Meet Joe Calixto | Photographer

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

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
If we’re being specific, I am a live music photographer/content creator by profession. But a normal Photographer also works. Hmmm… what sets myself apart from others? Tough question, but I would say that I don’t limit myself to just shooting big name acts, I would literally photograph a house/backyard show coz thats where I started and its always good to remember your roots. But also, bringing that hardcore/punk ethos into the crazy world of mainstream music and the style I have learned from smaller shows and bringing it to a bigger scale and making the images interesting is what I’d say is my stand out trait.

The road to where I am today was definitely not easy, living in Los Angeles where theres a bajillion people fighting for the same gigs was the biggest challenge, but I just kept pushing and kept my work ethics in check. People love working creatives who are always on top of shit. Also, another thing was, being an immigrant, this line of work was not really something my family wanted, so in the beginning, I was working insane 9-5’s and trying to sneak in shoots/shows in between my days. That was absolutely draining, but I love the feeling being behind a camera at a show and capturing all that craziness. (I did call in a lot or left work early. Sorry former bosses.) Also, being asian in a pre-dominantly white industry (at that time) was pretty daunting.

I want the world to know that being different shouldn’t hold you back, I came to this country worried that people will give me sh*t for being an asian person and no one will give me work but I was dead wrong coz my work spoke for itself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Eat:

Jollibee
Hifi Kitchen
Dollar Hits
Crispy Pork Gang
Taco Zone
Burgerlords
Bakers Bench

Drink:
I’m not picky when it comes to partaking in alcoholic bevys, so anywhere cheap and the vibes are good.. we are so going there.

Coffee tho… where do I even start, Heavy Water (Chinatown), Kindness and Mischief (Highland Park), Thank You Coffee (Chinatown), Cafe Dulce (Little Tokyo), Dayglow (Silverlake), La Colombe (Frogtown) Any of the Maru spots, Collage (Highland Park), Verve (Arts District), Eightfold (Echo Park).. damn theres so many… of and that one juice place in Highland Park.. can’t remember the name but its on Figueroa, absolutely bomb!

I highly suggest, if you have time, rent a bike and just bike around this beautiful ass city! If you read this, let’s ride! Also drive down the PCH or up Angeles Forest highway. 2 of my favorite past times fersure!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I don’t know if theres one person I want to shout out here but I want to dedicate this to every single person out there who picked up a camera and just supplied the world with incredible imagery. It’s those people that make this world of photography so much more inspiring, even if it makes it a lot more competitive. (lol)

But go check out Kiabad Meza, Isabel Dimaranan, Kat Nijmeddin, Gabe Bacerra, Oscar Rodriguez, Lupe Bustos, Sophia Juliette, Kevin Allen, Danielle Parsons, Luis Hernandez, Rebecca Lader, Alex Bemis, Owen Lehman, Erica Lauren, Furn Zavala, Jackie Vitetta, Becky DiGiglio, Ashley Melton, Steven Grise, Ray Camacho, Angel Mejia, Alice Baxley, Nicole Busch, Alexis Gross, Ron Yamasaki, Evan Moses, Hiro Itou, Emanuel Hahn… dang thats a lot of names and theres prolly more! BIG SHOUTOUT TO ALL THESE FOLKS!!!

Website: www.joecalixtophoto.com

Instagram: @shutterhappyjose

Twitter: @iamjoecalixto

Facebook: I don’t even use this anymore. lol

Image Credits
ALL ME BABY!