Today we’d like to introduce you to David Monroe
Hi David, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a corn field-sized town in southern Illinois, raised by am absolute saint of a grandmother. I was a wild kid with an outsized supply of kinetic energy and just enough luck not to break anything important. I spent my days in any number of 80’s childhood cliches from my collection branch-ripped ninja turtles t-shirts (and matching shorts) and dirt bike wrecks to roman candle fights and camp-outs. For anyone trying to complete the mental picture… I was skinny and aggressively ginger.
In my teenage years I did what lots of Midwestern boys without dads do and got involved in the church. I weaseled my way into the worship band playing guitar and got hooked on music and the friendships I made. That sense of belonging and ready community fueled me through 15 years of volunteer work on two continents.
The time abroad and at home, being lucky enough to serve vulnerable communities and learn from their worlds, taught me how to meet people where they are. And it taught me how to choose a lens to view the world through that is both unashamedly honest and unapologetically optimistic.
I lived (then and now) for the butterfly-ed stomach-ing, lexicon crossing, drum and vocal breakdowns that seem to show up perfectly at moments of emotional healing. And I find myself pathologically recreating Jack Kerouac’s “shambling after” those incandescent, mad people… just waiting for them to explode across the night sky.
I sometimes ask myself why I’m like this, and never have been able to articulate a satisfactory answer. But whatever it is in me (good or bad) that draws me in like a moth to the flame I see in other people is without doubt what got me started taking photos. I’ve always struggled to say exactly what it is I see in our shared humanity that is so inescapably warm, and so I’ve taken to trying to capture glimpses of it where I can.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m not convinced there’s such a thing as a smooth road. Life seems to me to be a big fucking mess for the living.
I’m going to attempt to say this without coming off nihilistic or grandiose. But I make no promises.
I’ve lived enough to know that life is hard, sometimes for no reason at all. That wrongs aren’t always made right. That sometimes pain is just pain. Loss is just loss. And death is just death.
But I’ve also lived enough to know that in spite of all of this, life with all of its fights, flaws, and disappointments is worth living. There have been struggles along the way. There are struggles now. And I expect there will be more tomorrow.
But I think the detail that matters is whether you’re going to keep trying to move forward. So far I haven’t found a way to do anything else.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The long and the short of it is I photograph people. I started with street photography; mostly because it’s beautifully unassuming. Candid photos of strangers living through an endless variety of experiences in the world makes for honest art… without veil or intention.
I’ve begun transitioning more into portrait photography in the past year and I’m learning to manage my intentions as they attempt to enter the frame. I’ve still got a lot of learning to do and miles of pictures left to take before I would begin to say I specialize in anything or have any ability that sets me apart.
I’ll say what I’m trying to do, and the photographer I would like to be… is one that can make honest portraits that bottle up the magic of a moment of real human connection between photographer and subject. I want to tell honest stories, through a lens that is reaching for the good. Whatever that is.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Oof. Success… is such a hard thing for me to pin down. I swing wildly between ways of thinking about it.
Commercially, I think I am probably allergic to any of the qualities and characteristics that would lead me to success.
As for my personal goals I think openness is the whole ball game. Everything I admire and strive for starts with letting someone cross the threshold and welcoming them in. If I’m lucky I can convince them to invite me in as well. And if we can make it there, I think we can make something valuable. And maybe get some good photos.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.davidtakesphotos.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmonroephotos/
