Daytona State College’s Southeast Museum of Photography opened its Days of Punk exhibition on August 30th.
Captured by acclaimed photographer, Michael Grecco, the exhibit offers a raw and thrilling look at the 80’s ceaseless punk culture.
Grecco recieved his first camera, a Mamiya/Sekor 35mm single lens-reflex, at the young age of 12.
He was fascinated by the images he had seen in photography books, particularly the Time-Life Photography series from his local library.
Late at night, Grecco would stare at the contents of each photograph, feeling that this would be his life’s calling. “I think, you know, once I saw what photography could do in these Time-Life Photography books, it was sort of the pivotal moment for me.”
During his time as an undergraduate in filmmaking and photography at Boston University, Grecco first began his career as a freelance photojournalist for the Associated Press.
“With my internship at the Associated Press, I really just launched into the photography. I was young, and there weren’t many plans.”
In his times of difficulty when first gaining experience, Grecco says that his love for photography helped keep his momentum. “At one point, it was the only thing I knew how to do. Like I thought, you know, what else would I do with myself?”
Despite having a comprehensive background in photography, Grecco explains that his skill was not the only thing that helped him stay competitive in the field. “Successful photographers have to have a vision, and they have to have a unique personal style and offer something that somebody else doesn’t offer.”
He elaborates on photographic individuality saying, “So, I think that’s where you have to start. With a concept and ideas. You might not even have to be unique artistically, but you can offer something that other people don’t. Maybe it’s convenience. Maybe it’s package. But usually, it’s based around look because people want to know what they’re buying.”
Though his portfolio consists of a vast collection of different photographic genres, Grecco has remained captivated by portrait photography since the start of his career. “I am definitely someone who loves portraiture. I am really drawn to the photographic portrait. The connection, the eye contact, it’s always what I loved, even when I was a kid in art school.”
He continues, explaining his desire to incorporate portraiture into his photographs. “I think you notice that I’m a relatively straight photojournalist during the day, but with the Days of Punk project, I made sure I created many portraits within those scenarios whenever I could, because it was my primary love.”
After finishing his work for the Days of Punk exhibit, Grecco reflects back on his fulfilling career as a photographer. “It’s been a pleasure to get a perspective on what I’ve done. Like with the Days of Punk project, I looked at it at one point, and thought ‘Oh my god, what a crazy, incredible life I’ve had.’ And that was satisfying. The experience was the most rewarding part of being a photographer.”
For the photography students at Daytona State College, Grecco shares his piece of advice, “If you want to really be in it, you have to be totally committed. At then it’s just perseverance, perseverance, perseverance, and figuring out what part of the business is going to be yours.”
“It’s very possible you’re not just solely a photographer. You’re a re-toucher, you run a studio, you rent equipment, you run a grip truck. You can start your business and realize that it’s not a high-income area. So, you make it up with volume. You have to realize that other people shoot too and it’s not an easy market, but the sky’s the limit, so you have to be creative with it. Because really, as an artist, that’s what we do.”
The Days of Punk Exhibit will be shown from August 30th to December 17th at the Southeast Museum of Photography of Daytona State College.
To learn more about Michael Grecco and see his additional works in photography, visit his website https://grecco.com.
Laura-Sofia Pagdanganan
Staff writer