Around Ambler Spotlight | Dan Marcolina | Uncommon Space and Mobile Photography

Dan Marcolina picked up a camera at 14 years old, and began shooting what he loved…surf scenes. Being a surfer himself, he was able to capture the unique culture on film, and as his passion grew, he was able to visually communicate his everyday adventures through photography. He has always had a passion for traditional photography, and one could argue that his knowledge of composition and balance in relationship to photography, have led to his many successes in the graphic design field. Photographs, after all, are a huge component in advertising and graphic design because the ultimate goal is to illicit an emotion and feeling visually. Any way you slice it, Dan is a force of talent and visual inspiration to all artists trying to create and design while remaining current and on the cusp of technology, and the best part…this source of inspiration is right in our backyard.

Dan studied Landscape Architecture at Penn State, but in taking advice from a friend, switched to Graphic Design after falling in love with the idea of marrying images and typography. When he graduated and started in his profession, Dan feels he hit the design and creative field at the right time, riding the wave of the computer with the introduction of Adobe Photoshop. He attributes Photoshop to giving control and vision back to the designer because it allowed the designer to, ” play, combine and discover” and the ability to release an entire project with all components in one place, no longer having to piece together photographs, layers and typography from different sources.

Dan’s love and expertise of Photoshop has not only made him an expert in the graphic design world, but also landed his designs in dozens of books on the subject. Dan’s biggest thrill of his entire design career was creating a live presentation show for Photoshop’s 20th anniversary, which was shown all over the world, and when you have a little time, can be viewed here.

In addition to his Graphic Design business, Dan continued to shoot with traditional cameras but began honing his mobile photography skills with the release of the iPhone 3. He describes himself as, “going crazy with apps, discovering new ways to create images…it was very freeing…” Dan grew his mobile photography craft and expertise, and wrote a book called, iPhone Obsessed.

With the advancements that continue in mobile devices, Dan believes that:

Mobile photography is radically changing the photographic landscape. Having a camera always in your pocket with inexpensive apps, along with the instantaneous sharing of visual ideas via social networks like Instagram, is revolutionizing the medium.

Dan and his wife Denise are co-owners of Marcolina Design Inc., located at Ambler Yards. And, as we mentioned, Marcolina Design has been an industry leader in print, web, video and augmented and virtual reality work for the past 28 years, winning many awards and being featured in many publications. Dan and Denise have a great passion for their craft, which continues to evolve through each technical advancement, and crossing many mediums.

The collection of Dan’s photography currently on display at Ambler Yards is entitled Uncommon Space, and is mostly comprised of images that Dan shot while Ambler Yards was under construction and in transition…things and scenes he would walk by on a daily basis. The images depict juxtaposition, unusual color, patterns, texture and design in things we don’t usually see. For a bio of Dan’s mobile and traditional photography background and work, check out his website and also follow him Instagram.

If you are interested in seeing Dan’s exhibit and also interested in learning the mobile photography skills to get your photos noticed, a free seminar and print show on the Art of Mobile Photography will be held on April 5th at 6:30pm in the Amenities Gallery, Building 18, Ambler Yards. You will have the opportunity to gather tips like getting the best quality images in and out of your mobile device and how to create thoughtful and unique results from cross-mutating apps with a variety of image types. Dan will share his favorite photo apps so you can use and mold them into your own mobile photography style, and all of the images will be on display and for sale. See some of the images from the exhibit, and the amazingly cool interactive invitation created by Marcolina Design by pressing play below…

Link to event information here.

Light food & beer/wine will be served. Prints from show will be for sale. And one large print will be given away.