LANL Spotlight: Derrick Key … Caught In The Camera Eye

Anytime Derrick Key travels or takes a road trip, he looks for photo opportunities—like this one outside Questa. Photo by Derrick Key

Photographer and LANL Fabrication Technician Derrick Key. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Among the lowrider aficionados enjoying the bright colors and hopping rhythms during a summertime car show in Española, Derrick Key, a fabrication technician at Los Alamos National Laboratory, wanders about the many “low and slow” vehicles on display.

But Key isn’t really at this event to check out the custom cars. A tell-tale camera in his hand, Key is here to take in the people and the lowrider culture that began with Mexican-American youths in the late 1940s and has since spread into other cultures, including African-American hip-hop culture and Japan’s custom-car scene.

“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a camera in my hand,” Key said. “I’ve always enjoyed exploring other cultures and going out on adventures, and I guess it was only a matter of time before I started to document what I experienced.”

Key grew up on tough streets of Michigan’s “Motor City,” Detroit. In 2006, he moved to New Mexico, where he took a job at the Laboratory. Key said he experienced intense culture shock during his first few months in the Land of Enchantment.

“I felt like an outsider—this place was completely different from Detroit,” Key said. “The cultures here, they’ve been around a long time. Things that people who grew up here take for granted were completely foreign to me. To learn and understand what they’re all about, I decided to use my camera to capture the beauty and intensity of the people and how their traditions influence and ultimately represent who they are.”

Key said that he’s actually taken advantage of his “outsider” status to produce some stunning photographs. “If I focused on my own culture, it would be just too involved,” Key said. “It’s my curiosity of not knowing—and the desire to know—that I feel helps me capture the essence of another culture. I’m a humanist, so it comes easy.”

Spontaneity is essential

The origin of Key’s inspiration to capture images through photography goes back to the 1960s. “I remember my mom collected Life magazine,” Key said. “Those magazines were filled with some powerful images. I wanted to craft images that held that same power.”

As part of capturing such power, Key said that he prefers the spontaneity of taking photographs “in the moment” instead of preparing extensively to take an ideal shot.

“It’s about opportunity,” Key said. “My wife and I could be visiting one of the Pueblos, looking for a nice piece of art, when something catches my eye. I say to myself, ‘oh, there’s a shot.’ It can be kind of scary, as sometimes it’s only there for a very short time. There’s a chance I may miss the shot, and that can be frustrating. Oh, but when I get one—it’s joy.”

Another part of being a photographer is what Key calls “guts.”

“You have to step out of your comfort zone sometimes,” Key said. “I mean, you see a burly biker atop his Harley-Davidson and you walk over and ask if you can take a couple of photos. At first, I just get a stare, but then it’s all good. It works out well most of the time—people like it when you take a photograph of them.”

Learning the craft

“To be a good photographer, you’ve just got to get out there,” he said. “If you’re willing to take in new experiences and love to explore the hows and whys of people, you’re already there when it comes to photography. All that’s left to do is take the shot.”

To bolster his photography skills, Key has taken and continues to take photography classes.

“It’s a different approach that I call ‘make photographs,’” he said with a laugh. “These classes, though, have taught me a lot about presentation, lighting and mood. It turns photography into art.”

Always at the core of Key’s approach, however, is a willingness to be open minded when experiencing people and their cultures.

“You have to study,” he said, “and know your history. It’s how people have come to be, and I want my photographs to capture that.”

When it comes to practical advice, Key said that becoming a good photographer amounts to experience.

“You have to take a lot of photos,” Key said. “Eventually, you’ll get it. It sounds so simple, but it’s really true. One day, you’ll develop your own style and people will start to recognize it.”

‘Things that people who grew up here take for granted were completely foreign to me,’ photographer Derrick Key said. Key moved to New Mexico from Michigan 14 years ago. ‘To learn and understand what they’re all about, I decided to use my camera,’ he said. Here, Key stumbled upon an old-time cowboy on the outskirts of present-day Santa Fe. Photo by Derrick Key

‘You have to study and know your history,’ Key said about capturing photos like this one of the Santuario de Chimayo. Photo by Derrick Key

Photographer Derrick Key prefers the spontaneity of taking photographs ‘in the moment’ – like this shot captured a Native American dance—instead of preparing extensively. Photo by Derrick Key

While photographer Derrick Key grew up in the Motor City, low-rider culture was just one aspect of New Mexico that was new to the former Detroit resident. He said his desire to know helps him capture the essence of another culture, as in his photo of this 1964 Impala, a coveted vehicle for low-rider enthusiasts. Photo by Derrick Key

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