Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Fenin Jr.
Hi Paul, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I got started with a whole lot in different eras of my life honestly. With photography, I got started around July 2020 after seeing Gunner Stahl’s photos on Instagram and thinking, “damn, I wanna take photos like that.” I started off using my phone and upgraded to a Canon EOS Rebel in October 2020 then switched to a Canon T1i around 2022, borrowed a friends M50 (Shoutout to Jaden) for a while around 2024 after trading in my camera for a MacBook [due to getting more into cinematography and needing to edit videos] and finally, I made the big leap from digital to film photography with my Mamiya RB67!
As for cinematography, I got interested in it around March 2023 albeit I’ve always been interested in shooting films, I just never had the resources for it. I used to borrow my schools camera and rent it out way past the due date just so I could keep shooting and shooting. It was a crazy experience but it got me to where I am today, especially with all the evolution and growth that took place as a filmmaker and there’s only so much more room for growth.
I also do write and do poetry under the pen name Kweku Osei, my middle names, and I also produce music as well!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The path wasn’t linear nor was it spiral. It was fluid, non-linear. When I say that, I’m basically insinuating that there were times I was able to get things done no matter the obstacles and there were times where the obstacles felt greater than me and in terms, caused me to crash and detour off the road for a bit—looking back at it now, I was overwhelmed or burnt out, but I feel like I can better manage, as well as the fact being that my viewpoint and outlook on the world and within the things in life have changed so much in a way more positive light.
Being aligned with the spirit of creativity, being grounded in my beliefs—it most certainly aids in when I create, why I create, how I create, and most importantly—what I create as well.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a medium format film photographer, cinematographer, poet, writer, producer, and activist from Ghana, based in Fairburn, GA. A lot of people know me for a lot of different things but the main thing people know me for is my filmmaking and writing, depending on who you ask in all honesty.
The thing I am most proud of is my growth, the fact that I’ve found grounding in African spirituality and began embodying it because I believe that is what fuels my creativity even further.
To be able to create is like God speaking through you in the form of art, no matter what you create, no matter how you create it, you’re always creating from Spirit. So I find that beautiful as hell.
I believe what sets me apart from others is my love for vintage things and my view of the world around me—analog cameras, film photography, my obsession with 16mm film, always listening to old music, whether it be Afrobeat, Jazz, Neo Soul, Soul from the 70s, etc., I’ve been told I have a old soul by the way I interact with the world. I find the beauty in everything, so I believe that also aids in a lot of factors in my work as well.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Authenticity, free will, beauty, empathy, and expansion (in the mind) are qualities and characteristics I feel is most important to my success
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koeziest/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@koeziest
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@thekaLiberator/videos
Image Credits
these were all taken by me
