Standing at 6-feet-2 inches and approximately 180 pounds, CSUN baseball senior pitcher Angel Rodriguez mirrors the quintessential image of a collegiate baseball player.

However, Rodriguez pictures himself as more than that. He also sees himself as an artist.

“There was always something that intrigued me and attracted me to pick up a camera,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to find abstract ways to make certain things look really good.”

Yes, Rodriguez, who made a name for himself striking out opposing batters, finds solace in snapping photos of natural landscapes and the environment.

Despite his passion for photography now, he didn’t always love it, as he spent most of his life focused on baseball.

That doesn’t stop Rodriguez from having the same meticulous approach growing as a photographer as he does with pitching.

“I’m still learning how to appreciate the process of snapping one image, absorbing it, and dissecting the meaning behind it,” he said.

Despite that, Rodriguez is constantly trying to learn from every experience, on or off the field, negative or positive, and apply it toward something else.

“When I see his photography, I don’t just see a picture — I see a story and it makes me think and I think that’s how art is supposed to be,” said his long-time girlfriend, Danielle Glatt. “His talent really shines on and off the field.”

As he enters his senior year, Rodriguez is looked at as one of the leaders on the team. Whether on the diamond or in the classroom, Rodriguez constantly stays alert and attentive while trying to learn and grow.

He said he believes people need to be creative with everything they do in life.

“If you can make anything you do interesting or artistic, in essence, you will become more interested and more involved,” Rodriguez said. “I feel that I can take what I’ve learned in the classroom and apply it on the field.”

When Rodriguez started college, his main focuses were baseball and school.

“I didn’t start taking photography classes until this past year,” he said. “The classes opened my eyes and made it much easier for me to adjust from one setting to another.”

Rodriguez said his classes made him look at things through a different perspective.

His good friend and teammate, Joe Ryan, describes Rodriguez’s success in photography in a humorous and uncanny way.

“I think Angel’s success in photography has come from his new found love of country music,” Ryan said.

The two spend a lot of time together and share a lively and vivacious personality.

All around us, there are stereotypes that classify people, but they do not define who they are.

“We are all trying to capture something,” Rodriguez said.