Anthony Flores, a freshman photo communications major and graphic design minor, is already in the process of establishing himself as a successful photographer.

Flores has been cultivating his craft since the eighth grade, and since then has been published by several notable sources including Hilltop Views, VSCO and GoldCoast Skateboard.

“I was just really bad at it and worked my way up,” Flores said when reflecting on the beginning of his career.

Initially interested in photography simply out of curiosity, it was not until his sophomore year in high school that he realized he wanted to pursue photography as a career.

During high school, Flores was assigned a project in which he had to interview a photographer. Flores interviewed Los Angeles based photographer Adam Rindy, a fashion photographer who utilizes bright colors and intense light to create a signature vibrancy in his photographs. It was during this process that he realized that photography was something he wanted to pursue long term.

Flores described the direction of his current photography as “darker with a cleaner feel.”

“I like minimalism and also like stuff in tropical areas – you’ll notice palm trees (in my photos) because I like that tropical feel. I like when the models wear black,” Flores said.

Flores hopes to one day work for a magazine such as Nylon, or a company similar to Urban Outfitters as a photographer.

Flores places music high on his list of creative inspiration.

“I’m inspired by music – whenever I listen to a song I get certain feelings and I’m like ‘hey I want to do something with this’ – it creates an interesting vibe,” Flores said.

One of Anthony’s artistic goals is to always express his thoughts and be able to connect to others through his work.

“Photography is really important to me because you see how things are in one person’s view, so you see their take on a situation and view and through their eyes. When I take a photo it allows people to see how I’m seeing things in a particular moment,” Flores said.

When thinking about his favorite part of pursuing an artistic career, Flores appreciated the freedom granted to him through art.

“You don’t have to follow a particular set of rules and you are in charge of how your work turns out,” Flores said.

To view Anthony’s work visit his website dstnct.co or his flickr page at flickr.com/anthonytakesphotos.