Creative Highlight 06: Photography: Zero Solitano
Photographers deserve more credit. Better yet, BLACK photographers deserve more credit. Taking pictures is an art. Capturing someone's true effort and essence all in one lens is a TALENT. I feel as if it's easy to say "well anyone can just point a camera and shoot" well you're wrong! I think people truly underestimate how much time goes into editing, finding different filters, finding the camera that works for you, creatively directing the shoots half of the time as well. This takes an insane amount of effort. Pictures tell a story and photographers are just that, story tellers. Except for a paper and a pen, all they have is one shot to tell a whole story in seconds. (while making you look good too) One of my favorite black photographers without a doubt would be Gunner Stahl. He's shot for The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Earl Sweatshirt and literally so much more. He's notorious for making a name for himself with his art and all within the short time of a couple of years and my really good friend Jonah shares the same sentiment in being one of the best photographers I know. Jonah is literally someone I've grown so close to within a year and words cannot explain how AMAZING his work is. We met up in Downtown Brooklyn to chat a little bit about how his experience of being a black photographer in this industry has shaped him and his work ethic today.
Me: So tell us exactly, what do you do?
Jonah: Wow it's so weird to talk about yourself. But honestly, I make art. I make films, I take pictures. I just do a lot of shit.
Me: What are you working on currently?
Jonah: I'm working on this project called December but realistically it's probably gonna come out in January. I'm kinda nervous about people's perceptions when I release it. I express my art in so many different ways that people haven't seen yet, so I'm very nervous of how it'll be perceived. It's probably just my anxiety but I am nervous. Most people know I'm creative but there's some parts of my film where people might be shocked.
Me: How does your work relate to black women? Do you tend to work with a lot of black women, are they incorporated a lot on your projects?
Jonah: Most definitely. My first commercial was based on a couple ordering food, I had a black couple, a
black man and a black woman and the guy canceled on me last minute so I had to call up my friend Salem to kind of fill in. (she's amazing btw) she's also a black creative, but yeah she pulled up and the chemistry she had with the other girl on set was beautiful. Especially between two black women who never met before, it just worked. Salem didn't even know the script and she learnt it so fast. It was like they were friends for years. That project exceeded my expectations. It was more than what I wanted, it was amazing. Most of my projects, I try to make them very diverse and relatable.
Me: Obviously you're a black man. As we were talking about earlier you're a photographer/videographer. Do you feel as if you have an edge up on black women in the industry that you're in?
Jonah: I think its hard regardless being a woman, even though I haven't experienced it. I do feel like I have an edge up on them but that shouldn't be a case. First of all as a woman that's already hard. Being a black woman, that's a double minority. Being a black gay/bi and or disabled woman that's just even more strikes against you. So it's definitely sad that men have an edge up on women. When you get into these editing rooms it should never be like 5 men and one woman in the room. Most of these higher up rooms don't credit women the way they should. It's really weird. Watching tv growing up, the perception of women that's given off is absolutely disgusting. I try to surround myself with women because the amount of time I've spent around them, when I do write about women characters or I have to include them in my projects I kinda know what I'm doing. I had to do this project and the character in it had a mix up with her birth control which made her sick, and one of my female friends was like damn you actually know about this and I was like yeah I have to. I didn't grow up in a household with sisters so I just had to pay attention to my female friends. But yeah women go through a lot. Y'all are powerful.
Me: Okay, so as always at the end of every interview, give some advice to black women.
Jonah: You're not buggin. When niggas tell y'all that y'all are doing too much, you're not. 99.9% of the time you know what it is. You're enough, you are doing enough. Remember to breathe and take some time. Self care is important. Overall you're not buggin.
Make sure to follow Jonah on instagram @zerosolitano
Also, check out one of Jonah's projects here!