Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Chambers.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born in Atlanta to creative parents who had just moved from California after getting married. My dad was a freelance advertising photographer and my mom taught design at Portfolio Center. So after-school meant running around my dad’s studio or exploring my mom’s school, soaking in myriad things that might be happening that day. I always remember loving the camera, being fascinated by its mechanisms. I got my grandma’s old film camera in early high school when I started taking black and white photo classes. From there through junior year of college, I practiced composing the frame, learning how to talk to strangers, and building an early portfolio. That summer I did an internship with Creative Loafing where I really got to know the city I grew up in – photographing concerts, events, and a little news on the weekends. After that following school year, I moved back to Atlanta and was able to start freelancing for Creative Loafing. From there it was a slow process of growth and reaching out to more publications I wanted to photograph for. It took me many years to understand that I wanted to do photojournalism specifically, that it connected me to special people and experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and that there was value in telling their stories.
Please tell us about your art.
I think my photos can be art, I aspire for them to be artful, but don’t think of myself as an artist as much as a journalist. The hidden art of photojournalism is connecting with and comforting your subject, as well as recognizing patterns of human behavior within space.
A lot of my recent work has looked into the marginalized communities being affected by the swift and uncompromising creep of development, mainly around the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and The BeltLine.
What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Foster community. Don’t move to New York. Support artists with less means or privilege than you do. Go to shows. Pray Atlanta receives the arts funding it deserves.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Well, I’m on Instagram at @dustchambers where I usually post my recent assignment work.
For ACP I will be in a stoup show called Picturing Justice opening on October 3.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dustinthomaschambers.com
- Phone: 404.406.0355
- Email: dustin@dustinthomaschambers.com
- Instagram: @dustchambers
- Twitter: @dustchambers
- Other: http://bittersoutherner.com/the-redemptive-love-of-chiliquila-ogletree/
July 4, 2017 – Fourth of July fireworks at a block party in English Avenue Neighborhood in Atlanta Georiga.
March 21, 2017 – Chris pinches his mother Erica’s cheek while his family and friends sing happy birthday to him in his family’s yard in English Avenue.
June 4, 2016 – Christina Baber’s friends and family mourn at her interment.
September 27, 2016 – Elaine Minter was raised in English Avenue and moved into her daughter’s home in English Avenue last year after the death of one of her granddaughters. She spends her days sitting on the porch if the weather’s right. Her adopted great-grandson Eric, 2, who lives in the home with four other children, stands in the doorway next to her.
Image Credit:
Dustin Chambers
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