedly love and am passionate about. I remember my mom used to say in Spanish “El cerebro no se llena” (the brain never gets full, meaning that you won’t feel fulfilled by just acquiring knowledge or material). I carry those words with me every day. But as with everything, it took some experience to realize this.
I attended architecture school at the age of sixteen, honing in on my creativity by drawing what I was visualizing inside my head. While I loved the knowledge I gained, when it came down to the numbers and the specifics, the pure joy and love for architecture was lacking.
"I didn’t pursue architecture for myself, it was something I did for others and that’s where the problem was."
I continued my studies, switching to culinary arts, exploring the love of cooking I experienced as a child growing up. There’s a sense of nirvana and peace while I am creating food, and in that state of mind that is where I get most of my ideas. With everything I set my mind to, I draw on every other thing that I have learned in the past. For example, when I am building a dish I use the knowledge of architecture in the process. And even now, when it comes to photography, my style has been influenced greatly by my life and experiences – architecture school, culinary arts, bmx biking, etc.
Architecture and cooking are things where I am catering to other people’s desires. The dreams and hobbies I chase, whether surfing, photography, skateboarding, etc., are things I do to escape the monotony of life, things I do for myself, on my terms. The freedom of being able to create and communicate what I am thinking and seeing in my mind is priceless; that is the ability photography gave me – a way to represent who I am and my ideas.
It’s true what they say about photography, it captures a moment in time, but for me it’s more than that – it captures how I am feeling and what I am experiencing when I take the picture. It’s like when you listen to an old song, and it brings you back to that exact point in your life, and everything you felt from the past comes flooding back in the present.
After mastering photography, I wanted to push myself further to create a deeper communication and relationship between myself and the world; videography provided me with the ability to push the limits and explore my creativity even further.
"My philosophy of constantly growing and challenging myself is something that I pride myself on."
When I see what other photographers are creating and the ideas they are sharing with the world, I am inspired and motivated even more than before. With the degree of technological innovations in today’s age, I feel challenged – constantly trying to grow who I am as a person while simultaneously developing my own photography style. I started to do this thing, when every couple of years I go back to the same place I took a picture, retake it and re-edit it. Comparing the two, it’s clear not only how much I have grown with my photography but also as a human being. My perspective on the world is constantly changing because of my experiences and interactions; through photography and videography I am able to capture and hold on to the way I see things at every stage of my life.
I consider myself as a dopamine/serotonin junkie, I’ve always needed a challenge to feel alive, some type of risk in order for me to feel that inspiration and creativity. When it came to photography and videography, I wanted to reach a new level with the shots I was taking. Learning to fly a drone was that next step – capturing footage to a new degree. My friend, Jacob Williams, gave me the best advice and I will pass it on to you – “Fly hard & Crash harder!”. The FPV drone was that harder challenge for me, giving me a way to push my creative boundaries to a new extent.
"Scrolling through social media and seeing the content others were putting out there, inspired me."
Seeing drones that people custom built intrigued me. I love being involved in every aspect of the content I produced, and the fact that I would be able to build my own drone from the ground up was riveting. This wasn’t a decision I took lightly, I did my research and consciously made a commitment to something I knew would be challenging.
Learning to fly an FPV drone comes with devotion, commitment, and determination. In all honesty, when I first started with the FPV, I didn’t quite understand what I had gotten myself into. I spent six months learning on the stimulator, practicing every chance I got. Not having the free time, sitting down and learning was a challenge in itself. Therefore, accomplishing my goal of flying the FPV for the first time was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. In that moment, I understood on a deeper level how much I love producing content from the start to the finish, being involved in all aspects of the creation process. Flying an FPV was more immersive and challenging than any other drone I have owned, and that’s why I love it so much – it was not easy and I appreciate it all the more so.
Nothing compares to when you are out there flying the drone itself, and facing the challenges that arise mid-flight, whether it be your goggles getting disconnected or the propeller cutting a cable. When it comes down to it, the real challenge with FPV is more than simply learning to fly the drone. With every crash, and trust me I crashed a lot, came a new challenge – fixing it. Through repairing the drone, I gained more knowledge and a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the system. The learning doesn’t stop, even after hundreds of hours, with each flight, I learn something new and that is the greatest gift FPV gave me.
When you are doing something you love, you will not only find the time for it, but also the thirst for it as well. The joy I experience through photography and film-making is unmatched. Creating and controlling every aspect of the content I produce is accompanied with a sense of freedom and the purest form of artistic expression.
"Everything I communicate and share with the world is 100% coming from me, and by doing so, I am sharing my soul with the world."
When I’m taking a picture I think about every single detail behind it. Sometimes I take random shots that I am not even going to use just to prepare my workflow. When I’m taking a picture I always think of what I can communicate, what it means, the purpose behind it, the reason why I did it, the reason why I’m sharing it – I do everything with a purpose, an intention.
Something that I always do when I’m about to edit is listen to music. That sets me in a creative process, making me connect more with the picture or the video that I’m about to create. People have different perspectives of life based on their surroundings. Being born in a warm, vibrant country has influenced my photography style, as I lean towards warm color preferences. Everything you do in life has a meaning behind it, whether you are aware of it or not. Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something”.
Growing up with the beach five minutes away, I lived in paradise. It’s wild that people would pay to vacation in the place I experienced every day. The Dominican Republic, being a mix of dozens of cultures and races, and after travelling and immersing myself in other communities and cultures, made me see things from a different lens. The biggest difference I have noticed is the liberties many people take for granted. To some owning a car is a basic necessity and to others it is a prized possession. This way of thinking can be applied to anywhere you travel, and if nothing else, it is humbling – it forces you to recognize and be grateful for everything you do have.
"I’m grateful for the way I grew up, my struggles and experiences developed me into the man I am today."
When I started my photography journey I never thought I would end up being so in love with it. And most of all, I am fond of feeling inspired and inspiring others. Growing not solely by myself, but with the others around me. Achieving your dreams is easy when you have the proper support system. I am eternally grateful for everyone in my life who has my back and because of that, I do everything I can to pay it forward and offer that same level of support to someone who needs it. I love connecting with people and uncovering their potential. I’ll always strike up a conversation with someone and foster the exchange of wisdom and advice. Through our interactions I help them embrace and realize their inner talent.
"Most of the time we get distracted by society and lose the focus on our dreams, falling into the trap of fulfilling other people's happiness and losing track of our own."
Some people are motivated to follow their dreams and hit the ground running. Others just don’t know where to begin. The content I produce on Instagram is my way of inspiring others, radiating energy and strength. We have all felt that feeling of being “stuck” at some point, and that’s why I constantly share positive messages – even if only one person feels inspired to take action. Inspiring others to push their own limits makes me feel like I am fulfilling my destiny. It’s more than just creating content, it is about the impact that the content has, and that is where my passion and drive comes from.
"There are endless hardships in the world and by sharing some positive energy into the world, I am also expressing myself in a way."
The quotes I write in my captions are reminders to myself as well. Looking back on some of my posts, I catch the same feeling I felt when I first wrote it.
The only bad ideas are the ones we never execute. And the only way for others to trust in what you are doing, is by trusting yourself first. Again; when passion calls, there is no other choice but to answer it – because, “El cerebro no se llena.”
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