"That's how I live life. I love hard. I love big."
In this episode, I sit down with Derrick J. Waller. Derrick is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia (’02) and has spent his whole life in this great state, currently residing in Charlottesville. His daily grind is pharmaceutical research, but Derrick’s expressive outlet is photography, where he finds great joy in documenting candid moments of everyday life. Derrick’s appreciation of photography started at an early age, but mainly as a “looker” and not a “taker.” He spent countless hours thumbing through family photo albums and asking his loved ones the who, what, when, where and why for every image captured. It wasn’t until the unexpected loss of his mother that Derrick made the decision to stop thinking about picking up a camera and actually do it. This interest quickly became a passion, and now he feels like he is missing out on moments if he is not documenting them. When Derrick doesn’t have a camera in his hand, you will find him spending time with his beautiful wife, Sarah, and baby girl, Josephine.
LISTEN
in this episode we talk about:
- Being born and raised in Virginia
- Losing both parents before some big life moments
- Education and learning are not always the same
- Loving being a father and a husband
- What happens if and when Derrick gets mad or upset
- Love languages and how understanding could save the world
- How having a disarming personality sometimes makes people a little *too* comfortable with you
- Being willing to have tough conversations about race and equality with white folks who are genuinely wanting to learn something and do the work
- How everyone has a story and you never know what someone else is or has been experiencing to cause their behavior in any given moment
- Capturing Black joy and why the world needs more of it
- How we can all learn to be a little more kind and compassionate
- What art and photography projects D is working on right now
TRANSCRIPTION
DERRICK'S WORK
PHOTOGRAPHY
PAINTING
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