We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daniel Alavi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Daniel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I had always kinda wanted to do photography. I started it as a hobby after finding a bunch of Pentax K1000 and a bunch of gear for it at a local thrift store, got it for a steal too.

After that I watched as many YouTube videos about photography and using film cameras as I could find. If I was doing something I where I couldn’t watch then I’d listen to videos I’d already seen. I was hyper focused to say the least.

Looking back I think starting out this way helped me understand the process of actually taking a photo. For example; how to observe the light of a scene and decide how to adjust your settings in accordance with the look you’re trying to achieve.

Daniel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Like I said, it started with finding a film camera at a thrift store, but it was a slow progression to where I am now.

Over the course of the next year I started to slowly get more serious about photography and what I hoped to achieve with it. I started shooting so much that I could barely afford to do photography if I used film. So even though I was a die hard film purist who swore they’d never go digital… I eventually went silicone…

I bought a used Fujifilm X-T3, which is no longer in the “like new” condition I bought it in. I’m kind of proud of the well loved condition it’s in. I haven’t exactly babied it over the years and it still works like a charm.

I think what sets me apart is the style I’ve tried to cultivate. I really didn’t want my photos to look just like all the others I’d seen posted online. I want, and still want, people to see a photo and know I took it without even having to look at who posted it. I feel I’ve come close to that goal. For better or worse I feel there is a distinct difference in my photos compared to those of my peers who I look up to.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Absolutely, I think if it wasn’t for resources like YouTube and social media I wouldn’t have learned about the photographers who came before me, which is where I draw a lot of my inspiration from.

In no particular order, YouTube channels like Tatiana Hopper, Developing Tank, Paulie B’s ‘Walkie Talkie’ videos, Japan Vintage Camera, and Analog Insights really helped me learn about cameras and the mental processes behind taking a photo. If it wasn’t for “YouTube University” I wouldn’t have heard of photographers like Gordon Parks, Fan Ho, W. Eugene Smith, Weegee, Richard Mosse, and Sebastião Salgado until much later on. No matter how often I see their collective works I’m always in awe of uniqueness of their own styles. They’ve all left such an impact on how I see the world.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think something non-creatives might not understand, probably some creatives might not understand it too, is that I don’t care if it’s not really making me money. It’s not about that for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love if I could just get paid to do photography and things stemming from it, because then I’d get to do more photography and hell yeah to that.

Over the years I’ve had all sorts of niche creative hobbies that people would always tell me I should sell my stuff and that I could be making money from. But what’s wrong with just doing something because you enjoy it? Personally, when I try to turn something I enjoy into a job it can rob me of the joy I get from it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://danalog.blog
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/man_the_danalog

Image Credits

Photo credit: Me