The marriage between photography and illustration... |

The marriage between photography and illustration have been taken to a whole new level with the creation of mixed media project entitled BryJins. Despite being, relatively new to the scene, coveted fashion companies including Nasty Gal have taken notice of this dynamic duo and their ability to seamlessly co-exsist despite living a world away from one another! Intrigued? You should be. The Style Line was lucky enough to have fashion photographer Bryant Eslava and illustrator Haejin Bae invite us into their colorful and uniquely executed world and prove that a little imagination goes along way.

How, when and why did you first become interested in photography and illustration?

BE: I was always inspired by photography but at the age of 16 I picked up my professional camera and things took off from there. I became interested in photography because I’m really bad at remembering things, so photographs are always there to refresh my mind.

HB: I always liked drawing models’ pictures since I was a child. When I see their pictures, I get inspirations and draw them.

Tell us about your recent artistic endeavors.

BE: I’ve just been shooting for brands and magazines lately. SPIN, Nylon, Tumblr, PUMA, and others that will soon be released.

HB: I practice drawing and try to keep myself in a good condition. Sometimes I listen to music and watch dramas for refreshment.

How did you two meet? What brought about the project Bryjins?

BE: I came across Hajin Bae’s work through Tumblr Radar. I remember one day I saw one of her illustrations and immediately followed her blog. After a while of seeing more of her newest work I contacted her to tell her I enjoyed what she was doing. That same day she made one of my photos as an illustration, I shared it on Instagram and on my blog and people immediately responded with great feedback. So that’s where we started the project Bryjin’s.

HB: Bryant sent me a mail that he wanted to collaborate with me. After reading that mail, I started illustrations with his fashion photos. He saw those illustrations and suggested ‘Bryjins.’

What is a Bryjin?

BE: Bryjin is a mix of Bryant and Hajin (our first name) and basically the baby of our work together. When you come across a Bryjin you will see a fashion photograph with some illustration on it.

HB: Inspiration, fashion, art, and beauty!

What are your future hopes for this project?

BE: We’re not sure what to expect right now. We’ve already received emails from people asking if they can buy prints. At this time we don’t plan on selling any merch, perhaps in the future. We just want to keep making Art.

HB: I hope many people to get their own inspiration through Bryjins project. When they see our collaboration, I hope them to immediately notice: “Ah, these is Bryjins!” After all, I want to make goods with this project!

What inspires each of your photographic and illustrative styles?

BE: I’m a big fan of colors, tones, and light. I always try to put all of these together in my photographs so they last forever. I’m a big Helmut Newton fan. In fact, I have his film “Helmut by June” and it’s Newton working in the 1990’s. The way he captured the light and posed his models is very inspiring.

HB: Bryant’s photos are nice. Not only the pictures of models, the pictures of his own life also give me huge inspiration. I just put my own life in his pictures.