Charlie Kaijo

California State University, Northridge

Charlie Kaijo gravitates toward disorder. He extensively covered Occupy Los Angeles, producing photo essays and videos of protesters facing eviction from the camps and confrontations with the police. The series can be found on his website.

For Kaijo, a 25-year-old California State University, Northridge, graduate student, photography isn’t just a way to tell a story — it’s art. “The best photos are intimate,” he said.

There is satisfaction in capturing emotional displays that immediately resonate with the viewer, he said. A little planning, keen observation and intuition are essential components to effective storytelling.

“When you shoot an intimate shot, it means you worked for that,” he said.

Sebastiao Salgado, an awarding-winning photojournalist, inspires Kaijo to bridge the gap between journalism and art, he said. Salgado specializes in black-and-white photography, but Kaijo said he thinks color photography is more marketable.

On assignment, Kaijo often uses the “fly on the wall” approach, hanging back, scanning the scene before clicking a single shot.

“I like to get a feel for the environment before I start shooting,” he said. “I also don’t want to scare anyone.”

But there are situations when Kaijo prefers to speak with people before he begins. He interacts with the subjects but doesn’t interfere with the scene.

Kaijo writes on his website: “A journalist is a lot like a mirror, reflecting back onto its subject the fear, anger, contempt, surprise and happiness he so seldom sees in himself.”

- Lisa Maria Garza