Today we’d like to introduce you to Omar Campbell.
Omar, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’m currently residing in South Florida. I’m of Jamaican descent, and I was born in Florida, but moved to Jamaica and lived there until I was around seven years old. When I started school (Elementary) in south Florida, it was a bit tough for me due to the language barrier, but I quickly caught onto the English language and in turn progressed through school fairly easily.
During my progression through school, I played sports like track and field and joined technology science clubs with friends after school. Working with Mechanics/hardware always interested me, and I was constantly testing myself and challenging myself to learn as much as I could with the resources that I had at hand.
Fast forwarding to my college years; I graduated from Broward College with my Associates in Computer Science/Engineering, and then continued my education to Florida Atlantic University where currently study Film/Multimedia Communications. In this field, I’m taking on courses such as script writing, photography, design, film production, and many others. These courses go hand in hand with real-world projects that I’m currently working on, and I’m glad that I’m able to get the full experience of jobs that I’ll be undertaking in the future, right now.
I first picked up a camera Black Friday of 2013, with only the intention of shooting YouTube videos with friends and continuing my interest in cinematography. That idea is definitely still ongoing, but I never thought that five years later my interest would grow for photography as much as it did. I’ve shot everything from the evergrowing and flourishing South Florida Hip Hop/Rap scene to newlyweds tying the knot at small weddings, to one on one portrait sessions. I’ve done large scale paid work, and I’ve done non-contract collaborations. I take any work presented to me as experience because in the industry of photography any experience is experience, and you can only build and get better from it. My ultimate goal is to own a studio either here in Miami or Broward area, or even on the western part of the U.S., preferably California.
I’m both an introvert and extrovert, and I say this because sometimes I’ll lock myself away and create for long periods of time, and then other days I just want to get out the house and enjoy the Florida nightlife with friends.
All in all, I try to speak for the creatively misunderstood. For the people that can’t go a day without creating. I speak for the people that communicate through creation. I speak for the people with pure intentions to spread love and make the world a better place by doing what we love.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Photography is my main focus as of right now, and it definitely is something that I will do for the rest of my life, but I have so many other interests in the Arts that I would never want to limit myself.
When I capture a photograph, I try to have people in their most comfortable/ natural state of themselves. Off guards produce some of the greatest one of a kind photos, because you are getting the purest form of a reaction from someone, and it doesn’t feel artificial. That’s what drives me the most, and clients that I shoot also love that.
When people analyze my photos, I hope that they see my body of work through their eyes and form their own opinion about it based on how it makes them feel. I also try to push self-expression as much as possible because a person behind a lens should be that same person off the lens, which is again, the reason I try to photograph people in their most natural/ comfortable state.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
With everything that is going on in the world today, I think that the role of the artist has stayed the same, we just have to adapt to the times and express ourselves through the things we currently go through.
Creating based on your own experiences is what makes your work unique and one of a kind. Living in Florida is also an ultimate blessing in disguise because you get to experience and capture so many cultures in one place. You have events like Calle Ocho where you’ll get to experience some of the purest Hispanic culture or the Haitian Compa Music festival where the Haitian culture is celebrated and revered. You have Miami’s Carnival, where hundreds of thousands of people all over Florida dress up in costumes, play mass and run with a band to celebrate the Caribbean culture, or on the other hand you have the annual Jerk festival where you can eat all the Jerk Ice Cream you want while listening to Barrington Levy live in the background.
These events are just a fraction of what Florida has to offer, which makes photography and self-expression that much easier and enjoyable.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I can be reached on almost any social media platform, but most of my work is displayed on my website; SuccessbyCollaboration.com.
Bookings for shoots can also be scheduled through the contact on my website, and in the near future, once finalized, I will be having landscape photography prints for sale.
Contact Info:
- Website: SuccessbyCollaboration.com
- Phone: 954-865-9728
- Email: SuccessbyCollaboration@yahoo.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/SBCVisuals
- Facebook: Facebook.com/SBCVisuals
- Twitter: Twitter.com/SBCVisuals
Image Credit:
Photo 1: Instagram.com/Stopyawning
Photo 2: Facebook.com/NateiaLogan
Photo 3: Instagram.com/_tcurls92
Photo 4: Instagram.com/Eatdemons
Photo 5: Instagram.com/Forevermoriah
Photo 6: Instagram.com/MysticalMuneek
Photo 7: Instagram.com/ Muckfogley
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
