**Sadly, the intro writing for our recent interview with local photographer Damien Loyola was lost in a web server failure. Below is his original interview text and images.**
Kim Sikora: I’ve read that your inspiration comes from “the things you can relate to.” When you first started out photographing, what things did you first gravitate towards?
Damien Loyola: Yes nothing else moves me, I was instantly drawn to up close and personal street style documentary work. Before that I had been photographing the side profiles of vehicles for a site I had created it was boring but it was business.
KS: A lot of your images seem to have storied narratives behind them. Can you tell us a bit more about a few of these?
DL: This is Concord, CA, Mohr Ln AKA Dope Lane, and Monument Blvd rain or shine we were on the block 8 to 15 deep. I’ve seen a lot here, though its the suburbs. We’ve been shot at here, dopefiends run out their apartments after being awake for 5 plus days on meth, I learned how to cook crack here (I never sold it), I met my best friends here and lost close ones. The point is, I wanted to give Concord its respect because it also shaped me and helped create my style.
DL: This one is in Respect to the graff game where I fit right in after meeting some homies at James Lick Middle School back in 1994 much love to them some got deported,some are doing time,and some are still in frisco.
KS: Do you see any trends in the local photography scene?
DL: …Railroad tracks and women posing in front of graffiti. I’m not going to front, this ones cool but being a graff artist, the artwork is the focal point, not the partially naked woman taking up half the lens. It can take hours to days to create a piece on a wall so show that talent.
KS: What is one thing you want your viewers to walk away from your photography with?
DL: One word “Inspiration”
See more of Damien’s work here.