I'm Mailen Jonelle, visual storyteller and filmmaker.
 

Born in Miami, raised in New Jersey, and now living on the West Coast, I've always experienced life through multiple perspectives. As a Cuban and Colombian American, I've often found myself navigating different cultures while also growing up American. Photography became my way of making sense of that, to better understand my own roots by exploring the food, music, and people that shaped me.

Through Mai Lens was born from that curiosity.
 

What started as a personal archive of my own culture, it  slowly became something much bigger. The more I traveled, I realized that my curiosity wasn't limited to my own story. It extended to the stories of others. Today, Through Mai Lens is a celebration of culture in all its forms.
 

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I believe storytelling has the power to bring people closer together. When we take the time to hear someone's story, understand their traditions, or see the world through their perspective, something shifts. Curiosity replaces judgment. Familiarity replaces fear. We begin to recognize pieces of ourselves in one another. That's the purpose behind my work. Not just to document culture, but to celebrate it, preserve it, and create work that reminds us how deeply connected we really are.
 

Welcome to life through my lens.