WHO IS THIS GUY?

My name is Nishan De Leon and I am the photographer, videographer, editor, creator behind PicsByNish. I am from Roanoke, Virginia after being raised in the United Kingdom in my early life. I am currently in the Civil Engineering program at Virginia Tech after graduating as valedictorian from Hidden Valley Highschool. I started this creative journey during the summer heading into my senior year.

As you can see on the right, I enjoy pictures being taken of me - albeit from my own camera and through my own editing. This joy I find from pictures is what I wanted to replicate for others. I ran track during my time in high school and I always wanted to have pictures to look back on and remember - and I realized that in my community there wasn’t an easily accessible or affordable way to accomplish that. So, I stepped up. My dad was a photographer himself, so I was blessed to skip over the financial barrier. I picked up his camera and started shooting; I began with football games and track meets which led into senior portraits and street photography. Now, I found my position as the photography coordinator for the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at Virginia Tech, head of media for my organization Spirit! and still eagar as ever to create for others in my community.

CREATE MORE THAN YOU CONSUME.

When I look back on my life before photography, I can see myself falling into the trap of overconsumption. Ever since I have become a creative, it has been a goal of mine to create more than I consume. This mindset drives me to keep pushing for more and to be constantly innovating and finding new ways to grow. Creating through the medium of photography or videography is such a blast for me and a joy I love to share. It is for this reason that I don’t try to limit myself into a certain niche or organization. I want to continue shooting for both large companies and communities, my own friend group and Christian community I lead, as well as the small stories hidden behind an athlete’s off-days.