FreshLens 2024 Fall Showcase

Lilyanna Figueroa

Lilyanna Figueroa was born and raised on Chicago’s North Side in Albany Park. She is currently a Senior at Lincoln Park High School. She first got into the arts in grade school and later joined the art program in high school.

Outside of school, Lilyanna enjoys running, reading, and baking. She is drawn to the story her photographs tell, enjoying the welcoming and friendly tone that she expresses within them.

Elias Kim

Born on January 12 in Chicago, Illinois, Elias Kim has grown up immersed in the urban culture of the city. While currently a sophomore at Lane Tech High School, Elias has cultivated a growing passion for photography as a way to express his unique perspective. Through the lens of a camera, Elias is able to capture the fleeting yet powerful moments in life. While Elias loves to shoot breathtaking views and aesthetic scenery, his real specialty is capturing the beauty of what is often overlooked by others. These are the images Elias finds particularly interesting. His love for photography stems from its ability to preserve memories and articulate that which cannot be said. 

In addition to photography, Elias is an honor roll student who spends his free time skateboarding, listening to music, and spending quality time with friends. Elias often finds inspiration in the people and experiences around him with a growing eye for style and a keen sense of detail. His work invites viewers to see the world through his unique perspective.

Alina Martinez

Alina Martinez was born and raised in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. She is currently a junior at Lake View High School. After taking a digital photography class in the eighth grade, she developed an interest in photography. It was fascinating to her to be able to hold a camera and capture memories with it. For this reason, she viewed FreshLens Chicago as a chance to learn how to do that.

Outside of school, Alina enjoys spending time alone, going out for coffee, taking therapeutic walks, and honing her artistic skills by practicing and improving her nail art. Alina is interested in taking pictures that have vibrant color or an abstract quality to them.

Ajianna Miles

Ajianna Miles is currently a sophomore at Nicholas Senn High School in the IB program who aims to be open-minded, ambitious, and reflective. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Ajianna always found herself attracted to the city and night life. As a young child, Ajianna’s family always took Polaroid photos to capture the good times and the core memories during their time of get togethers. Although she enjoyed capturing those memories of her and her family, she later gained a love for travel and landscape photography.

In her free time, she finds joy in playing chess, watching movies, talking with close friends, playing volleyball and boxing, and exploring car models.

Jelissa Rodriguez

Jelissa Rodriguez was born and raised in Chicago and currently attends Nicholas Senn High School as a senior. Jelissa’s interest in art started from a young age. Her interests stem from the bond that art created between her parents. Art has been seen as a way to grow connections and build herself up as an individual. Jelissa has become involved in many programs to expand her interest including an early college access program at SAIC, advanced drawing and painting classes with After School Matters, and FreshLens Chicago.

Outside of school, Jelissa finds herself loving to explore her settings and surroundings, a theme that she expands on in her photography. She enjoys immersing herself in the surrounding environment and transforming it into an abstract form.

Clara Spence

Clara Spence, born in Chicago, IL, currently attends Nicholas Senn High School as a senior with a focus on visual arts. While Clara has experimented with visual arts all throughout her life, she first became interested in photography during her junior year of high school after being introduced to esteemed queer and feminist artist, Joan E. Biren. Clara focuses on themes of city life, identity, and community within her work, drawing from her unique experiences growing up in Chicago.  

Outside of the arts and photography, Clara spends her time volunteering for local youth councils, experimenting with different art mediums, and playing with her cats.

Suzanne Swierzbinski

Suzanne Swierzbinski was born and raised in Chicago, IL. She is currently a senior at Disney II Magnet High School. She first became interested in photography when she started taking pictures on her little, green digital camera. She knew she wanted to pursue this hobby when her friend showed off the camera she had received from the FreshLens Chicago program.

She instantly fell in love with capturing moments and transforming them into something more profound. She enjoys hanging out with friends outside of school and has a deep appreciation for nature. She is inspired to photograph moments that evokes emotion, reflects personal experiences, and fosters connection.

David Tapia

David Tapia was born in Chicago, Illinois. He lives in the neighborhood of Little Village and is currently a junior at De La Salle Institute. An artist at heart from a young age, David has a passion for music, playing three instruments, and singing. He is deeply involved in his church, where he enjoys performing and actively participating in community activities.

Faith is one of his leading motivations in his life, inspiring his photography, which often focuses on religious iconography, animals, and people.

Azebe Tsege

Azebe Tsege was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is currently a junior attending Lincoln Park High School. Azebe first discovered her love of photography in the fifth grade when she discovered her mother’s photo albums in the back of her closet. She discovered pictures that captured beautiful memories of her childhood with family and friends, allowing her to relive both the joyful and challenging moments of her past. Since then, Azebe has taken one photography class her sophomore year of high school and she brings her camera to school weekly to take pictures of her classmates and for school events.

Over time, Azebe has come to realize she enjoys darker, moody photography that emphasizes a deep connection with people and their environments. Azebe has found photography to be her form of emotional expression and her outlet to highlight the beauty and importance of the most minimal moments in our lives.

Fernando Andres Valdivias

Born and raised in Chicago, Fernando Andres Valdivias is currently a senior attending Nicholas Senn High School. His love for photography developed from the many moments he experienced growing up, which he believes would have been far more memorable if he could have captured them through a lens that accurately reflected the emotions he felt at the time. 

Andres has a deep passion for music, which has inspired him throughout his youth and adolescence. It has helped him socialize and learn things about himself that he might not have discovered otherwise. The various melodies he listened to inspired him to explore the sounds that drew him into understanding himself better, much like how he is drawn into his photographs, through exploring life outside his own.

Bryanna Villegas

Bryanna Villegas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois along with her mom, dad, and older sister. She attends Nicholas Senn High School and is currently a senior in the art program. She had a passion for the arts from the moment she could paint because of how creative, chaotic, and abstract you can get with it.  

During her time off, she loves to play guitar and ukulele and most recently added photography to her activity list. She loves to capture moments and enjoys when lights and colors work together to create something abstract.