Meet Adam: A visionary NY photographer and elementary school teacher who is making an impact through his undeniable passion for photography.

Who/what inspired you to pursue photography?

I think my upbringing was lowkey a plan to make me a creative in some way. I’ve come to embrace the idea that we’re all just perfect blends of our parents and as we grow older the balance makes itself more and more visible. I started teething on musical drumsticks at like 4 and continue to play to this day. My mom is a “sanger” and plays the keys. My dad was a photographer and he always had cameras around the house but never let me touch them. I was always curious about how photos were made but never understood the process. From sitting for family portraits my dad would take of my sister and I, to having my own studio to shoot in, it took a few years of digging deep and trial and error to “get where I am now”. On the day that I graduated high school I bought my first iPhone and started snapping away. With limited gigs at my disposal, I took all kinds of trash photos just to see what was up with this photo thing.

One day I downloaded the VSCO app and started using their filters to spice up whatever I’d photographed. Through the posting to IG feature I discovered the hashtag #VSCOcam and upon clicking it, I had my first lightbulb-going-off moment. I had no clue that this kind or artistry was even remotely possible and seeing practically the entire world in the palm of my hand excited the hell out of me. I don’t even really consider myself to strictly be a photographer anymore, but that moment got my brain thinking differently for sure. My visual palette was never the same.

Do you believe anyone has the power to speak up for change within their communities?

Anyone can say anything. You learn that the more involved you get. I’m less concerned with words these days. With how scandalous even the most mundane of community affairs can be, I’m more concerned with action. Anybody can put towards action for their community. It leads me to question what community you’re specifically asking me to address, but I’d even start it from the community of folx that live in my building. I can do or say something to empower the tenants to demand as a unit better living conditions or management (not that we need it, my building is the plug), but it starts from a very small scale. We’ve seen what can be done on a global scale with regards to environmental protection, gun violence, homophobia, etc. Those same principles and organizational skills can be applied on a microscopic level to improve the quality of the macroscopic society.

What do wish more people our age (millenials.genZ) would do for their communities?

I wish niggas our age would go outside! Encourage others to step outdoors and simply be more involved. There’s a generation underneath ours that has little to no experience engaging in required/marketable social and emotional  scenarios. They’re all trapped in front of a television screen dancing to the newest move they saw on Tik Tok. I don’t even specifically remember what generation I belong to, but I know that the balance of tech and outdoor activity was very important for most kids my age. This question can add to the last as well. More children who are raised in a balanced environment who endure the valid stepping stones of adolescence and understand the concept of emotional intelligence can speak up and remain more cognizant of how those in their communities feel. Once you understand what is happening and are aware of the needs, you can enact change through action. Have a block party. A kid friendly cookout. A sports tournament. Besides my artistic and business endeavors, this is certainly one of my goals for this year. I’d like to see people our age taking responsibility for those under them. I feel like most people our age get bugged out when they see a peer having a child. At this age, at any age really, we are apart of the village raising the children. More people need to know that. The level of responsibility varies given the proximity level to any specific child, but we need to invest more in the youth bruh.

How and where do you find inspiration?

I get inspired by music. Kelsey Lu, Frank, Solange, Kendrick, Earl, Brockhampton, HOV, Kirk Franklin, FlyLo, Pusha T, Noname, Dev, Saba, the list goes on. This past year for music was phenomenal bruh, I swear. I get inspired by both dreams and nightmares I’ve had. I created an entire art show based on a phrase I heard in my head in dreams of mine. People of Paradise was inspired by life. Life has opened itself up much more as of late, allowing me to truly understand stuff that has happened throughout my life and how it contributes to who I am today. Digging inspires me. My fucking girlfriend inspires the shit out me yo! I’ve never been in the presence of someone who has brought so much out of me. That’s my nigga, for real. I get inspired by my experiences being a Black man. Used to sound super cliche, but now I get how legitimate my experiences are. I get inspired to showcase those perspectives in new ways. I could go on for days about this. I’m like a sponge.

What was it like meeting Frank Ocean for the first time?

Hahaha I feel like I bring it up a lot lately. That entire day was perfect. Start with a Khalil Joseph film, move on to some fire falafel, end with seeing God in the flesh at LACMA. There wasn’t much dialogue, but knowing what he looks like in person for some strange reason provides context I never thought I needed. Seeing such an enigmatic person participate in such a normal activity was both refreshing and surprising at the same time. For some stupid reason I thought that famous people don’t do “normal” people things, especially in public. I love the framing of the question, hopefully this is the first of many interactions with Frank.

To support Adam & his initiatives make sure to follow him on instagram: @admdav.