Ricardo Vela has been a shutterbug since he was 8 years old. Photography just “clicked” with him, and now with his own studio gallery, he is seeing the culmination of his life-long ambition. His gallery exhibits many slices of his life and thoughts, as he has tried to capture the beauty in the world around him.

“Since childhood, photography has been one of my most loyal companions,” Vela said. “The first time I held a camera in my hands, I realized that I had the power, not only of capturing a moment in time or a memory, but I could also tell a story.”

Prior to opening his studio, this interest in photography led him into another passion – journalism. From humble beginnings at his school newspaper to an Emmy award-winning journalist, Vela is now the news anchor/producer for KBNT-TV Channel 17 in San Diego.

The gallery was created primarily to exhibit his own art, but it also serves as a place for the artwork of emerging Latino artists from the San Diego and Tijuana area. His aim is to have the studio be a place where art, photography and community merge into one.

Vela believes that art should be a part of every person’s life from an early age, and one of the ways in which the Ricardo Vela Studio Gallery is involved in the community is by trying to engage young students in the arts and to encourage parent and teacher involvement as well. His studio also allows Vela to be active in other ways, such as donating a portion of his sales to benefit Eunime por Tijuana, an organization that helps kids living with HIV.