Marvin J. Lee

“The most important thing for me is knowing what I really like or, simply put, what I love to shoot. It requires deep introspection about life and my surrounding environment. To know myself is a concept that grows over time.”

Intercru: Where are you from?

Marvin: I am the second son of Korean immigrants, born in Tacoma, Washington, USA. My early formative years were in Denver, Colorado, from elementary school to college. I then moved to Southern California and lived their for 16 years.

Where do you live and work now?

I’m currently based in Las Vegas, Nevada, but I’m also frequently traveling between SoCal and Colorado.

How did you get started in photography?

I went to film school and learned film photography from the ground up. When I started working in film and visual effects, photography was a natural hobby of mine that I always enjoyed doing for fun and to sharpen my creativity related to my work. And now that I’m not working in visual effects anymore, I can now focus on photography.

What do you do to find creative inspiration?

I mainly find inspiration from other photographers that I find on Instagram and also from movies. Some of my moodier tones comes from Korean cinema. The works of Park Chan-wook, and American director David Fincher are my early influences.

Travel is also a great way to find inspiration. Visiting places that are unique to my personal experiences always sparks desire to make photos.

What is the most important thing in photography?

The most important thing for me is knowing what I really like or, simply put, what I love to shoot. It requires deep introspection about life and my surrounding environment. To know myself is a concept that grows over time.

What’s the best piece of advice you would give to aspiring photographers

Stay positive and keep experimenting. Everything counts and works in my favor. Even when the desired shooting conditions do not match my desired direction, the outcome should always be viewed as a positive experience. If I’m feeling indifferent, it’s still fun because it opens up to surprises that allows room for the unknown to shape itself so later on I can claim it as my own. Feeling less limitation also allows me to freely experiment.