Through the Lens of Daniel Jones
My journey as a photographer started when my Father gave me a Canon camera he wasn’t using anymore. On occasion, I would carry it with me and take a few snapshots at an event or of friends. A year or so later, I decided to move to Prague in the, then, Czech Republic. I felt Prague offered many opportunities for great photographs. While there, I met many interesting people and saw incredible sights completely new to me. Carrying my camera and taking photos was a daily habit. Proudly, I showed them off to my friends and posted them to social media to keep my friends and family updated on my adventures.
One day, I was showing a friend in Prague some of my recent photographs and she said, “Daniel, these are terrible.” It was exactly what I needed to hear. I had never bothered to learn anything about photography or how to use my camera. I was naive enough to think that I was a brilliant artist because I could point a camera in a direction and push a button. After this stark revelation, I began consuming anything and everything I could about the art of photography and its history. I also managed to learn how to use my camera. This opened up a whole new world to me. I learned why I liked certain images and not others. I learned how photography had developed over the years and those that pioneered the craft, guiding it to the dominant form of visual expression it is today. Further, I learned to see in a different way and how to control a camera, producing the images I wanted to create. This changed my life.
Naomi by Daniel Jones
After leaving Prague, I spent some time in Rome and Split, Croatia. In these surroundings, I truly began to fall in love with photography. The people, landscapes, buildings, and scenes before me offered wonderful photographic potential. This was the first time I was able to produce images I was proud of and felt confident in my ability. In 2018, I returned home to Hopewell, Virginia and continued to make images, beginning to work as a freelance photographer. People hired me to photograph weddings, events, headshots, and travel photos for tourism. Making money in photography allowed me to bolster my arsenal of equipment, learn even more about the craft, and expand my creative options. In 2020, I created the Hopewell Portrait Project with the help of a CultureWorks grant. This project involved photographing passersby on the street in Hopewell, as well as a few students from the Appomattox Governor’s School paired with inspirational quotes. It was my first photography “project.”
Mountain Rain by Daniel Jones
While still learning everyday, I feel settled in my photographic preferences and style. My taste runs to black and white images that include people in some way. I am drawn to character and moody lighting. When I am emotionally moved by a scene in some way, I take a photograph. I take fewer paid jobs in favor of taking my time creating images I want to make and enjoying the creative process as an artist. I place less importance on gear and learning software and more emphasis on creative expression, storytelling, and creating prints. I am less concerned with post-processing images in software and more interested in bringing photographs to life in print. In March, 2022, I submitted two prints to the Underground Benefit Art Auction, which raised money for the arts program at Petersburg High School. The prints were portraits on textured paper in frames, backlit with puck lights, attached to the wall, and hung from the ceiling with wire. Seeing those prints hanging at an art event was the first time I felt like a true artist.
Summer by Daniel Jones
Siren’s Call by Daniel Jones. Part of the Hopewell Billboard Project with Lambarts.
Over the years, I have taken on many hobbies. Photography is the only one that stuck with me and never allowed me to be bored. It has transformed the way I see the world, allowed me to remember things more clearly when memory fades, and has provided access to many people and places I would never have encountered without it. My kit is minimal and I spend less time on the computer and more time walking, thinking, and seeing with my camera. If a significant period of time passes without taking photographs, I feel a sense of loss. It is imperative for me to take time to practice photography as an art form. If I could offer any advice to new photographers, it would be not to get bogged down with gear and software, learn your craft and about those that came before, and, most importantly, take the time to practice and put in the work.
