Daniel Mercadante

His Work:

Daniel Mercadante is an American filmmaker and photographer who worked with his wife, Katina, to create works of art. They travel between New England and Northern California. He originally worked on short films which led him to long exposure photography. Mercadante felt that it was similar to films because it took 15 seconds to a 1 minute to create the photograph. He enjoyed getting to create movement within the picture and it drove him to explore more. As a child he played Mariokart and after learning about light photography he wanted to make it come to life. He chose one course, Rainbow Road, and thought about ways to execute it in the real world. He found powerful landscapes, sometimes including people, to add the rainbow road to. He started the photo and ran with a broom or other long item with lights on it to create the line of the road. When the shutter closed the photo looked as if there was a rainbow road in the landscape. He made this into a photo series and continues to add to it as he travels. This series is meant to show hope, optimism, imagination, and magic while covering daily beauty. 

His photos interested me because I have grown up playing Mariokart and Rainbow Road is my favorite course. I thought the way he brought this fictional game’s magic into beautiful landscapes was so cool. The magic brought into nature brought back many childhood memories for me. The photos are interesting for the viewer to look at and bring your imagination to life. I also enjoyed the landscape portion of these photos. I love photographs that capture nature, especially when it is in a creative way like this. The work put into these photos is also very impressive. Mercadante ran with the light on a long pole to create the rainbow road aspect of these photos. I liked the work put into the photos to create a magical scene.