Conversations with Dillon Wanner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dillon Wanner. 

Hi Dillon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I guess I started taking photos in high school. I was influenced by my mom, who always took photos growing up. 

From high school on I never thought of my camera as a means of work. It was just having fun. It wasn’t until I bought my first full-frame camera and some good glass that I started to hone my skills and find a wonderful community of creatives in Denver. In 2017-2018 I started taking photos daily. Stepping outside of my comfort zone and building a community. At that same time, I decided to step away from my career of welding and fabrication on high-performance cars to do something that I also truly loved. I was naive. But looking back I am incredibly grateful and happy with my choices. Those next few years would prove to be a beautiful struggle. Learned so much about myself, the art that I want to create, and the humans I want around me. 

I racked up over 600,000 photos and hundreds of hours of video. Traveled more in the last three years than I ever thought possible. Made connections all over the US and truly built a community of people that support my art. All of this was between 2018-2020. 

But this last year was truly the year that I was able to take my photography and videography to a whole new level. I started being present in a wild art community in Denver. Traveled a ton more and met even more incredible humans. I went crazy with documentation of life. And truly started to develop this next journey. 

Started Art Haus with my good friend Tomas. We use our talents and dedication to the community to allow other artists a voice and a platform to be more understood and recognized. Together we have a 1800sq ft studio off 64th and Washington. I used a ton of my previous career skills to build out an entire photography/videography studio and now hold interview sessions with local artists and community leaders. Giving back to the community with beautiful content of people you may very well know! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road hasn’t always been easy. Still isn’t haha. I think one of the biggest struggles I had personally was finding my way. Just doing enough of everything to then decide and make logical decisions on my art. To explain a little further. My photography and videography is my art and passion. So having to use those to pay bills really puts a strain on your creativity. So just being able to say yes or no to certain clients and being passionate about the art being produced. It’s helped define who I am and what truly makes me happy. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a freelance photographer and videographer. I artistically specialize in portraits, lifestyle content, documentary filmmaking. But as a freelance, I do so much more. 

I’ve documented small segments of life. From people that deserve large segments of my life. I will never take for granted the power I have to bring emotion and energy back to people. It’s something that I pride myself on. Capturing moments that will otherwise be forgotten with time. I try and keep the details and emotions intact. That’s what I’m really proud of. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve learned to do whatever you want to do. life is wild, short, and at any moment can change. Be happy. 

Contact Info:

• Email: photosbydilly@gmail.com
• Website: yourarthaus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dillydally.ing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/WannerDillon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9FeLq3-C9SCGH70jXCgzA

Image Credits:
Dillon Wanner