What you need to know
Danny Hastings followed his curiosity into a fascinating and legendary career.
This photographer started out as a teenager pursuing his passion. When he landed in New York, he had just graduated from high school and was sharing a house with his mother and brother in Queens. After a few years, Hastings’ mother decided to return to Panama. He and his brother wanted to stay in New York and did whatever it took to make that happen.
“Basically, we stayed there and figured out life. By the time I was 20, I already had a camera. I was always taking pictures. When I was trying to find a way to fit my way and make money, I read a book that said photographers were very profitable, but I didn’t know what to do.”
Hastings’ passion became all-consuming, spending hours studying album covers and reading liner notes to see who was responsible for the art.
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“I started looking at album covers, and wow, I was looking at some of the new records I was buying, because I’m buying a lot of hip-hop now, and I’ve been a New Yorker for four years, and I was buying all the late ’80s stuff, like Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, and EPMD came out,” he says.
“Then an epiphany struck and I was looking at album covers and things that I wasn’t really interested in before, and I realized that every album I had had an address and this album had a name. Whether it was the manager, the executive producer, the art director, the photographer, I thought, ‘Oh, all these people are here in New York, and I’m here in New York, so why not?'”
Hastings read books about the ship and explored the city with his camera.
“I started showing up with my friend’s portfolio of photos, this young Latino who spoke very little English, and I knocked on the door. It’s scary, but I have to do it because fate is calling. You have a hunger, and I have a hunger too. I needed to do this for some reason.”
Hastings’ knowledge eventually earned him a job at a photo lab, where he quickly had to teach himself how to print.
“Before I knew it, within two years I was an avid printer. It was my job, in a dark red room, with red light, from 9 to 5. A lot of people don’t know what that’s like.”
Although it was a tough job, Hastings was grateful for the “access.”
“A lot of people discouraged me from doing it. My mother was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make a living through photography alone. I went to engineering school, but I left school because I love photography so much. I knew it had to work, but I ignored all the naysayers, including those I loved.”
When the owner of the photo lab started having Hastings display his photos in the store, the photos began to attract attention.
“I put up pictures of my friends from Jackson Heights, my school, Hunter College, New York University, all of them black and Latino, and I put them in the store, and they were very different from what was displayed in the story. The store always had this Americana style, classic portrait of New York City, and here I have a picture of a guy leaning over and smoking a blunt,” he laughed.
“I took a double exposure of a guy hand pouring 40 in front of a crowd and superimposed it with a hip-hop show. There was no Photoshop back then. I did it with a camera.”
“Fab 5 Freddy, who was the face of MTV, saw those pictures – pictures of me, 20-year-old Danny – and eavesdropped on the owner. He said, ‘Who took these pictures?’ And the owner said, ‘Oh, it’s Danny downstairs.’ And he was like, “Yeah, take me to him.” So he came to the lab and everyone was like, “Is Freddy from the Fab Five here for Danny?” what is happening? I was super young. I also sensed his star quality and thought, “Wow.” ”
It was a big deal for a young talent to have people who he only knew from TV show interest in his work.
“He took the time to look at my portfolio. It was a very precious moment for me and we became friends forever.”
It’s important to hurry and prepay. He takes the time to give advice and feedback to a variety of young creators looking to make their big break.
“When young artists and up-and-coming photographers show me their work, especially if they’re Latino or Latino, I take the time to look at their work and give them advice, whether it’s technical or industry-wise. It’s really important right now to lean on the people who have done it and give them a chance, because those were the people who did it for me. So I give it back.”
Hastings looks forward to remembering his journey, which has included decades of creative collaborations with some of the biggest stars in hip-hop and Latin music, as well as a successful commercial career.
“It wasn’t luck. It’s preparation and determination. I’m not egotistical, because I’m not selfish, but I really love what I do. There’s something in me that I like and I have to do it somehow.”
“If I hadn’t planted that seed and watered it and left it there, that moment with Fab 5 Freddy would never have happened. And I know that my Fab 5 Freddy is going to be in each part that I want to do. And it’s great for me that people love the work. It’s very meaningful, because it was done with a lot of care and love. I don’t do anything that I don’t like, because if you take creative work just for the money, it will never become a classic, it will only be temporary.
There are undeniable classics in Hasting’s work, from his cover of Wu-Tang Clan’s “36 Chambers” to Marc Anthony’s “Todo a Su Tiempo.” And now, as he looks back at the beginnings of Legendario, Act I: Rough, Rugged and Raw, the first of a three-part photographic retrospective by the famous photographer, he is as obsessed with the craft as ever.
“It’s going to keep going. It’s going to keep food on the table, it’s going to keep my kids in school, it’s going to provide a home for me, my wife, my family, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. If you love art, just keep going that way. Do you like singing and playing guitar? Just keep doing it. It’s going to be hard, but you’re going to keep going. It’s a beautiful career, for sure.”
“Legendario, Act I: Rough, Rugged and Raw” is now available for purchase.
