When he’s not writing and filming music videos for Placebo or the up-and-coming Brooklyn “black wave” duo Kool Head or making catchy commercials, creative director and avid filmmaker Diego Contreras spends most (if not all) his spare time taking pictures that make your eyes linger and making films that play like colorful collages of his everyday life and personal trips.

“It all started with a camcorder.” In the latest issue of Astronaut Magazine, we have a chat with him about his Vimeo hit Islands, his latest creative projects, and the value of being self-taught. For the full conversation, a stroll through the dimly lit streets of New York at night and a dreamy island trip with his wife, get the magazine herePosted by Sophia in May 2014.