15 Questions With… Skyler Dahan
How are you at the moment?
At the moment I am feeling inspired because of a recent trip to New York. Living in Los Angeles can sometimes feel a bit stagnant due to how spread out everything can be. Personally I love observing people, and New York felt just right for that kind of trip.
What is your morning ritual? How does your day begin?
Lately I wake up early, around 6:30am make myself a smoothie or an avocado toast followed by a cappuccino. If it’s not a shoot day I normally walk around the silverlake reservoir or somewhere in the area before retreating back into my office to edit and work on photos.
What, right now, can you see?
Right now I am sitting by the window at the café Tropical off of Sunset and Silverlake Boulevard. A half eaten guava and cheese tart lays in front of me and a jogger impatiently waits at the crosswalk right before dashing off into her exercise routine. Like most LA days the sun is bright, there are no clouds in sight and the street is full of cars racing up and down the boulevard.
What artist, project, book would you recommend we see/follow?
Currently I am enjoying David Brandon Geeting and Lina Sun Park’s book A Spell Too Far. I love the color and composition of this piece as well as the idea behind the project. Through household objects and food they created these beautiful scenes during the pandemic. I’ve never seen anything like these before and I love how they used the limitations of the pandemic to create something special.
Tell us about your process when starting a new project
Typically through research and inspiration from the world around me I will fixate on a particular theme. From there I like to completely immerse myself into that universe. For example I might want to shoot a project about NYC’s birdwatching society. Then I will go to local bird watching events, learn the names of all the birds, master the lingo, and befriend a stranger or two. I want to know everything about that world as well as learn from those who have dedicated themselves to it.
What has been your favourite collaboration?
My favorite collaboration has been with the denim brand Knorts because I love the creative freedom and control that they allow me to introduce within their realm. Shooting with Knorts I feel as though I can create a narrative that goes beyond traditional fashion photos. They allow me to experiment with the imagery and bring my perspective into the picture.
What is your greatest achievement?
Last year I shot a piece that was featured in Vogue about a dog pageant in Pasadena, California. This was huge because during the pandemic the limitations actually benefited my photography. Like many other creatives I find inspiration the best when traveling or experiencing something totally new, and due to COVID travel was almost non-existent. LA being a massive city pushed me to discover areas in which I would rarely frequent, thus bringing me to the pup pageant known as Groom Expo West.Finding this event felt like an achievement in itself but then having Vogue feature a piece on this made it even more rewarding.
What is your greatest regret?
Hmm that’s hard to say, but if there was one it would be when I took a break from photography to pursue a career in the fashion industry. I say to myself if I had traveled more or explored during this two year period then maybe I would have had a stronger sense of photo direction. At the same time the experience I had in fashion allowed me to connect with people that I normally wouldn’t have and opened my eyes to my true passion, photography.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to listen to my instinct and to get out of my head. I would tell myself to shoot even more and care less about the visual aesthetics. I used to love only shooting in analog film but I loved the look instead of really focusing on the content and message behind the work.
What is your latest project about?
Shot over the course of six years, my latest project titled Unconventional explores America’s fascination with convention culture through costume and disguise that I embodied. During this six year period I brought disposable cameras and befriended hardcore fans in order to gain their trust and provide my viewers with the most authentic experience.
What are you researching at the moment?
At the moment I’m researching festival culture in France which is my second country. I grew up in the United States to a French father and lived there for several years. Having never really engaged in fringe French cultural festivals it’s been exciting to dig deep. My research has led me to festivals such as an escargot, soup, as well as a spit cake festival. France’s affinity for food and tradition is rooted in almost every aspect of their way of life. So I gathered that documenting these upcoming festivals would go hand in hand with my love for niche cultures.
What can you not work without?
My 135mm Zeiss lens. I love the amount of distance that this lens gives me to my subjects, but if needed I can always get up and personal with them.
What challenges have you faced working in your industry?
Challenges that I face are being able to consistently recreate as well as reinspire myself. Recently I found that it’s important to introduce outside elements such as mirrors, filters and other techniques in order to create more texture and depth. In addition to creating a unique look, what is the photo trying to say? With that said I feel like it will always be a challenge for a photographer to establish a distinctive identity because there are so many wonderful photographers.
What are you hoping for in these last few months of 2022?
I hope to spend more time working in New York because it’s a city that I find extremely animated and inspiring. I hope to pick up more projects there and become more ingrained within the photographic community.
Share a song with us, what are you listening to at the moment?
Epoch by Quasi Qui