Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rechaun French Eskridge. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rechaun, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

It is interesting, I actually created the name for my company in high school. This was before I even knew that I would be a professional photographer. It is funny how moments of the past can prepare you for the journey ahead without you even realizing it. In high school I specialized in fine art. During my senior year, I was a talented art student and I was also enrolled in AP Drawing. In my AP Drawing course, I had to create a fine art portfolio to submit to a panel of judges at the end of the school year for college credit. I titled my portfolio concentration’s body of work “Frozen Time.” This was the perfect title because my fine art portfolio consisted of various detailed portrait drawings, in which people featured in the works appeared to be frozen in time. The portraits in my concentration would feature close-ups of people just living life and doing things like talking, working, attending a concert, playing basketball or, stopping to take a cute selfie while at a movie theater. I would use photos of my subjects where they were essentially paused in action during their day-to-day life moments as a reference point for my portrait drawings. My drawings were surreal yet realistic; life-like but enhanced through color exaggeration. I loved to experiment with color and mix media in my fine art practice. I often used color pencils along with graphite pencils to create my compositions. My AP Drawing portfolio was deeply inspired by my appreciation for freeze frames and candid stills. In submitting my work to the Advance Placement College Board my biggest hope was to achieve a high score. I had no idea that this portfolio and the overall concept of it would change my life. My “Frozen Time” drawing portfolio laid the ground work for my business name “Nola Frozen Time”. Discovering my artistic voice through the AP course and developing a love of portraiture would later translate into me becoming a portrait and cultural photographer. It is funny how the dots can connect in life. In 2019, when I decided to take my craft more seriously and establish myself as a photography business owner, I took a trip down memory lane. Reflecting on my high school AP Drawing portfolio, I realized that my photography practice and the vision for the style of work that I wanted to create was incredibly similar to the theme of my artwork in high school. I decided to refine my “Frozen Time” art concept by updating it to “Frozen Time Photography”, this is how my company’s name was born. Other factors that influenced the naming of my company include being a New Orleans native and having such a strong love for the culture and community. I wanted to honor the city by including it in my company’s name. Highlighting New Orleans culture is one of the most important hallmarks of my company’s mission. I aim to document the good times in my community. I capture the beauty, flavor, boldness and celebratory spirit of New Orleans. I freeze time with each frame hoping to create images that tell stories and last a lifetime.

Rechaun, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since returning home to New Orleans after being gone for several years, I have been on a creative quest to uncover and explore my lost heritage. Immersing myself in culturally rich settings that my ancestors once inhabited has been instrumental in regaining a sense of cultural identity that was missing from my life. My artwork is fueled by New Orleans culture, lineage, and people’s connection to their roots/kinship. My primary art form is photography however, I enjoy drawing and painting in my spare time. I enjoy mixing media and trying out different techniques to enhance my visual storytelling. I love to be expressive with how I use colors in my compositions in hopes to create fascinating art. My cultural work is deeply inspired by African and indigenous ancestry as well as black cultural practices. I strive to document and express visual tales of culture and ancestral connection; I am learning about my own lineage and family history in the process. Studying real time community engagements and capturing culture through the lens of photography deeply influences my creative process. I am on a journey of expressing myself creatively as I learn about my people and what I come from in the city of New Orleans. I aspire to know my people’s culture more intensely to better understand who I am, so that I may fine tune the legacy and impact that I will leave behind someday.

I have been creating art since I was a kid in elementary school. My passion for drawing and painting people blossomed into a career in photography. My journey as a photographer started when I purchased my first DSLR camera with my high school graduation party gift funds. I did this to pick up a new hobby and remain optimistic amid the aftermath of the great flood of 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I took a photography class during that summer right after graduating high school. I fell so in love with photography that I haven’t put my camera down since taking that course. I love to make beautiful memories and connect with the individuals that I capture.

My fine art background of receiving formal art education in high school sort of behaved as building blocks for my pursuit of photography. I began my adventure of being a self-taught artist after high school. As much as I loved art in my youth, surprisingly I did not pursue any more formal fine art training during my undergraduate degree. Having a deep passion for helping people and business, I decided to study Leadership and Human Resources Development in college. While attending LSU to obtain my undergraduate degree, I solely focused on studying LHRD and business/entrepreneurship in my college curriculum. I remained creative throughout college by operating a small portraiture art business in which I would accept drawing and painting commissions during my freshman and sophomore years. I would take pictures with my camera here and there but only as a hobby. I didn’t consider myself to be a pro photographer, nor was I trying to be at the time. I simply enjoyed capturing life’s beauty, fascinating people and, documenting time, but I never thought I would make a career out of it. During my junior year of college, family and friends began to ask me to take their photos to mark milestones and cover their special events. They were all very pleased with the results of my photography. Seeing their reactions and animated responses to my photography made me raise my eyebrow in intrigue and begin to take things more seriously. The feedback from my amateur gigs informed me that my little hobby could be so much more if I dared to give it a chance. After realizing I had something special, I began to focus on branding, business planning and, sharpening my skills. My passion for photography grew so much that I stopped drawing portraits and began to enjoy photographing people more than drawing them. I found it to be magical to be able to discover beauty in real-time and capture life’s ready-made compositions through my camera. I especially fell in love with the unique artistry that I got to display in the photo retouching process of photography. Being able to cultivate my own signature editing style reminded me of the joy I experienced when I finally found my authentic style and artistic voice as a drawing and painting artist.

For those that do not know me, I would like you to know that I am passionate about enhancing things for the better. I am an Artist Photographer who loves to accentuate colors and add a touch of liveliness to my work. I am a very vibrant person with a very vibrant photography style. I love to make my clients feel seen and celebrated. I am currently a New Orleans based photographer that specializes in a variety of photography services such as cultural, portrait, milestone, maternity, event, professional headshots and more. Photography has been my sunshine and greatest passion ever since buying my first professional camera. I find so much joy in capturing life’s priceless moments. I love the art of photography and the ability to tell stories through my work. Photography is Legacy to me. It is the documented trail of our existence that we leave behind; to inform the many generations to come of who we are and how we lived. Saving good memories matters to me immensely. Seeing the smiles on my customers’ faces when they review the final product warms my heart and uplifts my spirit.

As a New Orleans native, I have a deep appreciation for NOLA culture and preserving it. I am most known for my Black Masking Indian Cultural Photography. The Black Masking Indians are the heart beat of New Orleans Culture. Perpetuating the legacy of their sacred traditions is imperative. I view myself as a visual storyteller for the culture. Photographing Black Masking Indians is a great honor. I aim to represent the “Black Masking Injun Community” well in my work. I hope to leave a legacy of work behind that showcases their rich, resilient, and extraordinary presence, while inspiring many generations to come.

The thing that I am most proud of is opening a private studio location this year. Although it may have been delayed, it was not denied. This was a dream of mine that was once deferred. I am immensely grateful to God that I have been able to expand my business in this way. I look forward to all the creative opportunities to come for Nola Frozen Time Photography Studio.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have experienced much hardship in life, but despite all challenging opposition still I choose to rise. Many of the trials I have endured have led to great triumph later on. In my youth I was displaced from Hurricane Katrina and had to move to Baton Rouge. Several years later after settling into Baton Rouge, the Great Flood of 2016 hit the city right after I graduated high school. Unfortunately, my family and I found ourselves to be displaced due to a natural disaster again; forced to start over. Resilience has not been optional for me. It has been the only way to move forward. Facing challenging circumstances has made me into a fighter. Watching my parents persevere through big hardships has deeply inspired me and showed me how to never give up. Resilience has been a muscle that I have strengthen throughout the years by granting myself the serenity to press forward through tough times when things happen that are beyond my control. Being an entrepreneur or artist can be very eventful. Just like life has its ebbs and flows, so does the journey of being an entrepreneur/ creative. During some seasons you are crushing it and others it seems like life’s opposition is crushing you. Some of life’s obstacles can be so big and testing that you become discouraged and struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But there is always a light at the end and the sun always comes out. One of the biggest challenges that I have overcome is not giving up on my photography business. During the pandemic, I had become so ill that I didn’t believe I would be able to create at the same capacity I used to. I had lost my creative inspiration and motivation to continue my work. At the time, my health being so damaged due to long haul Covid clouded my self-efficacy as a photographer. Recovering from Covid was so intense that I struggled to believe it was possible for me to return to the skilled creative I once was. My parents were key players in empowering me to stay on my creative path of photography and art. They assured me that all that was lost would be restored and regained, just like it was when we faced and overcame those tragic natural disasters in my youth. They were right. I healed completely and found my way back to my passion with a new confidence, perspective, determination and, impenetrable resilience. Sometimes things have to fall a part to come together better. In the end things work out for the better and turn out to be rebuilt bigger, brighter and, stronger than you could have possibly imagined. You just need to have a little faith and remain optimistic. Stay the course!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Seeing the impact of my work is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist. Being a creative, our work can uplift, inspire and, empower people, sparking conversations and connection. As creatives we light the torch for creating community. I love the product of the images produced from my photography services but the thing I value the most is interacting with the people I photograph. There is such a positive energy that lives in each photography opportunity. Setting an atmosphere where people feel comfortable enough to be themselves and let their personality emerge during their photography session makes me very happy. It brings me so much joy when my clients love how I captured them. When they see the beauty in themselves or the moment captured that I see, I know that I have done my job well. Sometimes people can be so critical of themselves. Being a photographer, I have a chance to empower individuals to express their best them by highlighting their beauty and authenticity. Photographers are confidence coaches and light-shiners. We help to remind people how awesome they are, showing them that they matter, they are seen and, they are celebrated. As a photographer being able to spread love and positivity gives me a great sense of reward. I love to see people let the good times roll.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nolafrozentimephotography.mypixieset.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nola_frozentime?igsh=MmpwcHh4emk3OW95
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rechaun-eskridge?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Image Credits

Nola Frozen Time Photography, Rechaun French Eskridge