Sunday Mission Walk: Parks 8.16.2010

Just twenty years old, Daniel Mondragon is a San Francisco based photographer known for capturing the less glamorous aspects of city life. He displays a knack for photographing gritty and eye-catching neighborhood scenes. Mondragon captures rugged city life in a soft and seductive way, making his photographs both meaningful and personal. The figures in his pictures range from close family members to complete strangers, but each portrait has a distinctly real and human aspect. Generally void of any explicit description, Mondragon’s photographs are left to explain themselves. In this way, they retain their trademark alluring mystery. When asked about the motivation behind his photography, Mondragon reflects this poetic simplicity seen in his works. He states “I just love photography because it allows me to express myself creatively, entirely. It helps me communicate political, social, and personal messages without saying a word.”

Largely self-taught, Daniel is current taking photography classes at San Francisco Community College. His photograph collection focuses largely on his home Mission district neighborhood, though has taken photographs throughout California. Still Living is an exhibition of his San Francisco work.