The Photographer
About Me
Introductions
Hey, I'm AJ
I'm a photographer based in Vancouver, Washington. I started out shooting portraits and steadily worked my way into landscapes and candid photos of friends. Since then I've done editorial and business portraits and shot plenty of events, families, and couples.
I got into photography right before high school. My first camera was a Nikon D3300 my mom bought me after a lucky night at the casino. A few years later, after saving up from my theater job, I bought the Fujifilm X-H1 I still shoot on today.
Everything clicked on a solo trip to Seaside in 2024. I happened to show up the same week the aurora lit up the coast. I spent that night photographing old houses and empty streets, and I found a sense of calm in the aesthetic I captured that night — it's what helped me define my artistic vision as a photographer.
Shooting has always given me peace of mind, a sense of purpose. I just want to make art that's new and interesting, the kind of thing you can't hand off to a prompt and call it done. I'm proud of what I've made, and I'd love to continue sharing my work with the world and working with creative people. So I'll keep taking photos. That's my thing.
In the Bag
The Gear
People always ask what I shoot with, so here's the kit — the one that never leaves my side.
01 — Featured
Fujifilm X-H1 + 16–55mm f/2.8
My main camera since late 2019. Everything on the professional side of this site runs through it, paired with the Fujinon 16–55mm f/2.8 — the 24–70mm equivalent that rarely leaves the body.
Find one →
02 — Featured
Canon Sure Shot Owl
My childhood camera — my parents shot photos of me on it before I ever picked one up myself. Found it in my closet years later and it's barely left my side since. It never misses.
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03 — Featured
Miranda Sensorex II
My favorite, and I'll admit it's biased. I found one in a vintage shop with my own last name engraved across the front and couldn't believe it. Nothing feels better than shooting a camera that shares your name.
Find one →The Rest of the Collection
Spider X Holster V2
Clips the camera right to my belt so I'm hands-free on a hike and not fighting a strap.
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Pentax ME Super
One half of my Pentax pair, alongside a K1000. The ME Super has done absolute wonders for me.
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Canon F-1
A recent pickup with an automatic winder and three S.C. lenses — a 24mm, a 50mm f/1.4, and a 135mm f/1.8.
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Polaroid Impulse
A five-dollar vintage-shop find from 2020 that's outperformed every other Polaroid I've owned. I keep a couple of SX-70s around too.
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Panasonic Omnimovie (VHS)
One of the VHS camcorders I use to shoot music videos and content for El Wedos.
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Insta360 Luna Ultra
My newest toy. I use it for all kinds of work around my life — vlogging, El Wedos content, and capturing whatever's going on.
Find one →The Other Half
El Wedos
The other half of me is a band called El Wedos. It started with my best friend Zechy — we met in the second grade when he moved into the house right in front of mine, and we grew up together. He was always the musician. In 2016 he got a computer with a copy of Ableton, we started messing around, and El Wedos was born.
Over the years we've put out a couple of albums, gone quiet for a while, and come back. We released our first serious music video, 'April Uprising,' in 2023, and we've been in the studio ever since. The band is me, Zechy Krieve, and our drummer Jon Abella. Our music is on Spotify and all the major platforms, and our YouTube channel is home to everything else — music videos, vlogs, and whatever we're into that week.
I shoot our videos on vintage VHS camcorders. Every video is a chance to make something that looks like nothing else out there.
“To any and all who view my work with appreciation — thank you.”