Dan Graham
Dan was born in Manhattan, New York and began his life in the big city. But, he has spent most of his time in our amazing hometown of San Diego. After high school, Dan decided to go to a local community college where he began his interest in photography and went on to study at San Diego State. While studying journalism he began getting assignments that involved taking his own pictures to accompany his writing. At that time, Dan started to notice photography was an important element of journalism, and his interest in photography began to be an important element of his life. He got caught in the world of photography and from then on he always kept it close to his heart. However, it was time to pay the bills and unfortunately photography wasn’t a financially stable job and there were no job opportunities in that field at the time. Throughout Dan’s life, he has had a successful job, is married to his lovely wife, and recently retired, which gave him the time and desire to pick up his old love of photography.
And the rest is history…
Type of photography: Modeling, Weddings and EventsView entire profile here
Website: http://dpgphotos.com/
FlickR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpgsgi/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/335110009837946/
Email: DanGraham@dpgphotos.com
Phone Number: 
858-602-9583
An Interview to Learn a little more about Dan Graham:
After recently retiring, Dan had extra time on his hands and had to take a moment to figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Such a serious life question! And it didn’t take him long to remember just how much he loved photography. He jumped on his computer and searched for photography classes (to refresh him on the art) and found an array of classes being taught at The Right Light Photography. While he started with some basic courses from Jason, he became interested in developing his photography even more. The classes were the perfect balance of informal and informative, which attracted Dan to the idea of joining the PIT program. “From then I took the might leap! Just a hobby? Or a business?” Dan exudes passion as he describes the decisions he had to go through to get where he is today. Deciding to join the PIT program, Dan describes has helped him find his niche and “find the worth in his photography”. He is proud to say he is always moving forward and improving his business, DPG Photography.
When asked what type of photography is his favorite, he is quick and sure to say he loves shooting modeling and head shots. “I like taking simple, clear, and succinct shots for modeling photography.” Dan has a clear idea of his modeling style and to check out some of his beautiful photos CLICK HERE. Dan describes how, “Whatever is in the eyes is what I am shooting for. My focus always is in the eyes”. And after the attention goes to the eyes, “everything that supports the eyes gets my support.” It is clear to see that Dan loves focusing on the natural magnificence the human eyes can exude and finds that beauty in modeling photography. However, other than that he does love shooting head shots, weddings and events because he loves catching a moment and memory in photography. His favorite part of photography overall? “Creating and capturing moods through my photography…”
Following his passionate answer for his favorite photography, I asked the simple question of whether he uses Canon or Nikon. Chuckling at the question, he says he uses neither! He uses and loves his high-end Alpha 850 Sony DSLR Camera. I was slightly embarrassed for assuming, but was interested in finding out why he used this camera when the industry highlighted Nikon and Canon so much. He went on to explain how he had actually worked for Sony in a different branch and his wife actually worked there also. What he loved about the brand was the reliability in their product. “The quality is there.” We went on to discuss the recent buy out and improvement of Sony. I enjoyed this question more than the simple answer of Canon or Nikon, because I learned something new! Sony is in the running and produces just as strong and crisp photos as the other leading brands.
I went on to ask about his favorite piece of equipment for his Sony Camera and he was glad to respond with his Karl Zeiss 24-70mm lens. “95% of the time that’s what I am shooting with, especially with low light. The focusing is phenomenal and the colors are vivid.” As if he hadn’t convinced me enough about the great aspects of Sony, he delves deeper describing how the image stabilization is inside the Sony camera body and not the lens, like other brands, giving him the ability to use his old lenses, which he enjoys using also.
Finally, I asked Dan the ultimate question: Where he saw himself in the future of his photography business? “That’s a good question,” he responds. He goes on to tell me about how he would like to at least be financially viable enough to still be in photography doing head shots and events. However, the most important thing to him is that he does not want lose his desire for modeling photography. Overall, he is not focused on becoming the next billionare photographer, only on enjoying and sharing his extreme passion for photography. To continue buying equipment and growing, he understands he needs to make profit for his profession, but his true focus is on modeling and capturing the moments and memories for his clients. He ends with a fitting line, “Photography is a medium. It captures the essence of that person or that moment in a beautiful way.”
Thanks again Dan for an amazing insight into your obvious passion and love for photography and congratulations again on being this month’s Photographer of the Month!
