Bringing A Splash of Color to Canisius

By Mo Hill, Creative Corner Editor

Welcome to this year’s edition of Creative Corner! I wanted to start this semester off with a strong start, so I decided to interview one of our very own creative minds at Canisius, Ben Cordero! Cordero is a senior political science and history dual major here at Canisius. On top of that, he is a member of the Urban Leadership Learning Community scholarship program and is also a vital member of our staff here at The Griffin. In his free time, Cordero is a freelance photographer who takes photos of various club events on campus and conducts photoshoots all throughout Western NY.

When asked what force drives him to do what he does, he responded, “Before I picked up photography last year, I never had a creative outlet. Now that I have one, I jump at every opportunity I can to get behind the camera and create art. It provides me with a balance of work and creativity that I did not always have.” When I asked what went into these shoots and how he finds creative inspiration, Cordero responded with enthusiasm, “A lot of preparation! I normally get ideas from music I listen to or other forms of art that I consume such as films. A lot of my creative shoots strive to tell a story or capture a feeling.” Referring to the two photos featured, “they were all about capturing the joy of summer, even amidst trying times. The creative direction is the most challenging, yet fulfilling part! With that being said, I try not to think too hard when I creative direct. I stay grounded in the message and feeling of the project and everything else just naturally falls into place.”

Cordero also dove into the two photos that he provided for us, discussing their context, inspiration and ultimately the end results! Cordero discussed his reasoning and inspiration behind the serene atmosphere of the first photo and the chaotic nature of the second. He wrote “the photo of my friend Ainslee in the pool was from my first creative project of the summer. I wanted to start with a poolside photoshoot because it gave off a very tranquil vibe. The world was, and still is, in a very chaotic place at the time and I wanted to curate a spread of photos that emitted a calm, reassuring vibe for people. The whole idea for that shoot was ‘stepping into the light’ and facing the world around us.” 

Cordero was driven to bring these themes to light amidst all of the chaos of this past summer, and further discussed it with me later in the interview, “The photo of my friend Tina served as a ‘prequel’ to my summer photography series. I was starting to grow as a photographer and wanted to show people my growth through this shoot. Her watering the lawn was an on the fly decision we both made and I’m very happy we did! It really felt like we were setting the stage for the summer season.” Cordero is a vital member of our campus community and his unique sources of inspiration allow his creativity to add a splash of color to our chaotic world.