Trusting the process

When Ivan Aviles came to SUNY Adirondack from the Clifton Park area, he was looking for distance, independence and a chance to discover who he wanted to become.

“I wanted to be farther away from home,” he said. “I wanted a new experience and to meet people outside the area I grew up in.”

Before coming to SUNY Adirondack, Ivan had never even held a camera, but discovered photography is his passion.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to study,” he said. “Then I saw Media Arts and realized how many different directions it could take me.”

That path became clear after taking Photo I with Professor Brandon Segal.

“He’s the reason photography really clicked for me,” Ivan said. “He’s a really good teacher. He pushed my curiosity and gave me real advice about how to grow.”

What started as an introductory class quickly became more. Long hours spent in the studio with classmates turned into a creative community.

“That class felt like a family,” he said. “We were always in the studio together, working, learning, creating. That’s when I realized this is what I want to do.”

Now Ivan is building an impressive portfolio of fashion-inspired commercial photography and creative portraiture, with dreams of becoming a creative director and professional photographer.

“I don’t want to sit at a desk from 9 to 5,” he said. “I want creative freedom. There’s something really satisfying about creating a piece of art and being proud of it.”

His work often combines technical experimentation with bold imagination — like creating his own “fog effect” using a glass tank filled with water to capture a noir-inspired black-and-white image.

“I’m always writing ideas down,” he said. “Once I get an idea, I have to try it.”

That drive has led him to photograph more than 5,000 images for the Theater Club’s production of “The Rocky Horror Show,” create his own magazine cover concepts and spend hours refining shoots until the vision is just right.

Through the Educational Opportunity Program, Ivan was able to get ahead on credits by taking summer classes, giving him more time now to focus deeply on his craft.

“It’s helped me so much,” he said. “Now I can really focus on photography.”

He plans to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program and hopes to work in commercial fashion photography.

For now, he’s learning, experimenting and chasing the next creative idea. “You can’t rush becoming great at something,” he said. “I’m learning to trust the process.”

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