About Me

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I’m Joey Collazo, founder of Hawk Edit. My journey hasn’t been a straight line—it’s been full of turns, challenges, and reinventions that shaped who I am today.

After graduating from Governors State University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, I dove headfirst into building a career. I spent years in construction management, specializing in granite countertops, where precision and long days were part of the grind. Later, I transitioned into the insurance industry, where I took detailed photos of auto damage—learning how to slow down, pay attention, and capture every small detail that mattered.

On paper, I had “made it.” I had built not one but two solid careers. But life has a way of reminding you that success isn’t always straightforward. There were seasons of stability and seasons of setback, times when I questioned if I was on the right path at all.

Through all of it, one thing stayed with me: creativity. Since 2014, I’ve been freelancing in photography, design, and website development—using the skills I had sharpened in my professional life and channeling them into something that truly fueled me. Every project I took on, from crafting a website to capturing a portrait, reminded me that I wasn’t just building a career—I was building a calling.

That’s how Hawk Edit was born. It’s not just a business; it’s the result of years of learning, stumbling, rising, and rediscovering myself. Every photo I take, every design I create carries a piece of that story: the grit from construction, the precision from insurance, the resilience from life’s ups and downs, and the creativity that’s been with me all along.