Dakota Blue Harper
Beethoven
began his career at the age of 18. Michael
Jackson began performing professionally at the age of 11. I Googled
"the youngest professional
photographer of all time," but nothing turned up, which brought me back
to the reason I started the search, 17-year-old, Chicago-based
photographer, Dakota Blue Harper.
Dakota
Blue, as he prefers to be called, has an extraordinary
talent for capturing human emotion in its rawest form and challenging
the viewer's imagination to find several different scenarios within one
snapshot. In the photograph "You" (seen above) Blue has
stumbled upon an indescribable and almost ethereal moment between what
appears to be one man's younger and older self engaged in stare down.
Whether this was intentional or photographer's luck remains a mystery,
but what is undeniable is the quality of emotion and composition in the
piece. Recently, I spoke with Dakota and this is what was said:
StopBeingFamous: Tell me a bit about yourself.
Dakota Blue: I grew up on Belmont and Broadway in Chicago (I'm a huge Cubs fan) and then moved
to the South side when I was ten (hate the Sox). Art is, and will
forever be, the biggest part of me. Friends and family come second, but
for good reason usually, and it's a close second anyway.
SBF: Where do you go to school?
DB: I'll be a senior at Lake Forest Academy, in Lake Forest, IL (north of
the city). I stay in the dorms up there; it's pretty nuts. I've become
friends with some of the coolest people up there and it's great.
SBF: When did you turn 17?
DB: I'll be turning 18 this November.
SBF: What kind of camera do you use?
DB: I use a Canon XSi and XTi. I have a decent lens collection, too. I
started doing pictures for a Kansas native, but Chicago's own, rapper
Love Jones and from there all this photo stuff started taking off for me
like nuts.
SBF: You say you are the "Lil Wayne" of photography, is he the best rapper in your eyes?
DB: Lil Wayne just does things right. The infinite amount of songs he puts
out is how I want to continue to do things. If I go a week without a
set of pictures I feel lazy as hell. His whole swag is nasty. I feel
like I'm influenced by everything but still remain comfortable being
me, which I will always be. He was signed when he was about 15 and
that's when i started getting into photography, so i hope to come up as
he did. I'm a huge Lil Wayne head so that's why I made that claim; and
it's the truth so far.
SBF: Describe your parents, truthfully.
DB: My mom's cool. She's a little crazy but she's good at what she does. Ha!
SBF: Aesthetically, what are you attempting to achieve with your photography?
DB: I try to make every photo in a set alike, but outside of working in sets I like to experiment.
SBF: What's going on in your neighborhood? What do you see?
DB: We actually just moved a few more blocks south, so I see the projects
more often but nothing crazy. I love the South side, it's a
photographer's dream.
SBF: Who would you like to work with in the future?
DS: Constance K and I have been speaking, so I'm looking
forward to working with her and I would love to just go down a list and
photograph my favorite musicians; Jack White, Lil Wayne and Pharrell
always make great photos.
SBF: If you could make a name for your style of dress, what would it be?
DS: I wear a lot of basketball shoes and lots of Ts and hats. I'm in jeans every single day, so i guess I'll go
with..."tjeanhat wearin'" style.
SBF: ha, ha, ha. What would you say is the hardest thing about being a young person today? What don't adults get?
DS: I get stressed sometimes; teen years aren't totally carefree and rebellious.
SBF: What was the longest you've went without sleeping?
DS: Always
sleepovers or the first night back in the dorms before class the next
day; just a few hours of sleep. I hate not sleeping.
SBF: Are you into politics at all? If so, what do you think about this year's election, does it even matter?
DS: Obama
is obviously the popular youth vote and McCain has valid points but I
don't wanna go either way because I would only vote for someone I've learned
about outside of Rollingstone magazine. It definitely matters, though, but I can't vote this time around so, maybe I'll end up voting Obama in
another 4 years.
SBF: Do you feel you're ready to be a professional photographer?
DS: I am professional with how I go about my art, but I
know I have a lot to learn, especially the business aspect of all this.
It gets crazy quick.
SBF: If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?
DS: I'm a really chill person and I don't try to be that way for anyone,
that's just how I am, so I get stressed really easily when things come
my way but I don't break down. I'm strong in that sense (ha)
but I fall for girls too easily. That's always a downfall. Ha,ha,ha.
SBF: Would you like to say hello to anyone out there?
DS: Shout-out to my mom, my bro, Love Jones, Constance K, David Smith and Chicago.End of interview.
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"Untitled"
