We recently connected with Steve Caputo and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Steve thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
I’m at what some call “The Next Chapter” of a life that has been blessed with love and good health. Long ago I learned how fleeting our time is, and decided then that it was not to be squandered on regrets. The energy and passion I bring to my art now is the function of the road I’ve traveled, and I hope that my images reflect the joy and beauty I’ve encountered along the way.
Photography has been a passion for as long as I can remember. During my marketing agency days, time with my camera in hand was time for recharging and renewal. Even iphoneography afforded an outlet for creativity, and my commute to work would often be diverted for the sake of an image. (These would later find their way into my series of “pun-ographic” books entitled, “Images Wit Words”).
When my 39-year career came to an abrupt end in 2019, the earth was pretty unsteady beneath my feet. I leaned on my photographic abilities and creative instincts as therapy to combat despondency and rejection. Finally with the time to fully immerse myself in image-making, I saw the opportunity to leverage my brand-building experience with my passion, and that’s when Light of Day Gallery was created. I constructed my online presence and at the same time, began offering several of my images for critique and they were received favorably. A number of pieces were accepted into several galleries here on Long Island, and shortly afterward my first print sold, followed by a second, and momentum began to build.
There is no time like the present, and pivoting to this career at this moment has afforded me the chance to meet some amazing people in the creative sector, who have been lighthouses for me along the way.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve been creating images since I was handed a camera in my teens, a long time ago. Resonance is at the core of why I love doing what I do. The camera is my permission slip to memorialize moments of incredible natural wonder, forging a fleeting glimpse into a fixed gaze, turning the temporal into something tangible. All in the effort to make a connection.
The subjects of my images range from landscapes and seascape to flowers, urban scenes and even vintage vehicles. I will sometimes employ ICM (intentional camera movement) to create more abstract interpretations of those landscapes, surfacing more of the aura of the scene. I also repurpose abandoned windows as frames, to create vistas we might all wish to view from our kitchen table or living room. These I call, “Paned Expressions”.
As diverse as that all may sound and appear, there’s a strong throughline of hope and affirmation in all of my work. My self-view is not so much as an artist, but rather journalist of our surroundings. There is so much inspiring beauty and joy in the world around us, if only we take time to see. I feel blessed with the gifts of sight and sensibility to bear witness to that, and obliged with the responsibility of capturing it for the benefit of those who could not see it first-hand. The greatest reward comes in the connection that an image makes with a viewer. It’s more than simply liking a picture, it’s a conscious or subconscious link, a resonance between the viewer and the scene, and indirectly, between the viewer and me.
Like many businesses, fine art photography is experiencing a tectonic shift in this digital era. How artists create, how they market and how buyers shop are all aspects of the sales funnel that bear no resemblance to the practices and habits of the past. Light of Day Gallery is built to accommodate today’s art buyer. Our website offer visitors the flexibility to construct their perfect wall art, choosing not only size, but material (paper type, canvas, metal or acrylic) and finish (matted and/or framed). They can visualize their finished piece with our wall preview tool.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
A thriving creative ecosystem requires artists and creatives willing to bare their souls through their work, and a public audience willing to receive the work, to which they will be moved or not. The arts ought to be supported, regardless of one’s preference, simply for the fact that their mere existence is a distinguishing characteristic of humankind.
The digital revolution offers some challenges and advantages when it comes to art and support for the arts. Accessibility both helps and hinders the artist. Social channels are able to broadcast an image to the point of dilution, with the artist/creator having little to no control over its dispersal. By the same measure, it is that virality that can be the artist’s best friend, when looking to build an audience/following. Art is a long-sell proposition, not an impulse buy. So I am constantly looking to expand my audience and exposure, in the hope that the more familiar folks become with me and my work, the more likely they will choose my images, when they are at the point of buying.
From time to time, I will use my social media channels to remind my followers that there are ways that they can help me (and support the arts) for FREE. I encourage them to share my posts, as it exposes the work to new people and helps spread the word and build my brand. I encourage them to comment and offer reactions and thought, as it helps build community dialog and buzz. Most people consuming our art through social channels do not realize that social reach is very valuable to the artist and is a key to building their audience.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The ramp-up of Light of Day Gallery has been gradual over the past three years. From initiation to validation to gallery acceptance to online presence to revenue generation each phase has taken time and patience. I have committed to approaching 2023 more aggressively, with more exhibitions, art fairs, gallery shows and a more dynamic online presence.
To date, the journey has been a reward unto itself, and I’m excited to continue. The vision for the images I release and what they convey is more finely tuned with each finished work. I am constantly learning, constantly improving. The idea that I can create photographs that connect with people and offer them a vision of hope and affirmation is a very motivating force.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lightofdaygallery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightofdaygallery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightofdaygallery
Image Credits
Steve Caputo