Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazz Ponce.
Jazz, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Story… that is something I constantly think about each and every day. To begin, I can say that I grew up in a household that showed me a lot of love and care. My father is a hard-working man who has been working as a truck driver for over 35 years, and my mom has always been the warm-hearted individual and free-spirited. I think I received those traits from both of them. So throughout my younger years, I had good guidance. Understanding right from wrong, but still being a little mischievous at times. I’m very into sports. I love watching everything from football, baseball, soccer, and even water polo. I was a water polo player and swimmer for seven years. The pool was like my second home, and the turnout for me was being a lifeguard for three summers at City Terrace Park Pool. Once that finished, I continued pursuing my educational career at Cal Poly Pomona where I received my Bachelors Degree in Business. While going to school full time, I was also working full time at an aerospace company. Literally, my days would start at 5 am and not end till 10 pm, Monday – Friday. I knew at an early age the meaning of “grinding,” and that is something I still live by till this day. I don’t believe in ever “making it,” I believe in enjoying the struggle and constantly growing as an individual because that is what life is about. We don’t know who we are until we get out of our comfort zone, and only then we still have a lot to learn about ourselves. I’m 27 years old; my birthday is on November 9th. Currently, I have been working for a pharmacy company while finishing my Master’s degree in Health Administration at Cal State Long Beach. On the side, I do photography. I did not fully invest in photography until the beginning of 2017, and what a ride it has been. The feeling an individual gets when they are about to click that button and pause a moment is something many photographers can understand and few won’t. I notice that my passion for photography has grown, more so on cityscapes and street. Something about those two genres really makes me feel happy inside, and once school is over, I would definitely like to see where photography will take me.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’m a photographer, and I create photos that I hope people can get a feel for. I enjoy both street photography and landscape (Cities/Beaches). I grew into this passion for over three years now, and what I want for people to take away from my photos is to pause for a second, learn about the image that was taken, and have a feel for it. There’s a quote that I’d like to share by one of my favorite street photographers and it goes, “It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…they are made with the eye, heart, and head.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson. I don’t like comparing my work to others because within today’s society; social media is a big thing for photographers to get their recognition. I shoot what I like, I post it on Instagram, and I just want people to enjoy it as much as I do. I don’t care about “likes,” because that does not really matter to me.
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what quality do you feel is most helpful?
The way I would define success is quite simple. And thats waking up the next day. Growing up, my father always told me, “You are not guaranteed tomorrow, so be happy for what you have today,” and that is something I live by…. and it’s tattooed on the inside of my left arm, lol. I don’t ask for much; I just want every human being in this world to find some sort of spark in them and run with it.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Please feel free to find me on Instagram at username “the__jazzz” or simply search my name on IG, Jazz Ponce.
Slowly creating a Wix profile for people to see, and my next step once school is done is to create a traveling youtube channel where I have 2-3 minute videos.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jazzz1191.wixsite.com/jazzponce
- Phone: 626 695 0011
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the__jazzz/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Jazz Ponce
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