Interview by Dave Noodlez

Every week we sit with a different photographer that is taking the world of photo and/or video by storm. This week we linked up with Dan Depalo for our 'Respect The Shooter' column. Hope you enjoy the interview.

How did you get into photography/videography? 

I was always looking for a creative outlet especially in my later teenage years when i was feeling lost about what i really wanted to do with my life, in ways i kind of stumbled upon it and haven’t looked back

What did you first use to take photos?

My first time taking pictures was on this beat up polaroid camera I bought on eBay for 20$, it gave me the instant gratification of seeing my pictures rite when i took them and see how i could make it better.

Where did you go to school? 

I do not have any formal schooling on photography, I went to culinary school

Do you have any nicknames?  How did you get that name?

My friends used to call me Rocker Danny because in middle school i had this huge ridiculous hair and listened to a lot of rock music but i don’t think anyone has called me that since middle school

If you could take photos of any 3 people who would it be?

Kid Cudi, J.cole, Kendrick Lamar

If you could take photos of any 3 people that are no longer living who would they be?

Michael Jackson, Jimmy Hendrix, and the late great Prince.

If you could take photos in any 3 cities what would they be?

Chicago, Nagasaki, Amsterdam

What is your goal when you capture photos of someone?

The goal in all art should be to capture raw emotion, things are too fabricated in this era dominated by social media, let it just be real.

What music do you listen to when you edit photos?

Usually a lot of low- fi hip hop beats/ instrumentals.

What's your favorite app on your phone?

 If I’m being honest its my Amazon app it allows me to impulse buy all the camera tools and attachments I didn’t actually need.

What is your dream as a photographer?

To help my friends accomplish all their dreams and to push the boundaries and limitations of what small town kids can do, Staten Island is such an overlooked city full of some great creatives. Shout out to my brothers V.R, Leroy, Manny, Chris, and everyone I’ve worked with. 

What is some advice you would give to someone with a dream to be a photographer/videographer? 

Remain humble and stay off social media, don’t compare your work to people with thousands and millions of followers, build your own vision and stick to it, the progression will always come when you put the work in. 

Where can people find you? (social media, website, etc)

You can find me on Instagram @dandepalo