Seeing Collective Presence

Our weekly audio podcast We Are Photographers brings you true stories from behind the lens and behind the lives of your favorite photographers, filmmakers, and creative industry game-changers. From their struggles to their wins, host Kenna Klosterman discovers the real human stories about why they do what they do.

Listen to this and other audio episodes on our audio Podcast page.

In this episode, Daniel shares the elements of making meaningful work - voice, vision, signature and style. You'll find out how and why creativity is at the core of everything Daniel spends his time doing. We discuss the difference between living a life of photography and living as a photographer. We explore Dorthea Lange's wise words, "The camera teaches me to see" and how large format, alternative processes, and the darkroom allow an exploration of time. Daniel explains that when photography works, it puts us in the present - out of the regret of the past or fear of the future. You may begin to recognize a photograph as a relationship, something that is given to you not taken by you.

Daniel J Gregory is a photographer, mentor, and photo educator based just outside the town of Langley on Whidbey Island, Wa. He is a member of the core faculty at the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, Wa, where he teaches various photographic subjects, including fine art printing, color concepts and theory, portfolio creation, Photoshop, Lightroom, and a variety of analog photography courses. He has also taught classes for CreativeLive, KelbyOne, and has been a featured instructor at both regional and national conferences.

Daniel has always been interested in how photography helps us see, listen, and experience the world. His work explores the importance of developing meaningful connections to a place, person, or environment. These connections extend beyond just the work behind the camera or location but drive his decision methods and approach to the final print. Daniel views the photographic process as a collaboration between the subject, photographer, viewer, and the final print. Each one of these collaborators brings a part of the experience of seeing and immersing themselves in the work.

Daniel is also the host of the Perceptive Photographer podcast that focuses on the creative aspect and internal struggles photographers face creating meaningful work.