Between frequent travels and a year spent largely in Dakar, Senegal, photographer and creative director Dan Carter found time to turn his lens on FIELDS, photographing this season’s campaign. His approach leaves room for instinct, natural light and the moments that happen between the planned shots.
We caught up with Dan to hear more about the perspective behind the pictures, from the people who made Cape Town his home to the places shaping his work today. What followed was a conversation about clothing and identity, making space for the unexpected and the responsibility that comes with creating images.
Photographer and creative director Dan Carter reflects on finding stories in unfamiliar places, leaving room for chance and the responsibility that comes with making images.
For Dan Carter, photography began where words fell short. Fifteen years on, his focus has shifted from expressing his own experience to understanding other people’s. Working between cities and cultures, he’s drawn to the people who give a place its character, the light that changes a scene and the moments no shot list could anticipate.
With much of this year spent in Dakar, Senegal, we caught up with Dan to talk about instinct, identity and what it means to make work with purpose.
What first drew you to photography, and when did it become a way of expressing your own perspective?
I’ve been shooting for about 15 years now. I reached for my camera when words couldn’t accurately express how I was feeling. Photography became an outlet for sharing how I experienced the world and the people who shaped it, particularly those who made Cape Town my home.
Your work takes you between places as varied as Cape Town, Dakar, Nairobi and Paris. How does a place influence the images you make, and how do you get beyond your first impressions of it?
I don’t think I’ve ever travelled to a city or country where I couldn’t find beauty somewhere. I suppose it depends on how you define beauty, but to me, it’s about story and heart rather than perfection. That’s what I’m drawn to in a place: the people and stories that give it character.
When you arrive somewhere without a brief or a shot list, what naturally catches your eye?
The easiest answer would be light. I’m most excited by how it shapes a narrative and how natural light can completely change the feeling of a scene.
But I’m also increasingly drawn to characters and spontaneous moments. Last night, at 10pm, I stumbled across a boxing match in the middle of Ngor, a village in Dakar. I couldn’t believe I didn’t have my camera with me.
Those unexpected moments have something in common with golden hour: you can’t control them. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to be there. You photograph them, you’re grateful, and before you know it, they’re gone. You can never recreate that exact moment. It’s a gift, not a given.
You work across photography and creative direction. How do you balance the image you have in mind with the unexpected things that happen on a shoot?
It’s similar to what I was describing about light. It’s natural to try to control as many elements of a shoot as possible. There’s often little time to play, and extensive shot lists can leave little room for spontaneity.
I’m a big planner, and I love a detailed moodboard, but whenever possible, I let myself be led by the light and what’s happening around me. If we want to create original work, we have to leave room for the unpredictable: the things we could never have planned or replicated.
In your fashion work, how do you approach clothing as part of someone’s life and identity? What makes a photograph feel lived in?
Clothing is one of the easiest ways we express ourselves: our mood, our interests, how we’re feeling. It’s often unconscious, but what we choose to wear says a lot.
When I’m shooting, styling is a key part of the story, so I often start by asking: what story are we trying to tell, and who is this person? For a photograph to feel lived in, the clothes have to feel like part of their life.
Away from commissioned work, what are you drawn to photographing at the moment, and what would you like to explore more deeply?
I’ve spent much of this year living in Dakar, Senegal, and I’ve learnt so much about myself through being here. There are so many beautiful places to photograph, but I’m particularly drawn to anything that helps me connect more deeply with the people and the place that welcomed me with open arms.
What inspires you?
I’m a strong believer in finding deep meaning in whatever we do. As creatives, especially today, I believe we have a human and moral obligation to speak truth through our art.
Our lives and our work are innately political. Everything we create is an opportunity to express what we value and the world we want to live in. There’s nothing more inspiring to me than the belief that we’re responsible for ourselves and each other, and that our art can give expression to that responsibility.
Quick Fire Round
Favourite city in the world?
Any city where my favourite people are.
What do you pack in your bag every time?
A pack of film!
What are you listening to?
Currently going back and forth between Santan Dave and RAYE.
Where to next?
I’m finishing this interview on my return flight to Dakar, Senegal!
Image Credits (From top to bottom)
- THE LAST MESSENGER | SINE SALOUM, SENEGAL
- THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES | PERSONAL EXHIBIT
- FIELDS 'OPTIMISM' | COLLECTION 15
- AFROSTYLE MAGAZINE EDITORIAL | ISSUE 7
- FIELDS 'OPTIMISM' | COLLECTION 15
- ATHLETICA MAGAZINE | COLD FRONT EDITORIAL