Give us a short introduction to Shafik.
I’m a half Finnish half Lebanese Helsinki born photographer and creative based in LA. Most of my work revolves around culture, design, and storytelling, with influences from streetwear, architecture, and travel.
You’ve lived in LA for quite a while. How did your day-to-day life change when you moved there?
LA definitely sped things up for me creatively, and the pace is so much faster than Helsinki, or anywhere else I've lived before. LA can feel like the center of the spider web at times, being around so many different industries and people, that pushes me to think bigger and helps stay motivated. But at the end I'm still the same person at the root of things that I was 10 or even 20 years ago at heart, still enjoy the same things, just the zip code changed.
What got you into photographing?
In the early 2000’s we started making skate videos with friends and I always had a little point n shoot camera with me whether we were out with friends or a family trip. Travel was always a big inspiration for me, going to new places and experiencing cool things from sights to architecture or art. Then in 2014 I traded some dunks for a legit camera and started taking photography a bit more seriously things just snowballed from there.
What makes a good photo?
Of course images that have an emotional connection in any shape or form, or it tells a story. I also enjoy unique events that you don't really get to witness, which is the beauty of photography, finding something special, looking where others don't, At the end of the day you have to see something before you even grab your camera. Lately also it’s felt like the world is changing so much faster than ever, so seeing photos of nature, or a skyline, or city scapes that changed even in the last 5-10 to 50+ years is always cool.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve photographed?
As of late I really enjoyed following Valtteri Bottas for the Miami F1 Grand Prix, it’s such a high energy event, and a cool mix of interesting people, fast cars, music and different cultures colliding in one cool environment. Also on the last photo mission of 2025 I witnessed a rumored to be a retired F-117 Nighthawk fly along the snowy CA mountain range, which was like seeing a unicorn. I was pretty excited about that. In the last year or so, we have been also documenting Pompey, Diplo’s private farm and residence in Jamaica, Ive really grown to love Jamaica and that place is so sick and special in a global scale. I'm drinking coffee from there as I'm writing this at the moment.
You’ve already done a lot during your career – but what goals do you still have left for the future?
I’m definitely very thankful for all the experiences and places I've got live through, but literally every week I have things in mind I would want to shoot that I haven't yet, or places I would love to go and that just keeps the fire burning for me to learn, and get better at my craft and keep going.
