October 22, 2016

Meet North Hollywood Photographer and Filmmaker: Ace Fillmore

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ace Fillmore.

Ace, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in southern California. Directly out of High school while in college I began to develop a desire to work in some creative field. My passions led me all over the place within the arts but I settled on Filmmaking as my true passion. I began shooting photography in 2007, I started as an alternative to my Filmmaking career that I was beginning. Photography gave me ability to hone my skills and just practice on developing my eye. Initially being a fan of classic jazz I wanted to go in the direction of Photographers like Francis Wolf from Blue Note Records as well as the classic rock photographer Jim Marshall. 2008 I began shooting on a DSLR, I veered away from the original blueprint which was a behind the scenes photographer and just start shooting a little bit of everything. Over the next few years, I photographed, local indie artist around the LA area, designers, dancers, community events. I would pretty much photograph anything to get by and pay the bills. Around 2012 I got bored with photography and retired for a brief period lol. A fellow photographer introduced me to the work of Gregory Crewdson. I instantly fell in love with his work. He was creating with stills the same type of material I wanted to create with movies as well as stills. I began a self-portrait phase, over the years since that summer of 2012 I keep evolving into new themes that I explore. I have since focused more of an emphasis on becoming a fine art photographer. Outside of my portrait work and material for other local artists, I also developed an extensive portfolio of landscape photography. I believe through all the years, my primary focus was to just develop my eye, I wanted to have an extraordinary eye for composition and aesthetic.

Has it been a smooth road?
I cannot say the road has been smooth. It’s been an interesting journey of glorious highs and terrible lows. I often compare pursuing a career in the Industry as swimming in the ocean with sharks. Every so often you find a buoy to rest on. Good months you might find an island but you are always swimming with sharks lol. The day you stop swimming you drown. it’s an extremely competitive industry and the great work of other artist keeps me up at night brainstorming

When you look back, can you point to a period when you wanted to quit or a period that was really frustrating?
There have been moments in my career where I felt like quitting, My natural talent is actually architectural drafting and I sometimes think, maybe I should have gone to school for Architecture. As an artist sometimes the creative process can be overwhelming, You spend so much time putting time into your craft and you lose sight of the reality around you. It’s imperative to have a strong support system. I usually overcome the difficult moments in my career by meeting people that have an appreciation for the work that you do. Validation from your peers and strangers is a strong indicator toward progressing to your goal.

What would you tell someone who is just starting out?
Growing up in Southern California has given me an advantage over some people moving to this city to pursue their dreams. I met a photographer in Iowa once who was thinking of moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career. I told him to not have any expectations, build a strong team and enjoy the weather. There is an over saturated market of people within my field and the only way to truly maintain a career in this field is by building a strong network. I would also suggest working at the craft, experimenting, challenging yourself to be better. study the masters. study life and the world around you and the work will evolve. Avoid getting parking tickets and go on a journey to find great locations that highlight the city that is overlooked.

What are you most excited about these days?
I am excited to evolve. It’s a never ending journey and I just want to keep discovering new things. My mind is as wide and open as the universe. I just want to give back to the Universe for what it has done for me.

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