Today we’d like to introduce you to Oliver Dillard.
Oliver, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always thought I would be involved in the music industry growing up. My father, Steve Dillard, is a professional trumpet player and owns the largest trumpet retail site in North America, www.horntrader.com. I was practically raised in the pit of the La Jolla playhouse or his little sidekick during his gigs. He never forced me to play an instrument, though but encouraged me to try or just be creative in one way or another. I dabbled on the piano for a while and still do but never fully got into it.
Photography had always peaked my interest, though. I was fascinated by all of my father’s old vinyls he had in our garage and would spend hours going through them, looking at the photos and artwork on the cover, wanting to make something like this of my own. When I was in 8th grade, I have gifted my first “real” camera, the Canon Rebel T3i. I was hooked from that point forward. Unfortunately, my new love had to take a temporary pause. Along with getting a new camera in my early teens, I also started to work on getting a new body. I was made fun of for my weight in middle school and wanted to slim down, so I decided to go on a diet.
I went from 180 to 115 in a matter of months. Something weird was going on in my head too, I understood how skinny I was and that I no longer needed to diet yet something wouldn’t let go back to my normal eating habits. I was too afraid of putting that weight on and being the target at school. It wasn’t until after a Junior Olympics swim meet that my parents noticed how much weight I had lost and took me in to see the doctor. When I got my vitals taken, my heart rate was 36 BPM and blood pressure was 84/60. I was immediately hospitalized and diagnosed with Anorexia. I was hospitalized for a month and was in and out of the hospital and treatment centers until the end of my sophomore year of high school.
Over that summer, we moved from El Cajon to La Jolla. Dad swam at the cove all day and mom worked there, so it just made sense. I didn’t have many friends around during that Summer and never could sit still for more than 30 minutes. That summer was when I developed a true love for photography. I started to take photos of my friends and get creative with concepts and visuals. They were always so stoked to see how the photos came out and the way it looked. I then started to work on my landscape photos.
I spent so much time in the Ocean surfing and was so grateful to call it home. I just wanted to share what I had the privilege of seeing everyday. I feel like many of us San Diego locals take this amazing city for granted. I want to change your perspective and get you outside! San Diego truly is America’s Finest and I wanted to inspire people to get outside and enjoy what it has to offer.
Has it been a smooth road?
Yes and no. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think my version of a smooth road and others are the same. With that being said, I know that you need to fail to succeed and that paths to success aren’t straight and linear. A really hard one to get through was remembering to stay true to what I find beautiful and take photos of. I have always been the biggest people pleaser and want to make everyone happy. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same taste and enjoys the same images.
Another of the issues I dealt with was actually finding out how to get people to check out my photos and go to my website. One project I did to help with that goal was “Dog’s Of OB.” I decided I would go around the ocean beach farmers market every Wednesday for two months and took photos of owners and their dogs. After a few months, I put them all into a book with my contact information inside and brought it to OB Beans for people to look at and smile towards.
Another difficult obstacle was having the funds to actually purchase any photo equipment. Being a young adult in college, times can get tough is all I have to say when you’re balancing rent, tuition, textbooks, food, and of course, that $1,500 lens I’m eyeing. Luckily, I am also a part-time employee at Nelson Photo and am able to access a vast variety of equipment.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a freelance photographer. I specialize in landscape nature photography and underwater photography. I am super proud of the fact that this is a one-man operation and being only 22, feel like I am excelling. I know I still have so much to learn in the business and field of photography but for being where I am today, I am very proud of that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love San Diego with all my heart. It truly is America’s finest city. From San Ysidro to Del Mar, every corner I turn has adventure, story, and pride. I have not met one person in San Diego that dislikes the city. If I could say what it’s like to live in San Diego in one sentence, I would say, “It’s like being in a city where everyday is Sunday.” My least favorite part of the city would have to be traffic.
Pricing:
- Portraits – $60/ hour
- Weddings – $500
Contact Info:
- Website: www.oliverdillard.smugmug.com
- Phone: (619) 306-0705
- Email: godillard@me.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o.dillard/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliverdillardphoto/
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