Isaiah Artese began their photographic journey between the years 2019 and 2020 in Allentown,PA with a 35mm point-and-shoot film camera. In those waking moments, he was unknowingly setting the foundation for a practice rooted in observation and community. Over the next three years he would go on to document friends, strangers, and musical performances throughout the Lehigh Valley and Tri-State Area. During this period, Isaiah filed a style defined by thoughtful composition, sensitivity to subject, and an acute sense of color.
His curiosity naturally gravitated toward portraits—of artists, objects, movements, and the everyday—seeking to elevate both the peculiar and the mundane. In 2023, after relocating to Philadelphia, Isaiah transitioned from point-and-shoot to manual photography, embracing full creative control and deepening their technical and artistic approach. This shift opened a boundless field of learning, Fueling a dedicated pursuit of image-making as both craft and service. Today he has taken interest in medium format photography. The added depth and information from this coveted format has only magnified his stark portrait style so far. He approaches photography as a form of translation: Attempts in seeing the world through the perspectives of its many inhabitants. With this practice, they remain committed not only to fulfilling their personal vision but also to honoring the voices, stories, and interests of the collaborators and clients they serve. Attached below is one of his favorite horror films to date.