The Fantasy
of the World
Deserves Witnesses
Donato Di Camillo
I take people on the fringes of society.
I was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. It may sound clichéd, but I think I became a photographer as a way to express myself. My thoughts, my feelings, my way of seeing the world around me. There are so many photographers who have inspired me, but if I had to choose one, I would say Diane Arbus.
I shot this photograph on Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn, circa 2018. This was a personal photograph. It was a spontaneous moment. I was welcoming something interesting; I was open to anything that may evoke thought or feeling as I walked along the sand on the beach that day, like I always do. This feeling is often triggered by subjects that subconsciously remind me of my childhood period, where I learned to think quick and use street instincts.
I’m not sure I have a process – it all depends on my feelings; it depends on what I’m feeling the moment that I’m executing a photograph. Whether it’s for an assignment, or on the street, I usually need to feel something. The photo is part of a bigger series that I hope to turn into a book one day.
Be yourself, shoot with your heart and not what others expect from you.
Donato Di Camillo
I guess I would use the word ‘whimsical’, at times. It depends; sometimes I would say deep or honest, it all comes down to the moment in which I’m taking the photo. I think a good photographer knows when they have something good right away – it’s a feeling, it’s something that you know will hold a viewer’s interest. I think it’s fabulous that people express themselves in all types of ways, it makes life that bit more interesting.
