Daniel Colegrove
I didn’t set out to be a photographer…It just kind of happened. I suppose it’s possible that it’s what I do because my Grandfather was an avid amateur photographer and I did admire the man a great deal, or it could be that my mother was an artist… I couldn’t tell you why for sure. What I can tell you is that I really love what I do and I spend a lot of time refining, perfecting and even obsessing over my work… It is a passion.
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on things such as what is my “style” of photography. Style comes with time and is a difficult thing to force. I think more important than style is being aware of the literal nature of the image I see and striving to go beyond that in an aesthetic sense to create a captivating image.
Below you will find my “official” biography written by someone I don’t even know… and excerpts from other biographical writings by people I haven’t even heard of. And further down this page there is even my autobiography penned at an earlier date when I was a bit more full of myself.
The Official 3rd person Biography:
Daniel Colegrove began his career as a professional photographer in 1980. Though best know as a wedding photojournalist he is also a headshot and entertainment industry still photographer. Daniel has photographed weddings and events in Southern California for over 25 years.
Daniel’s unique blend of style is developed from a broad range of artistic and photographic experience. Daniel is comfortable and relaxed in both the studio and shooting on location, possessing the uncanny ability to be creative even under pressure. Daniel is a strong advocate of killing your television and enjoys reading, coffee and intense conversation. He currently lives in Ventura, California with his wife Jennifer and four children and when not on shooting assignments he can most often be found at home playing with his wife and kids.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Article Now Defunct):
Daniel Colegrove (1964), is a Ventura, California based photographer, Established in the industry with his early use of photojournalism techniques in wedding photography, striking editorial and commercial portraits, and his pioneering use of alternative lighting techniques in forensic photography. He is also notable for using his skills to promote awareness in many social issues including drug abuse, infant mortality and child welfare. He has worked in a wide range of photographic specialties including: Photojournalism, Movie Stills, Theatrical Headshots, Rhythmic Sports, Editorial, and Forensic Photography.
Daniel Colegrove was born (…) in Whittier, California and grew up in Ojai, where he attended Nordhoff High School and later moved to Ventura, where he still lives. He became interested in photography at 16 photographing surfing, an interest which transformed almost immediately into a career, shooting professional assignments in 1980. His mother was an impressionist painter and stepfather was an aerospace engineer. Colegrove said he was destined to become a “creative scientist” shunning the term artist in conjunction with his photographic work. Colegrove graduated from the UCSB in 1984 with a degree in Psychology. The year before his graduation he began covering assignments as a photojournalist in conflict areas around the globe. Today, though best known as an entertainment industry photographer shooting movie stills and studio headshots for actors and entertainers, he photographs weddings, events and commercial editorial assignments as well.
And… This is my bio in my own words from a while back:
I hate reading my own press…. It’s just a little weird. I kind of failed to grow up in Ojai, California in the late 70’s. The idea of becoming a photographer had never crossed my mind. I was thinking Rock Star or Professional Surfer. My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic I think I was about 6 when I got it, but the story really starts in 1980 at the beach in Ventura, California. My friends all wanted to become pro surfers and live on the beach in Hawaii surfing the Banzai Pipeline the first step (but obviously dude) was to get their picture in the surfing magazines. My mother was an artist and my dad was an aerospace engineer and I generally stayed sober enough to understand what I read so I was the logical choice for camera man. Money was scraped up and a Canon F1 was purchased along with a few used lenses and I became our official Surfing Photographer.
I was 16 and had no idea how to submit photo’s to a magazine so I stuffed an envelope with prints and a cover letter to one of the surf rags. About a month latter I received a letter that said they weren’t hiring but would accept freelance work. Lucky for me they also sent forms that had information about submitting images and stories and multiple copies of copyright release contracts. My first shot was published in the spring of 1980 and I got a check for $50.
By 1982 it started to get serious, and the reality of it was… I didn’t actually know what I was doing. I had friends that attended the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara so I began to sneak into their classes and borrow their books. I took a few photography classes at Ventura College. By this time I was getting by as a Hollywood and Los Angeles Band Photographer and Freelance Photojournalist. I started doing Headshots for aspiring actors, models, dancers and other entertainers about this same time.
Someone suggested that I photograph this wedding (I think it was about 1984) I couldn’t see my self as a wedding photographer I didn’t think I had the personality, but I agreed to do it anyway after some arm twisting.
The whole thing was going terrible in my opinion, I tried to pose everyone like in all the wedding shots I’d ever seen and knew it wasn’t coming off, So like the photojournalist I am, I just started shooting what was going on, and late in the evening in an attempt to salvage the day I grabbed up the bride and groom and did what I knew best, Dramatic Hollywood Headshot style images of the couple and I photographed them candidly taking a walk down Hollywood’s Sunset Strip… By 1991 I had photographed about 50 weddings, go figure. Apparently the world was ready for a new slant on wedding photography: “Wedding Reportage” as it was known in the UK