Today we’d like to introduce you to Frankie Cordoba.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Frankie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It didn’t take much to fall into photography. I have a friend named “Sam Albanese” who I grew up with, he got into it at a young age, like 12 years old. Even went to high school for it. I was always like “this cool”, his photos was in the newspapers at like 15 years old. I was more into music than anything though. I grew up playin Metal & Hardcore. Guitar & Bass. Grew up listening to bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Deftones, Korn, Limp Bizkit, RATM, Powerman5000, Slayer, Coal Chamber, Minor Threat, Madball, Terror, Down To Nothing, NOFX, Circle Jerks, Casey Jones, Agent Orange, Youth Of Today, OFF!, Poison The Well and a bunch more. But I was also super into RnB & Hiphop. When I was a teenager, I went on my first DIY Tour. Dropped out of high school to pursue music. Believe that was the 10th grade. We was in a shitty Ford 15 passenger van with over 300,000 miles, no AC, the damn thing was from like 1982 lol. It broke down a lot. Anyways fast forward a few years, and now I’m on tour busses, on tours like Vans Warped Tour, did that tour for six years straight. And that’s when I fell in love for real with photography. Everyone had a photographer in their crew. I been already thinking “damn, I kinda want a camera”. Spoke with a lot of the homies on the road as photographers, like @theworkofjar “jar”, his world is wild. Go check it out.
Then there’s my Venezuelan Brother @andyoceans whose the real main reason I grabbed a camera. He didn’t push me or anything, but idk, I really idolized that kid. He’s great. I would pick their brains and they were always like, just get a camera already. So I did. I started taking photos of my band friends and girls to start. And tbh, really quickly it got boring, except for concerts, I still enjoy that. But just something bout portrait shooting and shooting models just seems very bland, not authentic, not real. At least to me, I’m not knocking down any portrait/model photographer. It’s hard work, I’ve seen it. And quickly photography after two years started to get boring. I think I was 20 when I started to get bored of this. Then I stumbled into the world of “street photography” something at first I didn’t understand. I was like what? Homie just walkin round taking pictures of random people on the street? How you not getting your ass kicked? But that intrigued me. I started researching photographers like Bruce Davidson, Bruce Gildan, Jeff Mermelstein, Fred Herzog, Joel Meyerwitz, Walter Vogel, Andrew Wagner, Mark Cohen, Joe Greer, Allan Schaller, Christopher Michel, just to name a few, check’em out. I watched videos, interviews, and I was thinking to myself, let me go try this. Ngl, it was hard and weird at first. But I did it and fell in love with it. Bro I walk sometimes 5-10 miles a day just walking, with a blunt, music in my ears, my camera, no destination, and take photos of what you would call “life going on about”. I started to see the world super differently. I started to appreciate the world, life, people, going outside more. That vitamin D feels good. It changed my perspective on life. I can’t tell you what I photograph every time is gonna be pretty.
Sometimes I photograph the raunchiest of moments. The ugly, the weird, the petty, whatever, I just take it. It’s a moment you’ll never get back, you can’t recreate it. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Street photography also taught me more about cameras, and the numbers and how it all works. Zone Focusing, aperture, shutter speed, exe, won’t bore you with the numbers. But street photography definitely made me a better photographer, and it made me a better me. I stopped taking gigs cause it got to a point where I wasn’t shooting for anyone but me. I just simply enjoyed it. It was a high. Met some of my best Homies through street photography. And I guess the #1 real reason why I fell so in love with street photography is the fact that there are no rules behind it. It’s an abstract world, you do what you want. And that’s cool. It became a passion, a high, something I couldn’t escape doing or see myself stopping. It’s so much fun to me. Even when I get into arguments or fights for taking a picture, I enjoy that shit makes the art much more real. Like you really don’t know what I went through for that one photo. What’s crazy is that street photography also changed my life, never thought I’d be working with companies like “SoundCloud, Spotify, Sountrap, & more”. There’s photobooks of different mindsets, being printed & published of my work throughout the world. That boggles my head.
Unsplash was definitely a huge help since I started street photography, gaining over 150,000,000 views, over 400,000 downloads, seeing my work all over YouTube, google, basically all over the internet, I was like damn, I never really did anything tbh, I just never stopped shooting. And that’s when it clicked, you love something so much, you just do it, don’t anticipate what comes next, just do it cause you love it, and it’s been paying off slowly. Rooms that I been in, people I’ve met. It’s all crazy. Street Photography changed my life. And to think I was just doing it cause I enjoyed it. Passion is powerful. And it’s not like I’m famous or anything, my Instagram only got 1,200 followers on my @byfoul page. So to all my fellow photographers, it’s not a numbers game, forget all that, just work on the craft. It’s not a popularity contest. Stay humble. And if anyone is wondering what I shoot with. Fuji Xpro 2 with a 23f2 (35mm equivalent) and my baby, a dream camera, the Rolls Royce of cameras, all my favorite photographers use it, and I understand now why. The Leica m240 with a 28mm f2. Next camera is a Leica m6 from the 80s, a film camera. For any photographers who will read this, I recommend you do some research on the photographers I listed above and the history behind Leica. That is if you’re trying to get into street/lifestyle photography. YOU DONT NEED THEM BIG BULKY CAMERAS WITH THE BATTERY PACK AND BIG OLE LENS.
I also have a band called TrashRat. That I won’t speak on much. But the person who reached out to start this band with me already has another band that’s just fucking HUGE. World wide. I’ll give u a hint. The band starts with an A, one word. From Georgia. An opportunity that has changed my life and it’s all because of a camera placing me in rooms and creating relationships I never thought I would. It’s all so genuine, nothing forced. And I’m so grateful for the universe, my friends, family, supporters, all of’em. And most importantly, the ones who believe and value me. It’s important to be around others who are more successful than you, you will learn a lot.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s never a smooth road being a creative/artist in any field of the arts. You will always fail more than you win, but those wins are huge, inspiring, and energy fueling. Smooth seas don’t make good sailors. Big misconception in this world is that you gotta do everything by the book or follow a set of rules, I’m sorry but there ain’t no rules to this. You can’t just learn this at school, or in a book, or someone telling you how it is. You gotta take risks, be in uncomfortable situations, and learn to adapt and love being in that uncomfortable feeling, it makes you stronger, and better, value, and learn lessons if there’s a lesson to be learned.
To question; what if? And not take action is not a question to be asked. In the matter, it’s not “what” but rather “when”.
That is what you should ask yourself. I won’t get into too much details, but it definitely wasn’t easy and never will be. You gotta love it enough. & by it, I mean just in general being a creative. Risk and money management were the two hardest things to learn and still are. Sometimes you will go weeks or months without seeing any money. And it’s discouraging cause you do put in a lot of work. But you can’t look at it like that. Cause if you do, you’ll lose the love, the passion you had when you started. Everyone moves at their own pace so don’t get discouraged if someone is moving faster than you. Ignore that. Focus on you. Be humble always. But be assertive too.
I didn’t have it easy growing up either. Not to talk down on my pops and my big bro. When I was 14, they fled the country for conspiracy of trafficking 300kilos of cocaine into Miami. Won’t say too much on that, but growing up without a father during the most important part of any young man, their teen years was hard. And my mother wasn’t easy either, she was around, but never how I wanted her to be. Don’t get me wrong I love my parents, and I did learned a lot from both. I was born and they were already divorced. I wasn’t an easy child either. I’m a lot different that what I used to be. It definitely wasn’t easy. My mom, dad and my older bro (diff mom) are my only family. Everyone else shunned me out, I guess cause I’m different, the blackwolf of the family. I grew up feeling hurt all the time and my confidence was crap. But I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books. There’s two outcomes, you can blame everyone else for your hardships even if it weren’t your fault, and let it turn you into a shitty person, and live miserable, or learn to take that pain, convert into positivity. It’s hard to say in text format, but basically you can let your past ruin you, or you can take those hardships you had and use that to be a better person. It’s like the universe testing you to see what kind of person you will be. The nicest people have gone through way worse that usual, and they still continue to be kind. And for that, if you believe it, karma and the universe will reward you. But it has to come From the heart. Not because you just believe in that, it doesn’t simply work that way.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with ByFoul – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Well, I started a new company with some of my best friends called “@FoulSheep”.
Basically intertwining the hardcore/metal world with the Rap/Trap world into one intimate show. But not just any rap artists, rap artists that are on the abrasive side of sounds. Heavy, Loud, Wild. So be on the lookout for that. After this virus is over, we’ll be hitting a city near you.
Also feel like we have this timeless but chaotic feel to our work and vision. We’re distraught people, trying to find an escape for the others that are distraught, looked down, exe, we wanna give an outlet of positive aggression that hasn’t been done before and that’s what I feel like makes us stand out. I think brands will be all over us trying to get in on our vision. It will definitely change the industry, me and the team strongly feel that way.
Imagine seeing for example City Morgue (heavy trap group out of NYC) with a band like Stray From The Path (hardcore band out of Long Island) at the same show. Exposing two crowds to two different outlets. You know I’m hardcore there are no rules, stage dives, kids ganging up getting onto the stage, screaming into the microphone in the hands of the vocalist, then stage diving off, the pits, the energy, it’s all very different. Something I feel like the trap shows don’t understand and we’re trying to break that barrier. Literally, no barriers, Get up on that stage, scream those words. Of course, there will be security if something bad we’re to pop off. But ultimately, and from my experience, there’s an unwritten law book of hardcore shows. Fights don’t often occur, if someone falls, everyone rushes to help that person. No one there is really out to hurt anyone. It’s positive aggression. You either get it or you don’t. Go watch “The Chariots Farewell Documentary” if you want to get a better understanding of what I’m talking about. Forget Not, Long Live The Chariot.
Being that everyone in the team are street photographers with similar styles, it’s very easy for us to capture what we’re talking about, and I can’t wait to show everyone. Street Photography got me here.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I was raised here. Most people don’t like where they are from. At first, I was like that until I started touring. And man, I really was different from most of America. Miami is just different. We are not America. It’s a melting pot, the food, the culture, all of it. Most people not from Miami, don’t even realize that majority of Miami, like 85% of it is one giant grid of hood/ghetto. And it’s kinda cool seeing all kinds of races living on the same block. I grew up around the Carol City area. Straight hood for miles.
Dislike? Tbh, I just wish we had mountains that’s about it. And a little bit cooler weather.
Pricing:
- But $1000 is my minimum
Contact Info:
- Website: Unsplash.com/@byfoul
- Phone: 7862475319
- Email: foulstermedia@gmail.com / ByFoulmedia@gmail.com / FoulSheepProductions@gmail.com
- Instagram: Foulsterr, ByFoul, Foulsheep, TrashRatfl
- Twitter: Foulsterr
- Other: If you guys want to save a life. My brother is in need of help. I’ll let you read
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-mike-wong-campaign?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1
Image Credit:
@a.caliman Alex Caliman
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