SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and NewsChannel 9 is paying tribute to members of the AAPI community making a difference here in Central New York.

This week on “Asian Americans Standing Strong,” NewsChannel 9 is featuring Solon Quinn.

From when he was a young boy, Solon knew he wanted to become a filmmaker.

“I’ve always loved movies. It’s why I exist. It’s why this company exists. We wanted to get into filmmaking. I’ve wanted to make movies since I was in first grade. That’s my thing. I’ve just always loved them.”

SOLON QUINN, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, SOLON QUINN STUDIOS

Solon turned that dream into a reality. After high school, he went off to study film at the School of Visual Arts.

In 2008, he started his company, Solon Quinn Studios headquartered in Syracuse.

At first, his business was mainly a video production company but has since transformed into a full-service creative digital marketing agency.

Solon Quinn Studios has created content for every Central New York hospital, local colleges and universities, Destiny USA, InterFaith Works of CNY, Vera House, and more.

The mission behind the creativity?

I think our mission is, first and foremost, to be authentic and then with that authenticity, surround yourself with people and values about human beings that align. I don’t need people to be of the same anything other than the same energy, to want goodness, to want truth, to want to create meaningful change, and most importantly, to come from love. If that’s not the case, you can do and believe all the right things in the world and do all the wrong things to get there.

SOLON QUINN, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, SOLON QUINN STUDIOS

Solon was adopted from Seoul, South Korea as an infant before he turned 1. He says many aspects of being an Asian-American adoptee have been wonderful.

“When you adopt somebody, I think that is one of the most loving things anybody could ever do. In the lottery of life, in many ways, I feel like I won that lottery.”

SOLON QUINN, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, SOLON QUINN STUDIOS

However, there have been challenges along the way for Solon.

If you were to look at it from an Asian male perspective, we deal with that need to be more, to have something about ourselves that is more, and without that more, you’re just an Asian guy. Dealing with some of the issues I did growing up, I want young Asian kids not to deal with those because those have made unfortunate imprints on me that affect me to this day, but working on those things and having love in my life and the support that I have from family and friends, I think is all you can ask for.

SOLON QUINN, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, SOLON QUINN STUDIOS

Solon also has a passion for storytelling through still photography. You may even see him roaming through the Salt City with a professional camera in-hand.

With every photo he snaps, Solon focuses on inclusion and highlighting diversity.

“I love meeting different people. I love different cultures,” Solon explained. “I also love highlighting and showing the world things about people, their belief systems, and their cultures that don’t necessarily get seen often or people have very strong misconceptions about.”

Solon does a lot of work on the North side of Syracuse and with the Muslim community at Syracuse University.

“We have an extremely diverse population if you so desire to engage in different parts of the city, in different communities that ultimately make up our one large community. That’s been a real gift,” Solon said.

Solon says his company is shifting towards longer form documentary work. One day, he hopes he and his team can create narrative films for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

“My only hope is that I don’t ever expand this company to a degree where I can’t feel the heartbeats of everyone in it.”

SOLON QUINN, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, SOLON QUINN STUDIOS

Learn more about Solon Quinn Studios by clicking here. You can also check out more of Solon’s photography here.