Daily Inspiration: Meet Karelis “Kary” Perez Rodriguez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karelis “Kary” Perez Rodriguez

Hi Karelis “Kary”, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Karelis but I go by Kary. My first memory of taking photographs is my Mom whom would carry disposable cameras with her. As I grew, Mom gave us disposable cameras to take pictures with. I like many things and kind of still do so I never expected photography to become has important as it is to me in the present time. When I was in university I meet some wonderful people who were into photography and a Friend gifted me my very first film camera, a Nikon FG that I still own. I fell in love with film photography and started taking pictures that I only kept for myself. It wasn’t until this year that I decided to take photography seriously. I am learning all the elements of photography and I document my progress on my website and will be including this journey in Youtube soon. My main goal is to have fun with it and have proof of all the places and people that I meet. This is specially important to me since my grandmother who raised me has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and it has been hard on my family. You can say that I am terrified of not remembering those around me. So I feel a special need to document my life.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There is a lot of self doubt when it comes to my photography. Is hard to not compare yourself to others but I have been working on redirecting that though. My Moto is that “not everyone is born with talent, but anyone can become talented”. I rely on that to keep my focus on what I want and where I want to go with my pictures. I am still working on finding my “style” of photography and that is something that with social media can get overwhelming when you compare yourself with others that have been doing this for many years. I remind myself to be patient, and trustful with the work that I produce because is part of my personal journey.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Recently I am known for the pictures that I take from traveling and discovering Missouri. I have never been in MO before moving here a little more than a year ago. I try to show Missouri from my perspective. I find joy on getting to know the people, places, and parks. Everywhere I go is likely the very first time that I am there and I bring my camera along and share my pictures on my website and on IG too. I am very proud of myself for jumping into new things without knowing what is on the other side. Moving to a new state that I have never been to, to work and create a life is and continues to be the scariest thing to do. Putting my work on the internet for the whole world to criticize is a challenge but I tell myself that even when scared we are able to do things. I think that is also what sets me apart. Doing things even when you are scared.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I do a lot of reading and research but what has worked for me is to follow photographers that I admire. I also found that immersing yourself in the topic of your interest can be of huge help. I follow some photographers that align with the work that I want to be producing. Finding a community is important for growth and validation. I am good at starting conversations with people (even if I can be extremely shy when approaching others) so, if you have a question, ask, send that email, send that DM, sign up for that work shop. Just putting yourself out there. Yes, it can be scary but how wonderful it is when you find people who share the same passion and truly want to see you succeed. Don’t be scare and if you are, still. Do it. You will regret it if you don’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kary-rodriguez.com/contact
• Instagram: ms.nayomipr