Meet the Hot Shots: Donald Andrew Agarrat


Name

Donald Andrew Agarrat

Age(optional)

35 (but I look like I’m in my 20s, no really!)

Website

on Flickr

Hometown

Hollis (Queens) NY

Where do you live now

Harlem

What’s your day job?

Apple Product Professional (a.k.a. sales/intake guy @ Tekserve)

Artist’s Statement

I began taking photos about 20 years ago; a high school freshman too horrified to disrobe for gym, I found the excuse I needed in that last-period photography class. With that pawnshop Pentax K1000, I learned another language. With a Canon Powershot S400 a couple of years ago, I began to speak it again.

Like anyone else, I shoot to capture fleeting moments to maybe reminisce over one day, maybe to remind me of where I’ve been and who I’ve loved. There is so much beauty right there and, if you can remember, a multiplicity of stories. Some may even be true.

Which artists inspire you?

Frank Lloyd Wright, Marvin and Morgan Smith, Brassai, Horst, Anthony Goicolea, Aaron Douglas, Sadao Hasegawa, Ansel Adams, Glenn Ligon, Pierre et Gilles. And James VanDerZee and Robert Mapplethorpe for good measure.

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was something you wanted to pursue seriously

In high school, I developed this picture of my sister on the phone. Once I saw that, I knew I could let the picture tell the story.

What kind of camera do you use

A Canon Powershot S400

What’s your favorite beverage?

Daytime: Lorina French Berry Sparkling Lemonade

After 5: Iced coffee with Sambuca and Bailey’s or a Caipirinha

What’s your favorite movie?

Classic: The Color Purple

Contemporary: The Matrix Trilogy

Where do you want to go on your dream vacation?

Relaxing: Brasil …

Exciting: Brasil!

What’s the last CD you listened to?

Sarah Vaughan Sings the Henry Mancini Songbook

What are you reading now?

Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Samuel Delany

What’s your favorite season?

Summer!

Favorite color?

Haint blue and gasp! beige [Ed. note: Hmph!]

Name at least three web sites you visit everyday.

IMDB

DealMac

DP Review

Flickr (the boy can’t help it)

What Do I Know

blog.stevengfullwood.org

What are your favorite foods?

dried cherries, indian spiced tea, curry chickpeas and potatoes, chicken roti, carbonara, rice and beans with farofa

Do you have an interesting/obscure hobby? If so, tell us about it.

I’m also a DJ, but it’s not a hobby. It’s just that different things take turns being at the center of my life.

It’s Saturday night. Are you going out or staying in?

I’m just getting home from work. I’m decompressing and soaking my feet …

One Response to “Meet the Hot Shots: Donald Andrew Agarrat”

  1. gordon easley Says:

    Have tried very diligently to reach you …..change of two email address’ ...change of phone ….not in when I come by …..so whats up ….short of snail mail and apb Im wondering….646 705 8830…..someone you used to know…..just hit me up ….okay

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