I was given the opportunity to shoot a friend of mine, John Rivas, in his natural habitat: his art studio. He had never been photographed by anyone before, let alone in his studio. I felt really honored to do so, and knew exactly how I wanted to photograph him. A little insight on John, he’s an artist; no longer aspiring because he is one in every sense of the word. He’s starting his Masters of Fine Arts come this fall at Columbia University. And for him, it’s only up from here. When it came time to shoot, I asked to shoot first thing in the morning right when he starts his day. I told him to do his thing, and made myself a fly on the wall. I really wanted to capture him entranced in his work. We did get some posed shots in front of his works, like all artists do, and the rest was him in his natural state.