Yang Mei

yangmei_szdaily@163.com

IN 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak embarked on a groundbreaking journey by crafting the first Apple computer in the garage of Jobs’ childhood home in Los Altos — the heart of America’s Silicon Valley.

In the same spirit of innovation, Joshua Fernandez, a Bolivian-American entrepreneur, initiated his own venture a decade ago in a modest apartment in Shenzhen, China’s Silicon Valley, near Shenzhen North Railway Station in Longhua District.

Fresh from graduating with a bachelor’s degree in design from Purdue University in his home state of Indiana, the U.S., the then 20-something landed in Shenzhen with little more than an adventurous spirit. Recounting those early days, Fernandez recalled, “At that time I was young and impressionable, I just wanted to get out, and some of my friends hyped up Shenzhen for me, so I just came here and started to find jobs.”

Several years into his first job in Shenzhen as a designer, Fernandez and his partner took a leap of faith by leaving their comfortable office jobs to establish their own business. Today, the company is an international trading company employing roughly 30 employees and specializing in the development and sales of cutting-edge mobile accessories.

While firmly rooted in Shenzhen’s entrepreneurial landscape, the 35-year-old entrepreneur has discovered a newfound passion — photography. Specifically, he uses his camera to document life in Shenzhen by capturing its people and spirit.

“I thought that I was originally a designer, so I always admire photographers and people who can shoot a nice photo. And I always thought, why don’t I do that myself?” Fernandez said. He views the city’s rapid development and enhanced urban infrastructure as catalysts for nurturing his newfound passion.

“I feel lucky to live in a city that has developed so quickly and so modern like this. I think if I were in another place, I wouldn’t have opportunity to explore new things while developing my business,” Fernandez shared with Shenzhen Daily. “Moreover, the city is more walkable and better for pedestrians than before. I think that’s also one of the big improvements,” he said.

Fernandez said his passion for photography also enables him to go out and notice people more. “When I wasn’t a photographer, I felt like there are just a ton of people living the same mundane life. Why would I care about that? But as a photographer, it allows me to care about and connect with other people,” he said.

Although Fernandez modestly labels himself as an amateur photographer, he more deeply engages with online photography communities and social media platforms than with local expat photographers to share his work. As he said, “I’m a little intimidated by them because they’re really good and they are more serious about photography than I am.”

Two years ago, Fernandez started to share his Shenzhen photos on Unsplash, a stock photography site that offers high-resolution images for personal, editorial, and most commercial purposes free of charge. Fernandez also posts photos on Instagram and Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu.

In a delightful turn of events, not long ago, world-renowned Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap released a song named “Shenzhen” as a part of his 2024 solo album “World Tour.” The album’s cover featured a photograph of the Nanshan skyline taken by Fernandez during a hike on Dananshan Mountain. When asked about this recognition, Fernandez said he was proud and happy. “I’m always happy if someone acknowledges my work.”

Apart from sharing photos online, Fernandez actively participates in the Expats Eye Shenzhen Photo Contest to further showcase his work and communicate with other expat photographers in Shenzhen. Fernandez commends the event and believes it “should happen more often.”

“It puts a spotlight on local photographers. We spend our weekends, our afternoons, and evenings walking around the city. We are like walking advertisements for the city with our photos. I think if we can expand this more, we can attract more talent and push more interest to the city,” he said.