Local photographer Daniel Stiles speaks on how he is impacting the community and what other artists can be doing to help
With most of us stuck indoors many varieties of art are being heavily impacted in our community. Few are being hit as hard as photography though and local dog photographer Daniel Stiles is seeing this first hand.
Daniel is well known for running the Instagram page, @dogsofchatt, where he shares photographs and stories about canines and their owners from the Chattanooga area. With shelters and parks closed though, Daniel has found his work put on hold. He has had to cancel many of the photoshoots he had planned but is trying to make the most of the situation.
“I’m doing my part with social distancing and staying home,” Daniel said. “I have been using the time to create a studio space in my house to do more photography and videography.”
Building the studio isn’t all that Daniel has been doing though. Daniel is himself the owner of several dogs and has been using this as a time to come up with fun activities to do with them. He is continuing to stay active on social media during this time as he thinks that finding new and creative things to do and show to people is the best way for photographers and other artists to retain relevancy during this time.
Daniel says that local artists struggling to find things to do at this time should use the time to get more creative and maybe show their fans more of what goes on with them beyond just their art. Showing off other hobbies, how artists create or just doing something new and sharing it with others is a great way to interact with their followers without going out.
As one way to stay active, Daniel decided to take his dogs on a walk and along the way, he picked up trash around the city and filmed it. He is hoping that the video will help to inspire others to find their own ways to keep being productive and contribute to the community despite the quarantine. The video can be watched here.
“It’s important for us creators to look for ways to inspire people, whether we’re distanced or not. The feeling of being inspired is magical and if we can give that to someone we can make a real impact.”
Make sure to check out the video and to follow @dogsofChatt on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to learn more about Daniel and his work, go check out our interview article on him here!