Meet Carlton Louie: Student & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carlton Louie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carlton, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Tucson to two immigrant parents from Hong Kong. My time spent in Hong Kong growing up was my first exposure to photography. With an abundance of camera stores and photographers, there were plenty of resources to help me get started photographing subjects that interested me. Because of this a lot of my family were hobbyist photographers and gave me my first lessons and in High School, my uncle gave me his old Minolta 35mm film camera. I was bitten by the film bug as it gave me a completely different approach to taking pictures. Film led me to slow down and approach each subject carefully. My southwest upbringing influenced my subjects as I was fascinated by the midcentury and early 20th-century architecture that is preserved in Tucson and all across the Southwest. With my father growing up in southwestern New Mexico I became very attracted to the abandoned buildings that are left to decompose in the brutal desert.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Right now I’m currently studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Arizona. It’s very different from Photography as it’s very STEM-based but, I believe my background in photography gives me the unique advantage of attacking certain problems in different ways. Along with my studies, I work in a research lab studying fluid instabilities that occur in nuclear fusion reactions. At the lab I really learned the true skill of learning, being able to absorb as much information is a necessity working with the leading scientists in the field. For my research, I largely work with imaging systems and optical systems so being able to use my knowledge of optics and light I can apply it to my photography and also my research work. Additionally, I work as an editor for a Tucson-based, non-profit, student-run literary art magazine. For the magazine, I work with a team with like-minded peers to help promote emerging artistic and literary talent in the Tucson area. Working in a magazine was a completely new experience and as a photographer never worked with anyone else to produce a creative/art-based product.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite areas to hang in Tucson (pre-covid) are the University-4th ave and Downtown area. With the Sunlink interconnecting all of the areas, you can see a majority of the major Tucson cultural spots. Living in Tucson my entire life has made me quite the local foodie and there is for sure a local joint that caters to the cuisine and budget you’re looking for. Some of the best places in that area for a quick bite are Time Market, Boca Tacos, Anello Pizza, and Maynard’s market. For some more substantial food and fine dining, you can’t go wrong with Maynard’s Kitchen or Augustine Kitchen. Tucson’s also home to some of the best Mexican places as well, my favorites being, BK Tacos and Nico’s. If you’re a coffee addict like me there are a whole plethora of coffee places many of which roast their beans in-house like Exo, Presta, Cafe Passe, and Cartel. Tucson’s also home to many galleries, from the famous like Eatherton Gallery, and Center for Creative Photography to more local spots like Groundworks Gallery, Solar Culture, and Untitled Gallery. If you’re hanging out with me on a random night we’ll probably go for a drive through some of the historic neighborhoods like mansions in the Presidio to the 19th-century adobe row houses of the Barrios. If you want to escape the heat you can go for a day drive up to Mt. Lemmon or a short day trip out to Bisbee. One of my favorite day trips is out to Silver City, New Mexico which is only just 3 hours away and is filled with local galleries with many local and regional artists. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a better local guide than me!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents and my friends. My parents gave me the support I needed to be able to photograph the scenes that I wanted to and influenced not only my approach to photography and art but, also life. The friends who encouraged me and also critiqued my work the most were John Konrad, Lauren Waer, Leah Chang, Peris Lopez, Liam Duffy, Annie Radillo, Gabe Stultz, and many others. My friends helped influence my style and were great people to talk about our artistic influences and they probably got really annoyed with me blabbering on about different cameras, films, lenses photographers and being dragged along to be subjects in my photographs and I’m forever grateful for their support and love.

Website: https://www.louiephoto.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louie.photo/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlton-martin-louie-4273a31b9/
Other: http://carnegiealitmag.com/ I sell 8×10″ prints on my website with all proceeds going towards the Salvation Army. And I’m also selling various Tucson Youth artists’ prints on the Carnegiea website with all proceeds going towards No More Deaths (No mas mueretes).