“I dont consider myself a photographer im an artist…I grew up around graffiti, taggin Muni, black books, Drawing & writing lyrics.”
Damien Grew up in San Francisco’s Mission District back in the day when the streets of the Mish weren’t so forgiving, long before the hipsters were allowed to move in and pedal their fixies freely. Back in a time when random dudes like yours truly would have knives pulled out on them followed by a line that meant business “take that shit back to the aves. whiteboy.” The Mission is still the Mission, will always be the mission but it’s nothing like those days throughout the 90’s.
“I was born and raised in the Mission on Alabama 24st till about 12 years old and moved to Concord. In the 80’s and 90’s the Mission District was completly different. There was very little tourism, alot of crime, no coffee shops, a shit load of kids on the streets, wynos and Gang bangers on every corner, streets like York, Harrison, Bryant, Folsom, Shotwell, Alabama, Florida, Army had 8 to 15 dudes posted on the blocks. I miss the old hood alot of my homies got deported and the others well who knows?
Damien’s time spent as a youth is directly reflected in the images he captures from behind the lens. I had a chance to have a quick little back and forth session with Mister Demo.
When did you first start shooting and what was your gear like back then?
“I started back in 1998, my pops had a point and shoot film camera that I lugged around with me next to my pager.”
How were you first inspired to get behind the lens?
“My inspiration came from Photographer Estevan Oriol, he had a small exhibit at Fifty 24SF Gallery about 7 years ago. I had never seen images like that before, I could relate to his subjects. It was a new medium for me.”
What would you say is your main difference between now and then?
“Back then I was just shooting I didnt care about the outcome, now I study everything from the wrinkle on my subjects shirt, to a womans single stray hair. My style and subject matter have always been the same, I need to be able to relate to my subject so that I can come close to 100%, I dont believe in perfection.”
What are your favorite subjects to shoot?
“I like to photograph people in their element, it HAS to be real its documentary work that im interested in.”
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
“Hmmm… mainly from my own life, my ups and downs, and my homies daily lives.”
Ever mess with film? How do you feel about film vs. digital?
“Yes, film is the SHIT its definetly more involved.”
What type of gear are you rocking these days?
“I have 2 Minolta film cameras and a Nikon D700, along with speedlights, reflectors and colored filters so that I dont add filters in the editing process, I use Lightroom 2.5 to edit my work its my digital darkroom, without the red lights and the smell of chemicals. Though there’s nothing like developing film, I hate depending on a computer screen I have to always calibrate it.”
You do a lot of black and white shoots how does play out vs. color?
“Well shooting in color causes distraction sometimes it pulls away from the main subject. Shooting in Black and White I only worry about contrast, over/under exposure, Aperture, speed and my subject.”
What are you looking for in your shoots?
“I’m looking to show the public what the Bay Area is like. There’s New York & LA we need San Francisco, Concord, Pittsburg, Antioch, Richmond out there.”
What’s in the works what can we look for in the future?
“Im looking to have some shows in SF and LA, trying new ideas that I’ve been sittin on, working with more ladies, and adding more work to my portfolio.”
Be on the lookout for Damien Loyola he has a story to tell that will be told, it’s called life!
http://misterdemo.com/
[...] Damien Loyola [...]