Listen to the interview here!
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Darren Modricker with me. Hi, Darren.
Darren: Hi, how are you doing?
Toni: I’m great. How about you?
Darren: Doing great today.
Toni: Good. Darren, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Darren: Darren Modricker, artist and owner of Willow Street Pictures. I had a studio in the same building as the Canal Street Pub and Restaurant for about a decade inside in the city in a beautiful renovated factory building, and transitioned that to purchasing a building over in West Lawn, converting the West Lawn Post Office into an upscale photo studio and art gallery.
Toni: No one is paying me to say this, but your work is absolutely gorgeous.
Darren: Thanks.
Toni: It’s a pleasure to have you on the Get Inspired! Project.
Darren: It really means a lot to be here.
Toni: Good. Let’s go into the first question. What does inspiration mean to you?
Darren: It’s a really good question. I think what inspiration means to me is I would say when I look at something and it has a ‘wow factor.’ It would be something that you’d say, “Wow – how did they do that?” or, “How did they achieve that?” Something that I would guess would give off positive energy, yet make you think.
Toni: So it’s something where you say, “Oh, wow – I hadn’t thought of that,” or, “This makes me want to do this.”
Darren: Yes, exactly. I think it can be a springboard, or you can analyze, “How did they even get that?” I think inspiration for me just happens every day.
Toni: Give me an example. When was the last time you were inspired where you said, “Wow!”
Darren: I would a say a minute before this interview.
Toni: Really?
Darren: I left my studio, and I have a really, really great staff. We’re always tough on ourselves of what we put in our showcase window. We have a young girl on board who is really growing her wings, and she’s creatively presenting fun ideas. She came up with something for the front window that I said, “Wow! That’s beautiful!” That’s always fun. I think the bar we set is pretty high, especially when it’s something internally that we produce for the company.
Toni: Don’t you love that? That’s a great feeling, isn't it?
Darren: It’s fun waking up every day and going there and being inspired by the staff and being inspired by the clients, and pushing yourself to create something new and different. There’s different avenues and paths you can take, but I would say that inspiration is what it’s all about.
Toni: Give me an example of how you put that inspiration and that ‘wow’ when you feel it into practice here in Berks County.
Darren: I think that every project that we take, there’s a level of inspiration that comes through the creative team, both myself and the assistants that work for me. I don’t know. I think I take every shoot pretty serious in the sense that a lot of people have it on their bucket list. A lot of people might not have this opportunity to do it again. There might be some health-related issues that this is it. If they’re coming to us to get that image that’s going to last for generations, that’s going to inspire them, I think sometimes we create images that are our favorites, maybe not the client’s favorites, but always pushing it, shooting with different types of lighting.
I apprenticed for five years before I started Willow Street Pictures with various, really renowned photographers in New York. I learned how each of them thought and how they lit, and the most successful ones were always mixing it up. They were always creating something that would satisfy the client, but also then create something that would satisfy them, and never just “phoning it in.” Showing up every day and giving it all you got.
I recently saw Bruce Springsteen in concert. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Bruce?
Toni: Years ago.
Darren: It was years for me, but I recently saw him. One thing I take away from a Bruce Springsteen concert is the man never gives up. He gives it everything he’s got for three hours. He never takes a break. He never has a band that warms up for him. When you go to a Bruce concert, you know you’re going to get what you paid for and more. The sheer energy he puts into it is incredibly impressive.
Toni: Do you find yourself having to stay inspired in order to produce and maintain that level of energy for yourself?
Darren: I would say yes and no. I take a limited number of shoots per week so I don’t burn out. I think that’s a probably a wise decision on my part. I try to balance being a business owner, “the boss” dealing with the HR aspects of the business, but being inspired and creating something, you put a camera in my hands and it’s like it’s a drug. All of a sudden there’s a switch that goes. “Let’s see what we can make today.”
Toni: That’s fantastic.
Darren: “Can we top what we did?”
Toni: There’s a spirit about that. It’s the spirit of creativity, isn't it?
Darren: I think it is. When you’re in it as an artist/business owner, but it in as an artist, it’s different than just being in it as a business owner. That’s a difficult balance, but I think I’ve achieved it pretty well. I’m always trying to work on it, but staying inspired and creating something that you’re proud of and knowing that it’s possibly their last shoot, you put all those things together. It could be pressure filled, but it’s actually fun. We’re laughing; we’re having a blast. To be able to pull that off in Berks County is an achievement in itself. We have folks that actually come two or three hours away for photo shoots, and I honestly can say I would have never thought that would happen once I left New York City.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Darren: I would say the first thing that inspires me is my staff. I really think they are an inspiration to work with. They bring fresh ideas to the table. I would also say some of my clients are inspirations. The people that I photograph, to hear their stories, to hear how they’ve rescued their dogs, to hear how the dogs have rescued them. I think another one is probably Tony Saka from First National Bank. He initially came as a client, and then I got to know him over the years. He’s in the banking industry, and I’ve shared business plans with him. He’s just been a sounding board and a really good inspiration that I’m lucky to have.
Toni: Darren, what would you like your legacy to be?
Darren: I think on a human level I’d like my legacy to be that I was a good father and always there when my child needed me. I have never missed a soccer game. I think that on a human level is the most important.
On a business level, that we were able to help in the community. There’s probably 75+ organizations we make donations to every year. We do a considerable amount. There’s one organization every year that we have a really large project with. Right now we’re working with the Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia. We’re going to have a huge gallery show, all at no cost. It’s going to raise thousands of dollars for their renovations.
I think my legacy would be that somebody years from now can look at a Willow Street piece of art and say, “Wow! How did he do that?”
Toni: How was he inspired to create something like that?
Darren: Yes.
Toni: There’s a word that hit me as you were describing what inspires you and then who and how you put it into practice, and it was “humility.” There’s a humility that seems to run through this, and a humbleness. I don’t know if that’s part of what inspires you in others or part of your energy, but that’s what I’m hearing.
Darren: You have some great insight. I would say it’s the real life experiences that you have. I think it’s losing your sister to cancer, losing your father unexpectedly, losing some pets, those are all life events that when you meet somebody, it gives you a different perspective. As much as it’s a business, it does keep you human and sadly to say, we do see a lot of end of life or end of term with dogs, things like that. We treat it very respectfully, make them have a great time, but you’re sensitive to the importance or the long-term value or whatever you might call it of what you’re creating.
There’s some intuitiveness. As a portrait artists, for years I can get into people’s heads, catch their wiring real quick; even in a larger group create imagery that maybe others couldn’t. The fun part was somebody started saying, “Let me bring my dog.” Then we could understand the tight bond and also get in the doggie’s heads, and now we’re doing cats.
Toni: Uh-oh!
Darren: Oh my God – I don’t know! We’ve been doing a lot of kitties. It’s interesting how it really is. I don’t have a psychology degree or anything like that, but just the natural inclinations or the natural understanding, and then the life experiences.
Toni: Well, you’re living your legacy, and you’re also creating legacies for the owners of the animals and portraits that you’re doing. There’s a living legacy that you’re paying forward. Congratulations to you and the work that you’re doing. Thank you so much for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project.
Darren: Thanks for including me. I appreciate it.
