We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jose Luis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jose , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

As a photographer I have had the many opportunities to work in so many areas from taking photos of nature, structures, people, and multiple types events. When i was in elementary school I knew I had a love for art, a love for creativity and it has always been in my visions when i see things in front of me. As I got older, i wanted to explore who I was and where i truly came from since I was an only adopted child from Brasil living with white American parents.

I loved art and was in art class since I started education. I felt this came from a deep root because my adopted parents weren’t artistic at all. I wanted to explore art and I wanted to explore the thinking of creativity along with helping children due to the adoption and whatever trauma I went through. So when i was about 16 years old, i looked into what is an Art Therapist?

My senior year in high school my teacher had an assignment to draw creative aspect about our future and he called us up to talk about the piece we worked on and to talk about what we wanted to do for a career. He soon called me up with my art in hand. I presented it to him and he looked it over and asked me “What do you want to do for a living?” I told him I wanted to be an Art Therapist. He seemed thrown back but also informed me that he tried to do it and it wasn’t the best direction and was tough to go through because of the hospital visits with the children.

I think at that moment he pushed me away from my dream and being young an impressionable I listen to him and lost the drive in that direction. I soon joined the US Army and decided to do a few years so I can get money for school, follow in my dad’s footsteps of being in the military, though he was Air Force.

During this time joining the military I learned about myself and where I came from in more depth perspective. I told myself that i wanted to go to Brasil and find my family.

In the back of my mind I always wanted to. It didn’t happen until I was 39 turning 40. By then i was established, had just bought a home and a good 9-5 type job that brought in a good income. For my 40th birthday I wanted to do something special. I wanted to go to my homeland. But most of all I wanted to go help some orphans in an orphanage that my adoption agent founded back in the mid 90s. She had passed away in 2006.

In my mind my life has been in mystery of who I am and where I came from. I talked to my adopted parents, talked to friends and everyone said do it, take the chance, live your life and discover yourself.

From these travels and organizing a giving back situation. I wanted to bring job to the orphanage I was visiting. I first got some money from a VA claim for compensation I was waiting for and saved money from my job to buy them gifts and just for my own experiences.

While in Brasil for the first time, i felt the vibration of life, saw the colors and the emotion of love and passion for so much of the offerings of Brasil and it’s people.

After a few visits to the motherland, the orphanage and meeting my mother and brother for the first time since i was a child, over 40 years. Being a photographer and being involved with the music scene, and involved with many projects, one of the biggest projects I wanted to do was my own fashion show that celebrated giving back with a purpose.

I again got some money together to make this happen. After a few trial and errors, a few situations that turned the tide for me, I had the opportunity to make this dream happen. I soon began the journey of creating Via Moda “The Way of Fashion” here in Phoenix Arizona. I connected with a nonprofit organization called Free Arts of Arizona, helping Abused, neglected and homeless children in Arizona. They area. nationwide organization. We built a beautiful parternship.

I had many engagements and learnings doing this on most of my own for the backend working with an amazing team again with some hardships and headaches. I wanted the models to experience love for art, love for giving and the love from the heart. This project of all my projects meant the most to me, with 20 staff members, 52 models 11 designers the show was success. My goal was met.

I was always asked how much money I made, I always replied it wasn’t about the money and it wasn’t because I didn’t make even close to what I put out but I made enough money to donate it to my partnering benefactor Free Arts.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Born Jose Luis in Brasil. I recently learned about my story of my past when I met my mother and brother for the first time. I was adopted to two amazing white parents (I think stating this of them being white has a important refection of my life). My adopted dad was in the Air Force living in Utah at the time, while my mother was a stay at home wife. My dad came to get me in Sao Paulo Brasil, my mom didn’t come because she has a fear of flying and claustrophobia.

I’d say i lived a good childhood and was always shown love even when I did wrong. My dad showed me compassion, my mom on the other hand showed love in her way. She was more free and open in her younger years with me. When she got older she just had things she was dealing with. She always showed love to me and I always appreciated it from her, though in my youth we had this distance between us. I think now as I got older met my birth mom I feel we didn’t have that birth connection. But i have learned that is a very common thing with adopted children.

When I joined the Army I picked up a Ricoh camera that used film and I had two lenses. When i was in jr. high school I took a camera class for one semester and I loved taking photos but didn’t like the course work, was never great in school. The teacher told me to try something else.

I took photos of nature; I mostly focus on trees, mountains, hillsides and animals mostly ducks since there was a pond outside the gates of my Army post in Germany. I had taken these photos of three ducks on the water, had them printed and generically framed in these cheap plastic frames. One day another solider/team mate walks into my room, looks at the photos and asks if he could buy them. I was surprised because no one ever asked to buy my photos. I sold him my only three printed and framed photos of these ducks for $10 each. I from that point wanted to shoot more and try to sell more. It didn’t happen for me right away. I did continue to shoot.

I got out the Army and was going to a technical school or at least trying. I did well but had to drop out but before the dean of the school and I became friends, He helped me out a few times. One of the biggest moments was when he knew about me being a photographer and asked to see my work. I found out he wanted to buy some of my work to hang it up in the hall ways of the school. At that time I undervalued myself but sold three large framed photos.

I have been able to focus on my craft for fashion photography, scenic photography, portfolio work, and some structural work, I continue to learn more of the craft and feel i have a certain style for sure. I have also started working on some video work. I participated in two music videos for creative and filming. I love this because I want to create stories from music and not just about videos that don’t fit my vibe and my creative vision as I see the same in photography but understand clients have a certain look and style they want done.

I think it is a collaboration of minds and creative aspects when putting people together and when one hasn’t the creative side and when showing an outcome from one photo, I think creativity comes out of them. They start to warm up and see vision and beauty in not just the photo(s) but in themselves.

When it comes to my work, i think it s about the creative angle, the tone of the photos or even the video. I always see other amazing work of photographers and videographers, and want to push myself to be as great as them. I know it takes time to learn skills. Im not saying I don’t have time I think we face our own internal lack of time. I feel with that I care about the craft and my clients, I at times want to push them to see the creativeness I have seen in them. There is a beautiful and sexiness about when a person discovers their art. A pose brings out that, just a look, a facial expression and what is worn.

I’m proud of my work and how it connects, Im proud that I have been able to make people enjoy the outcome to hang up photos on their walls. I have enjoyed meeting all types of people, be invited to events, and even been giving opportunities to learn from other amazing photographers, I have even been proud that photography has been my vessel into the music and entertainment world. Connecting with producers, Dj’s, singers, dancers and just so many visionaries.

I have enjoyed chasing the opportunities to be in magazines from all over the world. And still chase to be in or on the cover of some of the bigger magazines but I am happy where I am. I am happy for where I have come from, the mistakes along the way to help change my trajectory with this amazing craft.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think the biggest goal or mission of my drive is being free at being creative in your space. To not be afraid to create from what you vision. To push yourself and push others creative sides. I also want to show and share with my family, friends, fans how I see the world, how I feel that most people believe in this world. It’s not always easy, you’ll carve ways for yourself and even for others when you don’t even think about it or see it but that energy going out gives path to others.

I’d love to use more of my creative to help more people artistically. Help other bring out their creativity, I know that the kids I have met on my journey I want to leave with them the idea that they can do anything they create in their mind.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think about this often actually. Think about how they see my photos and whats the first thing they think about it. Art is self interpretation even when you have a title or a story behind it. It’s what we see and how it effects our visual stimulation. I think my art comes from my emotion from the inner depths of my past and how I try to control some of the deeper feelings. Art express feelings of the arts, art in all aspects that I have done so far from photos, videos, even helping managing music artist, dance and giving back. I always see art in everything I do. When walking down the street we see rubble in a taped off area but I see the art in there. Crazy thing is even when I take the photo and have envisioned it and it doesn’t come out the way I wanted it to, I still try to see it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jose-luis.kavyar.site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joseluis.pics
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joseluis.pics
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseluispics/
• Youtube: @JoseLuis.visuals

Image Credits
Arizona nature Models: QK & Mrs Smith – African Queen And King Model: Stefan Parker – Malcolm Alexander LA Suit Models: Astrid Iturbe & Gary House – Jim Kelly’s Lamborghini, Malcolm Alexander purple suit Model: Gette Moore – Lines Model: Astride Iturbe – Dunes Fashion Maria De Jesus Souza Da Silva – my birth mother Model: Rosita Delgado