Donato Di Camillo is a street photographer who studied the art of photography while behind bars in prison. Upon release, he drew upon his knowledge to photograph the outcasts on the fringe of society in New York resulting in some highly successful photographs.
Di Camillo grew up in the later 1970s and 1980s on the streets of Brooklyn’s Little Italy, the son of first generation Italian parents.
Di Camillo does not like to talk about the specifics of why went to prison and would rather focus on his photography work and the future, he does talk about his rough upbringing, where he felt like an outsider.
“I started stealing car radios when other kids were playing with GI Joes for crying out loud” Di Camillo said.
He was sentenced to 3 years in prison in Petersburg, Virginia. The cycle of crime and incarceration is continued for the majority of American inmates, but not for Di Camillo. He read everything he could find on photography in the prison library. He also read about psychology, human behaviour and art mediums. It was in prison that Di Camillo learnt about the intricacies of the human face and understanding how to photograph it. He is inspired by photographers such as Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Gary Winogrand, William Klein and Bruce Gilden.
“It allowed me time to learn about the world outside my mind” said Di Camillo.
He found the street photography of Gilden and Klein particularly appealing and inspiring. On his release in 2012, he hit the streets of New York to try street photography for himself. Already familiar with the streets of New York he was able to identify with the outsiders of society.
He describes the subjects of his photographs as “people on the fringes of society”. Viewers can connect with the raw reality of Di Camillo’s work. The common thread is that we are all human, the images are very revealing and portray the reality of being human.
