I still spend 4 months every year with my partner Brayden in our second home, Santa Marta, Colombia. He owns a motorcycle tour and adventure company there so a lot of our time is devoted to exploring (I didn’t give up all my crazy adventures).

Hi, I’m Ajá Crites.

I spent my years right after college as a photojournalist - traveling the world, chasing compelling stories, and living crazy adventures - just to end up missing HOME. My friends and family members were starting to get married and have babies, and I ached to be by their sides to experience all of these special times with them - not just for the big life events that they were, but for the small intimate moments in between that gave them meaning.

That’s when it hit me that some of the most significant stories were unfolding right in front of me - stories of love, joy, and human connection - and that they were worth documenting. I moved back to Philadelphia and reopened my photography business, focusing on creating portraits that tell stories, capture emotion, and help you preserve real memories.

I found my love for photography while living in a small village in the Dominican Republic. I was there to be a teacher but frequently found myself outside of the classroom, visiting homes and playing in the streets. I brought my crappy little camera with me everywhere I went, capturing every hug, every laugh, every tear, every moment. I quickly became fascinated with the way seemingly simple images could communicate such meaningful stories, and how impactful those stories could be. 

Filled with amazement that I still haven’t managed to diminish, I decided to go back to school and master the craft of photography - a mission that, thankfully, has proven to be futile. It is the endless possibilities of photography and its mysterious ways of capturing the right moment at the right time that have had me on my toes for the last ten years. My camera has compelled me to slow down, seek connection, see beauty in the smallest details of life, and appreciate it all in a way I never had before.