Today we’d like to introduce you to Masai Maple

Masai, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

My name is Masai Maple and I’m a photographer and videographer based in Jersey City. Growing up, I remember always being in love with movies. In fact, some of my earliest memories are of when I was in preschool and they’d show us all types of movies like The Lion King, the Raimi Spider-Man movies, and even Ninja Turtles 3. Back in high school too, I even had a youtube channel where I’d make these unofficial music videos out of already existing music videos for that specific artist. Eventually, I decided I wanted to make my own visuals and stories, whether with music videos, short films, or whatever. I started college at NJCU and began majoring in media arts where I found myself taking a class where we got to work with DSLR cameras. I remember being fascinated with how they worked and from there, I rented one from school and had a photoshoot with my best friend in her dorm, and at that moment, that’s when I really fell in love and knew this was something I could also see myself doing visually as well. Maybe like a year or two after that, I got a camera of my own, and the rest just goes from there.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

For me, the roads been smooth for the most part but with a lot of bumps along the way too. It’s also been and continues to be a fun journey and at the end of the day, that’s really all I care about. One of the biggest challenges I had to learn was to not move so fast all the time. It’s good to always be on the move and putting work out, but if you do too much then that’s how you crash and burn out and that burn outs a real thing because it can kill your motivation, passion and at that point, that’s when your craft starts to feel more like work and not expression, which is exactly what creating is and should be. If you’re not having fun or feeling passionate about what you do, then what’s the point?

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

So I specialize in both videography and photography but at the moment, I’d say I’m more known for my photos than video work (we’re working on that though). With photography, my works are always portrait and editorial based. For my videos, a lot of my work is always music based where the whole video will be a song and accompanying visuals to match. In a way, I use this to show how I interpret the song I’m working on or just because the song provides a backdrop for a certain look I want to experiment with. Throughout my time shooting, there’s so many shoots that I’m proud of, and funny thing is, my favorite ones always changing. Right now, my favorite shoot just might be this Mac Miller type shoot I ran back in January. Video wise, I’m most proud of this doll video I shot to Billie Eillish’s What Was I Made For? It was a passion project of mine for a while now and just working on it and seeing it come to life the way it did was just something else (but that’s how I feel about all my projects in general). What I feel sets me apart from others, however, though is my creative mind and I feel like that’s what separates us all from each other in the creative scene at the end of the day. Not only that but everyone’s got their own way of shooting, editing, or working with a camera that’s most unique to them too, and that in itself is always something to behold as well.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

Risk taking’s always going to be a super important aspect when it comes to creating. I believe that as you grow, your art grows with you and part of that artistic maturation is taking risks. In my experience, risks can range from anything whether it be reaching out to work with a specific person or even running an idea or concept that some might find strange or unconventional. Even in the beginning, starting my photography page was, in a way, also a risk for me because of all the never-ending what-ifs that kept going through my head. In the end, in the creative scene at least, always take that risk for your artistic development. You never know how it could influence you in the end and as artists, sometimes you have to get uncomfortable to be comfortable.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flicksbymasi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@masaimaple8295/videos
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/masimapple99/

Image Credits

First Pic: @crown.vic_ , @yuriana101 , @gianalysantiago
Second Pic: @sarahii.ocelotl
Third Pic: @danielodeh_
Fourth Pic: @britneyalana
Fifth Pic: @cts1705
Sixth Pic: @runawaywithsar, @nas_dadream
Seventh Pic: @malia.catalina
Eighth Pic: @jenualien
Ninth Pic: @soul.loh
Tenth Pic: @3l24, @yairewest

*Personal photo taken by Timothy Lewis (@snapsbytj)*