Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Newton.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
In 2016 I began playing this video game called “Life is Strange.” The video game follows the adventures of a high-school art student who has a special interest in photography. Throughout the game, the main character will notice interesting things in her world and take a polaroid of those interesting moments. I became fascinated by the rather simple yet beautiful process of capturing a moment in the same way that the main character does. I told my dad about how I might want a camera for Christmas just to capture moments in my own life and on Christmas my dad gave me a mid 60’s Pentax Spotmatic 35mm film camera. I had no idea that would kick off my love for photography. He and I picked up photography together and we still shoot and to this day and develop our film in the house. Over the years of shooting, Over the years my love for photography and capturing the moment has still persisted and evolved through different genres.
Please tell us about your art.
I am a photographer that specializes in low light portrait photography as well as 35mm film. I focus my craft on neon lights and the genre of cyberpunk. In 2016 I was scrolling through posts on an online community named “Build and Bloom.” As I was scrolling, I noticed a post from Johnathan Nguyen that featured several photos taken in an arcade around neon lights and my jaw dropped. I wanted to know everything about he made it seem as if the model was surrounded in lights. It was otherworldly, and I wanted to know everything about this style because of how emotional and mysterious neon lights can look in a photograph. In studying the style of low-light neon photography, I learned how to angle a mirror to reflect the neon light from one side of the frame to the other. By doing this, I am able to make it seem as if the subject of the photo is surrounded by neon lights. This became a major tool of my craft in how I take portrait photos. Around the same time that I started to shoot around neon, I started listening to music like “The Midnight,” and that was a big moment for me. When I listened to their song “Crystalline,” it was as if my creative process had wind beneath my sails. While I was driving around downtown looking for neon signs to shoot by, I would constantly play their music. It would get me in the mood. Around then, I also began watching movies in the Cyberpunk genre like the “Ghost In The Shell” franchise and the “Bladerunner” franchise. I became very interested in the genre because Cyberpunk always asks the question “What does it truly mean to be human?” and the answer is always vague and subjective. At what point does a cyborg become fully machine, or retain its own humanity. I found this philosophical question rather fascinating, and the more I looked into this interest, the more I wanted to photograph it and tell a story. I wanted to add my own part to this futuristic world. The love of nighttime photography was no longer bound by just neon, but it also became how the night lights play a part in the world of this futuristic world. To this day I am still trying to improve how I create storytelling through my photos and over time I am getting better a little at a time. When people see my photos, I hope that they get a little spark of passion for photography. Photography now not only means capturing the moment, but it also means creating your own moment with your passions.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
I feel that artists are collectively undervalued in this era. People frequently ask me to take photos for free or edit photos for free as if it doesn’t cost me anything perform the task. As much as I love photography, It’s a very expensive occupation. A century ago it was a big deal if you knew how to operate a camera. The whole process of taking photos required training and discipline. Since the increase of technology and availability of cameras, the value of a photographer has decreased as well as the basic disciplines of photography. I am not bitter to the idea of having more cameras in the world or the fact that they are so readily available to us. Rather, I am just observing how the general perception of photographers has been belittled because of the rise of technology. I often hear comments like, “Wow, you must have a really nice camera to get a shot like that.” which is like saying “If I had that camera, I would be able to take better photos.” I hear other comments like: “We don’t have the budget to pay a photographer, but we can give you good exposure” and “Why would I need to pay a photographer? I own a DSLR camera too!”. All of these common comments discredit the amount of time and effort we spend to improve our craft. At the end of the day, it’s just irritating, nothing more.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Primarily all of my photos can be viewed on Instagram (@picklefigphoto). I want to build my own photography website, but right now I am very dedicated to finishing up my bachelor’s degree in marketing. Hopefully, I will get around to it by graduation this coming May!
Contact Info:
- Address: 4022 Fonville Beaumont Texas 77705
- Phone: (409)-365-6777
- Email: dylannew@sbcglobal.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picklefigphoto/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/picklefigphoto?lang=en
Image Credit:
Lexi Diaz, Hannah Brower, Dillion Lalor, Madelyn McLemore, Bree L. Applegarth, Nicolette Hawthorn, Javier Neveu, and Evian Garcia
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
