Chrys Alva
aka 3v3ntive
Born and raised in Newark NJ.
Majority of my life was focused on survival, finding a way to get by and making sure my family was good.
Photography came into my life about 15 years ago, my first camera was a hand me down from my mother, her Nikon.
From there I began shooting around but it wasn’t until 2019, when I got myself sober from hard drugs and alcohol that I became serious about my craft. A desire within me grew, to know more about my cameras as an extension of me and create art that speaks beyond my words.
My first profession camera was a Lumix, that I bought with the help of my uncle, my fathers brother, who I met for the first time in my mid 20’s.
I guess you could say photography has truly been a family affair for me.
Currently I am working on expanding my visual concepts of layers with inspiration coming from Alex Webb, Saul Leiter, and Gary Winogrand, as well as illustrated novels and comics.