What’s your name, age and star sign?

My name is Daniel Temesgen. My friends call me Dan or Danny, I'm 24 and I'm a Pisces.

How did your passion for photography start?

I started taking photos of my friends at school, family at gatherings, then I started walking around taking random photos. I started to do it properly afterwards, to put more representation for people who look and come from a similar background as me. I just like capturing ideas that are not talked about enough.

What's your favourite kind of photography?

I started off with street photography then event photography. But portraiture is where my heart is at. Fashion portraiture is my favourite at the moment.

Favourite project that you've worked on so far?

My favourite project is not out yet. It'll probably be called “Polished”. I'm not sure yet, but it'll be out in August and it's about representation. It speaks about how different cultures and differences deserve a seat at every table.

What's your favourite photo that you've ever taken? And what's the story behind it?

A tough question, but can I name two or three? Okay. One Brotherhood. It's a shoot that me and Noah [daCosta] creative directed. And it was basically about bringing each other up. That's definitely one of my favourite shoots. And then I did another shoot. It's called “Sea Of Hope”. It's about migrants who go through so much, walk through so many different aspects of life just to succeed, not even for themselves sometimes just so that their family can live normally after that. The balloon represents hope. The water represents sacrifice. That's probably up there. 

If you were still in school, how would you be busy spending your holidays?

Playing football (soccer). If I'm not in class, I'm playing soccer. All day. Yeah... until year twelve which is when I picked up a camera.

Did you previously want to be a soccer player?

Yeah, I wanted to represent everyone… playing all the finals. But obviously went a different route (laughs).

What do you draw the most inspo from?

Day to day. I could be walking around and if I see a certain interaction or something, that triggers a memory. A lot of looking around my community and seeing what's being done. Sometimes I might just look at random things. I could be looking for… a mother and a child, and then I'll go shoot that. Depends on what I see.

Who is your muse?

Kendrick Lamar. Even though we don't do the same thing, he has opened my eyes in different ways to be like, "Oh, I'm not doing enough. I can do better tomorrow”. Do you know what I mean? To keep going.

What's your ultimate career?

To take photos every day for living. (laughs)

What is the message that you want to carry with your creativity? Think you kind of touched on that.

Basically, representation, bringing each other up and showing love to the hopeless because we all need that.

What song is on rotation at the moment?

I have an album, Work Of Art by Aaske.

Does your work aim to inspire the next generation?

Definitely. I don't do it so that I could inspire others. I do it to inspire myself and learn from my past, and ideas that I've thought of in the past that are not right, which later inspire new ideas.

If you could photograph anyone dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Kendrick Lamar because he's the greatest. Dead or alive.. Muhammad Ali (does his best Ali punching impression)

Has social media helped you grow as an artist?

I wake up sometimes, go on Instagram or TikTok and I see a creative that I've never seen before. I'm like, “Oh, my God, I want to interact with this person. What do they do? They’re a dancer? Oh, maybe I want to take photos of them dancing”, and then from that, I learn about dancing. Someone could be a writer, painter, or they could do... anything! I learn from everyone which inspires my work and to grow as a person.

Do you have any advice for artists who want to be like you or follow in your footstep?

Whatever you do, just keep doing it. When I started photography, I didn't have a camera. I took photos for a couple of years - maybe a year and a half - just with my phone. I was still posting it. Obviously it wasn't the best, but I kept doing it. So whatever you do doesn't matter. You don't have to be the best at what you do, but if you keep doing it, you get there.

What are your upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out?

Definitely going to work towards my first ever solo gallery. I don't know when it will be, but it will happen. Watch the space! (laughs)

Where can we follow your work and support you?

@stillsbydaniel on Instagram!