QuanATL is a street photographer in the clouds
His aerial style takes center stage at Friday's City of Ink show
From the looks of Jaquan Cummings’ photos, it’s easy to assume the guy has wings. Known as QuanATL on the ‘Gram, he marries street photography with an aerial style that makes fantasy of vivid reality. His signature shot usually features his legs dangling at the bottom of each frame or suspended from skyscraper rooftops hundreds of feet in the air.
“I’m afraid of heights, but I like to overcome things,” says the Atlanta-based photog who celebrates his 22nd birthday Fri., Aug. 5, at City of Ink. Cummings started off shooting skateboarding with friends around Downtown. A trip to New York led him to meet a photographer who motivated Cummings to take his work a step further by “going places people usually don’t go,” he says. “I started having a drive to shoot something every single day.”
Taking risks comes with the territory — from sneaking into buildings to talking his way to the top floor without security-card access by showing people his work on the elevator ride up. Beyond the high he gets from executing such extraordinary shots, his photography conveys a sense of uplift ... almost like he’s compelling viewers to rise above the bullshit.
“I just try to keep myself motivated,” he says. “A lot of people don’t look up, in general, so they don’t get up and they definitely don’t get the perspective of looking down when you’re up. I just try to share my eyes.”
The camera he shoots with, a Nikon D-750, belonged to his grandfather before Cummings came home one day last year to discover he’d been tragically murdered by an intruder. As a former landscape and wedding photographer who taught him how to shoot from the age of 10, when they still lived in Boston, his grandfather remains Cummings’ biggest influence.
“I just have to continue, like a legacy, to do something with my photography,” he says.
Beyond curating the art show at City of Ink, which will feature several other visual artists and photographers including Aja Cobbs, Jodee MaRkErs, and more, he’s already looking to the future. Interestingly enough, considering his penchant for tall buildings, he hopes to study architecture at Georgia Tech. Instead of constructing skyscrapers, he hopes to have an impact closer to home by playing a direct role in the future redevelopment of his Lakewood neighborhood. “This little gentrification; I don’t want them to kick me out of my house and redo it,” he says. “I want to be a part of that.”
Sounds like a well-grounded vision.
QuanATL Birthday Art Show. Free. 8-11 p.m. Fri., Aug. 5. City of Ink, 323 Walker St. S.W. 404-525-4465. www.cityofink.com.