‘The fact it came out so well baffles me every time… a lot of it looks so staged, yet it’s perfectly candid… he is just some stranger. – Dan on ‘Candid Cubans’
Inspired by his father and always keeping his 35mm camera close to hand, Dan uses his degree knowledge, along with his experiences photographing across America, to turn his imagery into artworks. In his collections, namely 'Falsified Truths', he looks to integrate real world elements-the truths- with conceptual aspects- the falsified. As you'll see, it is a mixture which allows him to create his cinematic and nostalgic style.
‘The 35mm allows everything to be a lot more candid because people can’t ask to see it again after it has been shot’ he explains as he sips his beer and strokes his beard. Much like this photographs, Dan is a man who not only aims to capture an aesthetic but inadvertently embodies it.
Drawing inspiration from 1980’s cinematography and the works of Gregory Crewdson, Dan wants his viewers to see into another world ‘as if you’re watching an episode of Stranger Things… or looking through a pair of sunglasses‘ he says.
In terms of such transcendence, many of his photographs contain empty spaces – and this is because he wants the audience to fill the images with their own narratives. Interestingly, to capture such scenes he’ll often just go for a walk. To Dan, having a clear sky - something which features often in his work – is like having a plain canvas, and filling it with objects, ‘like kids on Microsoft paint’ he laughs. Yet, much like Paint, Dan likes to explore the uncanny valley in his images, where something is familiar but strange. Like the moon being out in a summers day; we’ve all see it, but it doesn’t feel quite real. Similarly, all of his images, like our memories are devoid of any litter, again adding to the nostalgia.
