During his first quarter at Cal Poly Pomona, Eric Garcia decided he wanted to photograph the campus in a new and contemporary way. In fall 2012 he created the CPPerspective Instagram page to feature unique and hidden areas of the university that often go unnoticed.
Garcia photographs content for CPPerspective utilizing creative lighting, striking angles, and vibrant colors.
He says he avoids taking pictures of people, and instead focuses on the university itself. “I look for things, places and angles that I thought were interesting around campus and steered away from commonly photographed areas like the rose garden,” Garcia says. “I wanted to showcase what I thought were the overlooked parts of the campus or the places students don’t see.”
#cpp #calpolypomona #circle #concrete #student A photo posted by Cal Poly Pomona (@cpperspective) on
Garcia explains that when he first started the page, there was a very small following before the audience ballooned into the 1,400 followers it has today.
“After about four months or so, I started gaining followers,” Garcia says. “I don’t know how the ball got rolling, but it snowballed quickly. The account grew exponentially to over 1,000 followers by next fall. The page was garnering so much attention students thought I was affiliated with official school pages.”
After two years of monitoring and photographing content for CPPerspective, Garcia has decided to pass the Instagram on to another student.
“I quickly realized that my last year at Cal Poly was going to be hectic and I wouldn’t have the luxury of time to continue to run the page,” he says. “Instead of letting the account die, I decided to pass it on via a contest. Garcia says he chose Aaron Lucela as his successor, explaining, “I felt his aesthetic was most in line with what I was trying to do.”
#cpp #calpolypomona #rosefloat #lab #openhouse #abandoned #ferriswheel #metal #orange #yellow #rust #field A photo posted by Cal Poly Pomona (@cpperspective) on
With its new moderator, the CPPerspective page will continue to showcase the myriad hidden gems on the university’s campus.
“It’s such an honor to inherit this awesome account from such a rad photographer,” said Lucela on the Instagram account. “I have big shoes to fill but that won’t stop me from taking on this challenge.”