photo courtesy of Dan Winter
Dan Winter, junior photography major, takes an edgy approach with his photographic work. Winter is currently a Pittsburgh RAW artist where his work will be showcased on Dec. 3rd at Mr. Smalls in Millvale, PA.
One Point Park student has separated himself from the crowd of common city photographers. Junior photography major Dan Winter has developed his reputation as a “daredevil photographer.”
Winter does some of his best work when he is a couple hundred feet off the ground, shooting from rooftops, fire escapes, abandoned buildings or wherever else he can find.
While most city photographers find their spots through social media or commonly listed places to photograph, Winter takes his photos to new heights; literally.
“A typical shoot starts out with my friends and I, driving around town until we discover something we find interesting. Sometimes it’s not even about finding a place to shoot, it’s just about the adventure,” Winter said.
Pittsburgh’s unique architecture presents many opportunities for accomplished photographers and iPhone users alike to photograph every street within the Steel City.
Instagram has multiple accounts that have been dedicated to the promotion of Pittsburgh photographers. Accounts like Steel City Grammers and Pittsburgh’s Most Dope are two of the largest Instagram accounts that have a daily feature showcasing submissions from Pittsburgh photographers.
Pittsburgh is so photogenic that it has received a surplus of media attention through various social media sites, specifically Instagram. The hashtag “#Pittsburgh” has over 2 million posts on Instagram alone.
While these accounts are good for Pittsburgh’s publicity and image, it is questionable to whether these Instagram accounts have created desensitization for photographers to create their own unique and different perspectives on photographing Pittsburgh.
On one hand, accounts like these do create a sense of community. These accounts contribute to Instagram users gaining new followers and sharing their work with a larger audience. On the other, accounts like these typically recycle the same Pittsburgh buildings and occasionally lack creative perspective.
While most city photographers find it rewarding to simply take an appealing photograph, Winter finds his work more rewarding if he takes some risks while searching for his perfect shot.
“There’s definitely a rush you get from climbing ridiculously tall buildings just for a photograph,” Winter said. “A shot from ground level is so boring compared to climbing a rickety, old fire escape six or seven stories high. It just makes the shot more rewarding to me.”
Winter also commented on the use of iPhone photography and the advice he would give to iPhone photographers.
“Having a phone camera is definitely a useful tool because you always have it on you and it’s convenient when you don’t have your DSLR. However, my biggest issue would be quality. If you really have a passion for photography and you’re using an iPhone, you’re just limiting yourself,” Winter said. “You can always take your quality down in post-production, however, you can never boost your quality back up.”
While Winter enjoys his rooftop adventures, he has a primary focus in fine art photography and likes to shoot conceptual and abstract work. Winter is a big fan of GIF creations and is always working on different graphic design projects.
Winter is being showcased on Thursday, Dec. 3 through Pittsburgh RAW, a photography community that does local shows for Pittsburgh artists.
To view more of Winter’s work, visit www.danwinterphoto.com. Winter’s work can also be found on Instagram, Flickr and Tumblr.
photo courtesy of Dan Winter
