eley

I’m Erick Ley. I was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and attended college in Mexico City at the Max Cetto workshop of the Faculty of Architecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). After living in Mexico City for ten years, I moved back to Los Angeles in 2018, where I have developed my career in both photography and architecture, holding positions as an architectural designer and job captain.

I started my journey in photography because I wanted to be closer to buildings and cities, spending more time outdoors, documenting our built environment with a trained architectural eye. I realized that 80–90% of the architectural works I knew were experienced through photography, and I wanted to be the one behind the camera, capturing these spaces myself. My transition into photography was natural, as I had already been training daily in composition, lighting, and exposure through renderings and sketches, working on projects ranging from residential homes to large-scale mixed-use and office developments.

Last year, I began assisting professional architectural photographers, further refining my skills and understanding of the craft. At the same time, I started taking on professional photography work independently, collaborating with both architects and landscape designers.

For over two years, I have been building my portfolio and working with professional cameras in a variety of settings beyond architecture. I’ve explored landscape, sports, and concert photography, as well as analog formats using fully mechanical cameras and lenses. What started as a way to engage more deeply with architecture has expanded into other passions.

My current goals are to further my work in architectural photography, document design processes, and continue pursuing sports photography—where all my interests intersect.

Follow my photography journey on Instagram at @eley.archive, and feel free to reach out for any inquiries. Thanks for your support!