Meet Julian Restrepo | Photographer, Director, Producer

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

Hi Julian, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think the biggest factor for my success has been curiosity. It all started from a place of what if and a constant sense of wonder for everything in this world. Starting with the beautiful warm feeling I felt when I first saw an image being developed in a dark room, to the sense of wonder I have right now looking back at all the things I’ve been able to do.
There are low times, of course, but reconnecting with myself and realigning with that curiosity that got me started in the first place is what makes it all worthy.

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.
A career in the arts will never be easy. It’s subjective, so what may be a genius thought to some; may as well be something silly for others. That said, art needs to be creative for yourself, to express what you have inside, to share the perspective of how you see things around you. I’m proud of my whole career, with its ups and downs, because it has formed the kind of artist I am today.
I remember seeing other Photographers’ bio’s and most of them usually start with: “when I was a kid, so and so gave me my first camera…” and from then on, they knew they had to do this for the rest of their lives. I felt like an outsider, because I didn’t have that kind of Hallmark-esque story.

I just used technology and was curious to create things growing up, but it wasn’t until my first year in college that I had to take a Photography Intro class when I fell in love with it.
It was all about the basic techniques, capturing with 35mm film cameras and developing in the dark room, etc. That for me was magical, and sparked my love for photography.

Then, later on in my degree I had a class in photo-design, and that’s what sealed the deal. Being able to mix the newfound love for photography with advertising was something that blew my mind.

I think this is something that has set me apart from the stories of other artists, I’ve always loved the fact that I can communicate concepts in a beautiful way through the art of image creation. Whether directing a commercial or shooting the photos for an advertising campaign. Not everybody feel they have their direction so clear or their artist DNA so embedded.

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?
This is great because I’m not a fan of crowds, so I always look for places that are gems. Those where you can probably enjoy nature like a good park. Lately I’m going a lot to Vista View Park because it has this hill, and when you’re up there you feel a different kind of peace. Then we’d look for some local place, hopefully not a chain, where we can have a hearty meal and enjoy a great conversation. I love being able to catch up and have a great time with good home made style food.

We would see the city in a non-touristy way, different spots that are probably more meaningful to the locals and away from the day to day craziness.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents are my pilar, the are the ones who created an environment in which I could express myself freely and cultivate that sense of curiosity, a space for me to experiment, try things, fail and try again. Then I would say my wife, who is a very creative person, and who’s my biggest supporter. She’s the one that tells me to keep going when I feel down, she’s the one that calls me out if I’m not creating. She believes in me like no one else.
And of course, through the course of my life I say the biggest influence has been books. Universal literature. Reading opens up a universe in your head that no amount of AI can fill. It puts you in different places, at different times, and paints all kinds of pictures in your head. If you let yourself dive into these worlds, you’ll be amazed at how things in life seem different.

Website: www.julianrphotography.com

Instagram: julianrphotography

Youtube: soyjulianr

Image Credits
Julian R. Photography / Julian Restrepo.