
I'm Val
I am...
I am a New York City based photographer and graphic designer! I graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Marketing and French. Additionally, I was a member of the Strategic Design and Innovation Fellows program offered by the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
I am passionate about...
I fell in love with graphic design when I began my own clothing company in my junior year of high school. It was my first experience creating a brand identity, designing apparel and marketing my own products. Through this experience I developed a passion for design because I realized that beyond making things look good, design is about applying art for practical purposes through which one can have a tangible positive impact. Since then I have held various design jobs and continued to study strategic design and user experience design within my undergraduate education.
More recently, I fell in love with film photography. Since I was young, I always loved recording raw moments between my friends and family. A self-proclaimed documentarian, if you will. Although I still love to make home movies on old cameras, film photography allows me to capture moments in a much more intentional way. There's something strategic and thrilling about choosing one millisecond in time and waiting to see if you got it right.
I am curious about...
I have always had an appreciation for animation and 3D rendering and would love to dive deeper into the world of motion design.
The next step in my photography journey is medium format film photography. I am deeply inspired by nature and aim to shoot high quality photos of national parks around the US.
I enjoy...
Listening to vinyl records! I am constantly listening to music and I would be naked without my headphones or portable speaker. I have a particular liking for old school soul music. When I'm digging through records at a shop you better believe I am picking up an Al Green, Marvin Gaye or Aretha Franklin record. I also enjoy more "modern" artists like Amy Winehouse and Anderson .Paak who inspire me through the simultaneous complexity and freedom of jazz and r&b music.