“My name is D’Vonte J. Burke. Born and raised in Atlanta. As a child, I was always surrounded by photography terminologies because of my grandfather, Andrew H. Burke. Growing up he would always talk to me about the famous photography Ansel Adams and his works photographing nature. Though I did not pickup photography until the age of seventeen, I constantly look at Ansel Adams, Gordon Parks, and Carleton Watkins’ works as sources of inspiration. Studying these photographers create magnificent art pieces has been a catalyst in my journey. Seeing my grandfather rave over them ignited my desire to pick up a camera. Not only that, but I am grateful enough to have a cousin, Marcus Washington, who was heavily involved in the design and fashion world. He was the final spark to me finding photography. Thank you to my family for inspiring me without even knowing because of you all, I have found a burning passion that I am eager to keep ignited.
In my works here I explore architecture and landscape photography while diving into the concept of urbanization in metropolitan cities across the country at a wide-angle viewpoint. Native to Atlanta, I constantly find inspiration from architecture, past and present, and envision what these buildings looked like before the sweep of revitalization, what a mount dirt and gravel would eventually become. I vividly remember being a young boy up early watching the local news segments on the Georgia dome demolition, not knowing that later the Mercedes Benz Stadium was to come. As the development of these cities occur, so did my inspiration and want to document the process. Even to this day, I am so fascinated with how often I see buildings start as plans on paper to piles dirt and then into integral landmarks. I want to capture what these cities becoming. Not just the beloved City of Atlanta, but cities across the globe.”
