Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek DeWitt.
Hi Derek, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in NW, Iowa in a town called Cherokee. There I spent a lot of my time outdoors either playing or working. I was always a creative kid, either building something or drawing. I had originally planned to go to college for either architecture or engineering but made the pivot to Film production late my junior year of high school. I wanted to tell grand stories that had an impact the same way movies like Clerks, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and others had affected me. I graduated from the University of Iowa in 2018 with a handle on the technical side of my craft but a lack of knowing what I wanted to say. So, I have spent the past three years trying to learn what I want out of life while pursuing my photography and videography career. I moved to Austin in July of 2020 looking to be in an area where I could grow creatively. Since being here, I have started to focus my efforts on telling stories around sustainable and regenerative environmental practices which I see as the grand problem of our time.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No. Not at all. I struggle greatly with anxiety and depression. I have considered throwing everything away and never picking up a camera again more than I would care to admit. Covid is a huge struggle. I had decided I wanted to leave my home state in pursuit of bigger and better things in 2019. I began to save and plan but having lost my jobs in Iowa in the spring like so many others, moving seemed like a long shot. I did make it to Austin. However, the world of photography, videography and entertainment is largely one of who do you know. And I didn’t know anyone. And while I have largely moved away from my initial career pursuits of filmmaking, photography and videography have the same struggles. And as much as a lot of us in the industry would like it to be a meritocracy, if you can’t walk the networking walk, you aren’t going to get far.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a young artist. I don’t mean that in terms of my age but rather in my discovery process. Though over the past year or so, I have really tried to find my niche in photography as I find it the most rewarding art form to me personally. I have moved into environmental practices that promote a healthy and sustainable planet. My current series, Food on the Table, deals with regenerative farming which involves restoring the soils to capture carbon from the atmosphere while still producing good food. I think I am extremely proud of this work. Before this, I sort of felt aimless, practicing everything I could but never producing something I could stand behind as a collective work. I believe a part of it is my background. I grew up in the Midwest in a small town where our entire economy was based on farmers yet I could see the soil eroding. I could see how bad it was yet could never put my finger on why until grew up and became educated enough to research farming in depth. Food on the Table really tries to capture the places and people of these farms. And while I am working on getting more environmental portraits to add to the project, it currently has a more fly on the wall feel to a lot of the photos. Which I like in my work. I like the concept of being the observer. To have a sort of anthropological view of a scene. As if we were watching a practice yet not interacting too much to change it. I want to get in and get out with photos that have something to say while life carries on.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I have been asked questions like this before but honestly, it’s hard to answer. I have this poster on my wall my significant other made me. It says, “Self Belief on the Verge of Delusion.” Like I said previously, I have struggled with depression and anxiety for over a decade and the hardest thing for me to overcome is my own ability to cripple myself. If you have something to say, whether that be through art or your business or whatever gets you up in the morning, you have to do the work. And for that to happen, you have to believe you can do the work. Having that belief is something that must be practiced. You have to have that self-belief of the verge of delusion. Otherwise, eventually, you’ll just give up. You’ll let the weight of the world fall on you. And one less interesting and unique voice will be out there. And that is a damn shame.
Contact Info:
- Email: derekmdewitt@gmail.com
- Website: https://derekdewittimagery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derek.dewitt.imagery
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeWitt_Imagery
Image Credits
Derek DeWitt
