Elniño Felipe spends his working hours inside a hospital, expertly seeking out veins and drawing blood as a phlebotomist. He’s also studying to be a respiratory therapist, the person who monitors oxygen levels and ensures the patient gets the air they need.

“I have to make sure that you’re breathing. That’s my end goal in the hospital or clinical setting,” Felipe says. Both roles require intense attention to detail and a level of precision that suits Felipe. It’s the same focus that the 32-year-old applies to his food photography.

Felipe joined the Vegas foodie scene around 10 years ago as one of the city’s first Yelp Elite. “The goal was just to meet people and try new food,” but eventually he tired of writing reviews and began to take pictures. His first Instagram post under @ninser_the_foodie was a colorful macaron from Patisserie Manon.

Felipe laughs at the thought of that long-ago debut. “My very first food pictures on Instagram I used a lot of filtering. I used a lot of borders. I didn’t really know how to set a good photo and make it eye-catching.”

Today, nearly 16,000 people follow his foodie feed and his images are much improved: sleek craft cocktails, bright taco spreads and stacks of sandwiches from Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken. “I’m OCD when I take pictures,” he admits. “A lot of time and care goes into (every shot).”

That often means composing a neat tableau of shapes and colors, photographing with a Nikon DSLR and spending hours adjusting textures and vibrance to make the image pop.

But his passion ultimately comes back to the food on the plate. Felipe sighs when asked for his favorite local eateries. Then he rattles off names: The Barrymore, Yonaka, Other Mama, Paina Cafe and Brew Tea Bar. “There’s a secret menu,” he gushes of the latter before letting us in on his go-to order: the Hoki Oki with sea salt cream and honey boba.

Click here to follow Elniño on Instagram.