?I took a few years off of doing photography and graphic art. When I started again recently, everything seemed a bit weird. My artistic vision was still there, but it all took a while to get back into place?? ~CRUZ
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MEET CRUZ LEACOCK PHOTOGRAPHER/CREATOR OF WWW.VYSUALYZE.COM??
?I am an artist living in Philadelphia, PA! My chosen mediums are photography and graphics arts. I was educated in both fields from several different outlets including classroom training and self teachings. After I learned all the technical aspects I could, I threw them away and began creating art only the way I visualized. Growing up in the Philadelphia school system, I felt uncultured as a student and completely unprepared for life, much less college. I was desperately looking for something to inspire and fill me with passion. I took several different courses in college including communications, education, computer science and business but nothing could hold my attention until I started taking art classes. My first two being Photography and Art History. It opened a new world to me and I became engulfed in photography and graphic design. My photos have been featured in several local papers and a few exhibits but the majority was personal work for myself and others.?
Cruz takes a pause to?sip his hot Starbucks coffee on?this raining Saturday?morning at Philadelphia International Airport .? He sits?next to?me dressed comfortably with his black hoodie over?his head as I only have a?breif time to chat with him?before my plane boards. Happy he?agreed to meet with me on such?short notice and time constraint he continues to speak articulately in a fluent manor about himself?
?My purpose? To be able to spread the gift of artistic expression to youth and individuals who are trying to find a greater purpose and beauty in their everyday lives. As children in school and even adults of all ages, society portrays an image of absolute success; a doctor, an entertainer, a lawyer, an athlete. Being an artist, a world changer, a self expressionist is just as important. When you share your gift of art with others, you change lives. I believe through art and self expression you find the person you want to be and discover how you want to change the world. I plan to spread my word by creating local art galleries and a foundation that supports art programs catered to my purpose. Most importantly, by continuing to create my art because that?s my way of changing the world.?
Cruz makes the above statement while I was?on?a recent layover in Philly, PA.? This ?Photogragher & Website Creator met up with me for a quick coffee chat in between my planes.? You can read the bulk of?our conversation below:
CJM: Congratulations on the lanching of www.vysualyze.com
CRUZ: Thanks CeeJ!?The site is?finally?up and open for the business of sharing art and culture online. Everything is a bit bare so far but definitely check out my site. Thank you in advance for the support and?I hope?everyone reading this will?become a frequent viewer of??www.vysualyze.com?community.
CJM: Do you consider yourself a trend setter?
CRUZ: No, I don?t! I think when someone is a true artist, being a trend setter should be the last thing on their minds. I think it jeopardizes complete artistry. I know that my work is a reflection of myself and my visions. When you are lucky enough to find your passion and you give yourself completely to it, it becomes greater than a trend but a movement. Movements lasts forever!
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CJM: When did you decide you wanted to be a photographer?
CRUZ: I decided to become a photographer after the first image I produced in the dark room back in 2000. When I saw that image, which is my photograph of the street on a rainy day, I was blown away. The fact that I could take this picture of a 
moment in time I thought was beautiful and make it ?come to life? again made me feel alive. I was searching in my life for something I could connect with. This felt right in my heart. I knew I had to give it my all.
CJM: Are there any black photographers who specifically has an influence on your work?
CJM: What inspires you to take pictures?
CRUZ: Darkness, sorrow and everyday life. To me, these three things go hand and hand. I see darkness and sorrow in my everyday life. It may sound negative to some people but it?s a thing of beauty and truly inspiring to me. I can see so clearly in darkness and sorrow; my visions, other people, reality, my subjects. My job after that is to interpret it so others can see it through my art.?
??Beauty can be found anywhere. Even in puddles on the streets of New York. Photographer Ira Fox shows just how beautiful they can be with his series Reflections.? CLICK HERE
CJM: How do you find your subjects to photograph?
CRUZ: My subjects always start in my head. I visual a theme, a person or object very abstractly most times. I take that foundation of my thought and when I get in front of it with my camera, that?s when my mind starts to race and that subject and idea in my head become clear and I capture what was there from the beginning but never saw completely.
CRUZ: Main main focus right now is www.vysualyze.com?now but I can never say specifically until it is actually happening because things always start out not so very clear to me until I am in front my found target with my?camera. One thing I do want to work on is a self connecting portrait series. I have this vision of the way people see themselves when they aren?t self aware. Its a developing idea that I want to really soak up a lot of my time doing because I feel like its going to be something that is defining for me artistically and personally.I looked at the time on my cell phone and realize it was very close to time for me boarding my plane back to Houston. I finish up with this question as we stood and I before I turned off my portable tape recorder?
Just as quickly as this chat had started it was summed up in the words of true Photographer?
??In a FLASH!? ~C.JAY
Source: http://www.cjmcgruder.com/2012/12/07/vysualyze-arts-entertainment/
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