Meet Jacob Louis | Photographer & Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacob Louis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacob, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
When you’re growing up as a creative you always hear, ” Well, that’s nice you have a hobby but what are you going to do for a job that makes money?” But then you also hear, ” Go! and do what you love. You only have one life to live…” I got to the point where I had jobs that made good money, but I wasn’t really excited for them, and I wasn’t happy. Then I started losing those jobs and had to make the jump to pursue what I love. I saw lots of people making a living as a creative or artist, and thought to myself, “I’m better than they are and they’re making a living, so why can’t I?” It’s not an easy transition for sure, but it s the new thrill. of creating something to make you stand out and it’s been fun. I’ve been photographing, developing and printing for 10 plus years, honing my skill and expressing my unique style that I wanted to share with others and their projects. I have always loved the tangible feeling of the camera and the darkroom print, so I started doing what I love.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I focus mainly with analogue photography and darkroom printing. I love a physical print, manipulating and editing manually in the darkroom ( the original photoshop). I feel like a lot of people don’t print their work, and the best part is the print! I like to use different mediums and processes while printing my work. I’ll use silver gelatin prints or convert them and use cyanotype depending on the feel of the image.

The process i’m most excited about right now is the Tintype photography process. This is one of the original photographic processes originating in the 1850’s. This is a one-of-one print on a tin plate made from light sensitive material and silver. You get to see the image develop and come to life right in front of you and it truly is a magical experience. Learning a new way to create sparks a joy in me for the creative process all over again.

The lessons I’ve learned along way is that a lot of people don’t care about analogue photography lol. We are in a height of a digital age and everyone has cameras or a friend that is a photographer or someone who can do it cheaper. It’s hard to stand out and find the people who appreciate the art of creating images. I’m not “taking” pictures, i’m creating an image. Every step from looking through the viewfinder, what aperture, film stock, push/ pull, lens filter, etc goes through my head before capturing a shot. Then going into the darkroom and creating works of art. You really slow down and think about what you’re doing and crafting. Each shot is money and limited to the frames on the roll. That’s why I love film photography. It helped me slow down and think. I am glad to see the resurgence in film photography and the appreciation of the skill. People are wanting that aesthetic and that has been exciting to see.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Houston is so large and spread out! I think the first few days I would take them to the touristy spots that you have to see like NASA, our museum district and probably catch an Astros baseball game since the season started. Houston has some of the best food in the world, so we would hit up some amazing tex mex, bbq, and asian food spots. I love coffee and Houston has had a recent boom in new coffee shops that are top notch, so we would definitely do a coffee crawl around town. And to finish the week probably catch a band at one of the many venues.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Right now the most supportive person is my fiance and soon to be wife (in 3 weeks!), Elida Garza. She has been with me during the highs and lows. She recognized that I have a talent and unique style in this industry, and I should move forward with this passion. She is an amazing photographer as well, and to have a partner to create and grow with is really special. I’m excited where this is going to take us in business and our relationship.

I also want to thank my immediate family for letting me be the weird/ creative one in the group.

Website: https://jacoblouisfilm.mypixieset.com/

Instagram: @jacoblouisfilm

Image Credits
all Images by me Jacob Louis Garcia