We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dannie Carreon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dannie, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Growing up, not having much, made me unconsciously grateful for things when they do come to me. Those struggles in my childhood and adolescence made me empathetic to people less fortunate, which somehow makes me be genuinely optimistic in life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started as a teen in the late 90’s early 2000’s recording my friends skateboarding, doing pranks, taking pictures at backyard shows with disposable cameras and just doing the random skater punker valley kid things. I didn’t know at the time but those teenage years really influences the rest of my life creatively, culturally and visually. As an adult I find joy in walking around the city or nature with my camera, taking photographs of anything I find interesting. Whether it be a couple in a loving embrace ready to kiss or a abandoned building weathered by time and its environment. I just love showing people how I see the world, through my lens. When working with people, I just hope to spark a moment of magic and creativity, that we can look back on and cherish.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Having the guts to just go out and do it, sounds cliche but it really is the truth! Nowadays I hear so many people waiting for the perfect moment but there really isn’t a perfect moment. Just do it and learn on the way, I hear younger photographers ask what type of camera or lense to get, just use what you have. Everyone has a phone in their pocket, start with that and just have fun! You will find yourself slowly becoming better and finding your style. Nothing teaches better than experience. So I would say courage to go out and start, resourcefulness to use what you got and persistence to keep going, even after the highs and lows.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would love to collaborate more often! I love to exchange ideas and just listen to other creative people talk about their views on life and art. Pick their brain about anything and everything that is creative and artistic. I work so much on my own which makes me slowly become a control freak, so when I do work with others it is a nice change of ambience in the workflow. Having another creative person involved sharing thoughts and ideas is comforting and births a new life into projects you normally wouldn’t have alone. I love creating cool, dark, moody art photography that captivates the viewer. I am always open to shooting with like minded people, currently I’d love to meet and work with some new stylist, set designers, makeup artist, models and artist who are looking for film or photography work, you can find me at @dancarpermedia on instagram or dancarpermedia.com for my website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dancarpermedia.com
- Instagram: dancarpermedia
Image Credits
Dannie Carreon, Dancarper Media
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
