Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Camastro.
Anthony, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
To give you just an overview, I started working in a camera store when I was 18 and going to college for Fiction Writing. In my down time I’d flip through the magazines and reading material we had on photography. When I saw all the tricks and fun things you can do with a camera and a little imagination, I was very intrigued. As much as I loved writing, I always wanted to find a visual art form I could do to express my creativity. It really just started as a dumb hobby in all honesty. But with every click of the shutter, with every experimental roll of film, the want to get better and try more stuff grew and grew. I was told by my peers, and a professional photographer (Johnny Boston) that I had a very natural eye for photography. That pretty much sealed it, if you tell me I’m good at something I will dive right in without checking if there’s any water in the pool.
I graduated college with a Bachelors in the Arts for Fiction Writing, and literally right after I invested a bunch of money into a full photography setup. Lighting, backdrops, digital camera, lenses, flashes, the works! As luck would have it a modeling agent called the camera store asking for recommendations on photographers in the area who could come and do a photo shoot with their new talent. Since I was the one who answered the phone, I told her that I could do it. Once again, sometimes you just have to dive in. I barely had a portfolio, and when I say barely I mean I had just had some nothing shots that I took of my friends, none of which with the new camera equipment I just bought.
The agent came into the store to meet me and to look at my “portfolio”, and I’m really not sure how, but she gladly hired me. The term “in over my head” comes up thinking back to this. But somehow, I came through with flying colors, the devil’s luck I tell ya. From that point forward I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and what my dreams was…to be a photographer…probably should thought of that before going to college for writing…oops?
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Oh my, where do I start on this one? My work, my art, is a little like a buffet, there’s a little of everything. My tastes are very eclectic and all over the place, so I draw inspiration from many different sources. Going back to what caught my attention about this art form in the first place, all the different things you can do with a camera and a little creativity. Now add in lighting, costumes, settings, makeup, and editing software to boot? Why not do as much of a variety of things as I can? If a client or potential collaborator asks me if I can do something, I want my answer to always be yes. Some of the genres that I frequent are cosplay, glamour, horror, gothic, and fantasy. On top of that I do several styles of photo composites to make art prints that I sell online and at art shows.
The inspiration for what I do comes from several different sources like music and movies, the people I work with, and my fellow artist friends. My brain is constantly thinking about photography, and not just because it’s a dream to do my art full time, but because I truly love it that much. So, I look at everything around me constantly and pull ideas and concepts together. What I hope people take away from it? Well, that’s a twofold question. The first part is, I want people to feel something when they look at my work and identify with it in some fashion. I can remember when I was a teenager and feeling like no one understood the thoughts that were going through my head, as I’m sure most of us went through. Then I happened upon the movie “The Crow” and discovered the music of “Nine Inch Nails”, and they struck a chord with me. It’s like, “This artist gets me. I’m not alone.” And it just makes it a little easier to keep pushing forward. Like hey, someone sees the world in a similar fashion as I do, maybe I’m not as crazy as I thought. If that makes any sense? The 2nd part lays with the people I work with to create this art.
Let me first explain that quite a few of the people I work with hadn’t done modeling before I worked with them. Or they do it as a just for fun kind of thing. I really hope that I make them feel great about themselves when they look at the work we’ve done. For them to be able to have a confidence boost and be able to see themselves in a different light that they normally wouldn’t have. I want them to feel proud of themselves and be able to take that positive energy and apply it to their daily life. I want them to see just how beautiful and or awesome that they really are.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I think that depends on the artist personally. I’ve been told before that it’s up to the artist to educate the population on international and national events going on in the world and to bring awareness. And if that’s what drives you and is in your heart than by all means go for it. Personally speaking, I don’t think my roll has changed as an artist. My role is pretty much the escape from reality. Those things going on out there don’t exist in this realm. So, everything going on in the world, I don’t feel, has much of an effect on my art. Now I’m sure if you look hard enough you can find something that relates to something else, but in that case it’s either the viewer’s interpretation or it wasn’t intentional. I feel like we get bombarded with that stuff enough as it is, everyone’s fighting, so hey let’s focus on something else and let everyone and everything mellow out for a bit. We can all appreciate art and relate to something in it. I think people need more of that, a reminder that we all can relate to each other somehow, reconnect.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
People can see my work on my Facebook page- www.facebook.com/acamastro13 or just type “Anthony N. Camastro Photography” into the search bar. But that’s my most frequent platform as I post just about every day on it.
Instagram- @ac_photo13
I’m currently in the process of working on a website, however this isn’t as easy for me as the commercials promised…
I’m also currently displaying some of my work at Water Street Studios in the Ross Contemporary gallery. New work should be going up in August for the monthly 2nd Friday open house events. (6pm-9pm)
160 S Water St, Batavia, Illinois 60510
I also do several art shows around the suburbs and in the city of Chicago. For current scheduled events you can check my Facebook page for details.
To support my work, for starters head on over to my Facebook page or Instagram, like, comment, and share the stuff you enjoy most with your friends. You can inquire about setting up a photo shoot with me by sending me message on social media or to my email acphoto13@gmail.com. Purchasing some of my art pieces is also a huge way to help support my art and what I do, all of which you can find on my social media pages or inquire to see some through email. I also have a Redbubble.com and TeeSpring.com accounts that have items with my work on them for sale.
Redbubble
https://www.redbubble.com/people/acphoto13?ref=account-nav-dropdown&asc=u
Contact Info:
- Email: acphoto13@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ac_photo13
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ACamastro13
Image Credit:
Anthony N. Camastro
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