Meet Daniel Velazquez

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Velazquez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
By the of my career I would love to be teaching the new and even current generation all my knowledge and skills. I’ve always loved figuring out the best way to explain something the watching the flicker of knowledge spark in their eyes as they figure their art out.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My true medium of my art is film photography, or at least that’s my gateway to show you all the art I create before the photo. Sometimes I create elaborate sets with models and props or other times I create sculptures out of bizarre elements just to photograph them under lighting of my own design too. I can’t really say how I got to the where I am now because it has felt like good luck up until i look at it myself real good and really feel grateful for some of the most supportive and creative friends out there. It’s built me to be headstrong with a foundation that I have always created any art that came to mind without feeling like I was going to be judged and instead feedback never felt like criticism and more like reactions to my art. That constant creation of art on analog film led to me being discovered by a very large (and old) Analog film supply company who hired me on for various reasons including social media coordinating, and customer service. That has so far fed my cycle of creating on film my tenfold as now I shoot all the time regardless if anyone is going to see and rather admittedly I have a stock pile of rolls I have yet to process. Aside from the art I’m creating I discovered a passion on being the catalyst to other artists, that’s what I’m most proud of. I live and breathe photography and when it comes to film photography my knowledge goes past the regular 20 something year old would know. But I don’t covet that knowledge and do the opposite, I spread my knowledge and ideas I enjoy when someone finally gets an answer they are looking for from me. My end goal is for film to be forever and mainstream and truly that goal is unreachable because I am not forever but my art of film is and my ideas will be if I keep spreading them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have been told that hanging out with me in my hometown sometimes feel likes an adventure or a vacation. I frequent an open space called turnbull canyon. There it is full of hiking trails, animals and other mysterious phenomena. If anyone isn’t up for getting their shoes dirty thats alright I’m well aquatinted with the community in uptown Whittier and everywhere I go I’ll see a familiar face and conversation.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shout out Casa Verde LA, it was a beautiful plant shop full of creatives and the public. I’ve met so many amazing people there and discovered so much about myself that it’d be a crime to say it didn’t feed my spirit and develop my personality. They recently closed down so for now it lives on in our collective hearts

Instagram: Daniels_35mm

Image Credits
Daniel Velazquez all photos Aurora Bianca with the model