We were lucky to catch up with Levi Walton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Levi, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It was around 2008, and I remember Tumblr and Flickr were a huge deal at the time. I would follow many photographers and was exposed to cool images on the daily, and then started to investigate what kinds of cameras those people used.

I begged my dad for a Canon Rebel XT, and I got it for Christmas that year. I immediately took to it, and my work started getting traction online. I would gather up all my friends, bring some crazy props, and just create.

That was cool because growing up I was the kid who didn’t know what he wanted to do. I wasn’t really good at anything, and had trouble finding my path. But something about being behind the camera felt so natural to me. So much it helped build my self confidence, specially at such a pivotal time of my life (I was 16 at the time). People would approach me and bond with me over my work, and I was able to make some cash on weekends while I was in high school. So I was like… I want to do this forever.

Levi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Levi and I’m a photographer and director. I got into photography in my early teens, and just knew it was my thing. Then got into design, then into video, and now we’re here.
What am I proud of? I’m truly proud of leaving my hometown in Panama to ”make it big” in NYC, and actually somehow making that happen. Sticking it out was tough at first. There was a stubbornness attached to it, you know you have to prove everyone wrong, because a lot of people will say it can’t be done.

I’m also super proud of my website cause I made it myself :-) and proud of all of the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure to work with so far. Being in the same room and having a seat at that same table, it means a whole lot.

What do I want potential clients to know about my work? I like to think it is infused with a unique perspective. We all have a unique perspective and point of view, because no one is the same person. I try and make sure to infuse that into everything I do.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think it’s always baffling to my non-creative friends when they realize the amount of work, people, and resources it takes to create something. A campaign shoot, an editorial, or short film, or even book design. Creative work is hard. People think it’s mostly fun and games but it’s also work, and it takes a lot of resilience and grit to choose this path.

Oh and also the amount of money I spend on film and processing. No one will ever understand why. I don’t even understand why myself. I just love it. But it could be cheaper…

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The people I have met and the places I have been for sure. I’ve been on week long shoots, with travel from LA to Paris, and these people become like family. We laugh, we cry, we eat fancy expensed dinners. We celebrate. And we create beautiful work, learning a lot from each other along the way.

I also love when I get to see my work out in the wild. It’s still crazy to me that I have walked past a store and could say ‘I took that photo’. It’s a mad feeling. Specially in SoHo, in NYC out of all places.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.levi-walton.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/levi___walton