about the artist

About Daniel Sroka

Daniel Sroka at work in his studiohow my career got started

For most of my life, my photography took a back seat to paying the bills. My talent for graphic design paid my way through school, and lead to my professional career. The highlight of my design career was my role as the original creative director for Yahoo!, where I helped guide them from a quirky curiosity into a globally-recognized brand. But I grew tired of using my artistic skills to help other people realize their dreams, while ignoring my own. So I quit my day job, and focused my energy on my fine art photography. By leveraging my experience in design and marketing, I formed a successful business selling art prints based on my abstract nature photography.

Where my art comes from

Photography has always shaped how I see the world. My childhood desk was my father's old enlarger, and I spent many days in our basement darkroom, listening to the creaking of the floorboards as we coaxed images out of the dark. Then when I was 12 years old, I earned my first computer by scraping a hundred years of paint off my uncle's house. It was like a new part of my brain had woken up. That computer was my first experience with unrestricted creativity: an artistic tool that you can mold to the needs of your imagination. When I combined photography with computers, I felt like I finally found my creative home. Like a perfectly weighted hammer and chisel, the camera and the computer simply feel right in my hands, allowing me to see farther and deeper than I ever could alone.

Selected Exhibitions and Press

design career, awards and education

For many years I've been a creative director and designer for print, web and interactive projects, experience which has had a major impact on my artistic vision and craft:

  • Daniel Sroka Designs LLC: sole-proprietor, fine art photography, prints, ketubahs. 2003-present.
  • Brand Consultant for The Stowitts Museum and Library. Pacific Grove, CA. 2001-2002.
  • Branding/Interactive Director for Turner & Associates (design firm). San Francisco, CA. 2000-2001.
  • Creative Director for Yahoo! Inc. (internet pioneer). Santa Clara, CA. 1996-2000.

awards

  • Judge for the 44th Mead Annual Report Show
  • Multiple design awards: including Clio Award (short list), ID Annual Design Review, San Francisco Show, Print Magazine, British D&AD, Graphic Design:USA, AR100, Telly Award for Video Animation, and HOW Magazine Self-Promotion Competition

education

  • BA, Cognitive science and linguistics. Hampshire College, Amherst, MA (1989)
  • Advanced study on the connections between visual symbols and language, the use of metaphor in language, and the development of visual language skills in children.