Genesis Tillman is a black nonbinary photographer and writer. They completed their Creative Writing degree at FSU in 2019, just before COVID had really kicked off in the U.S. When the virus caused the lock down, they picked up photography, as it helped them deal with feelings of inadequacy and shame from having their life come to a halt, like just about everyone else out there at the time.

Nature photography was originally what they started with. After a couple of years, they eventually began assisting professional photographers, doing street photography and documenting events. Now, they’re jumping headfirst into Gonzo Journalism, meeting interesting people and groups, and finding unique events to document with their camera and enmesh themselves in these particular communities and events from a place of authenticity and curiosity.

They take heavy inspiration from visual artists like Daido Moriyama, Yamamoto Misao, Orson Welles, Andrei Tarkovsky, Olga Karlovac, and Gordon Parks. Often focusing on monochromatic / Black and White Visuals, as it focuses more on the communications of the image, rather than the distracting visuals of something with an intense amount of color.

Their unique perspective highlights the intensity and focus that they often have in most situations. Noticing small details that most others tend to ignore or not notice. When taking photos out and about in the world, they use the feelings and emotions within their body to translate what they see into the frame. For them, being true and authentic to yourself is far more valuable than how others perceive them. As AI and corporations slowly and surely bleed into art and creative fields, they believe now more than ever that people should circumvent the rules, and do more with less. Depending less on leaders to guide them on what’s best, and instead, depend on their own intuition and themselves.

“For me, capturing what I feel with my body is more important than the technicalities of photography. If the image is shaking, it's OK, if it's out of focus, it's OK. Clarity isn't what photography is about.”

Daido Moriyama