by his grandfather, a serious amateur photographer who traveled to different parts of the world and returned with exciting photos. Finally, after college, Hawk, who also enjoyed writing, opted to make a living in photography. He took courses, read numerous books and essentially immersed himself in photography before making his passion a full-time career choice.
"I love the purity and integrity of film. You can manipulate photos digitally. For me, it's very important to have people look at my photographs and know that they are capturing real moments in time just as I saw them and not manipulated in any way. I don't even use filters," explains Hawk, who doesn't begrudge anyone else from using a digital camera, not even his older son who has one an enjoys shooting pictures, and also looking at his dad's slide shows prior to the fundraising events. At present, Hawk has been preparing for his upcoming fundraisers and working on corporate projects. But he still takes time out to pour over maps and do research on a possible upcoming excursion to Mongolia. While Hawk will continue to find the off-the-beaten track locales, he does acknowledge that the increase in Anti-Amercian sentiment and political factors do limit the choices of locations a		 little bit more in the post 9/11 world. In addition, security at airports slows down even the most ambitious and unconventional traveler. "If it used to take ten minutes to get through secuirty, now it takes 20 minutes," says Hawk, who is less concerned about the waiting time than the film. "I use double lead lined canisters for the film," he adds, noting that 99.9% of the time that should work out fine, even with the modern x-ray equipment.
For Hawk, photography is a passion that he turned into a career, and a successful and very personally rewarding one at that. When Hawk isn't holding one of his Nikon cameras, shooting people or exotic places, he is often found putting together a weekly television show for Cabelevision Channel 77 in Fairfield. "The Unconventional Traveler" has been running for ten years and features not only Hawk, but also the work of photographers and filmmakers who appear as guests and discuss their works. As is often the case with local cable television, the shows are more of a labor of love than anything else. Hawk would enjoy taking the show to a national network such as the Discovery Channel. However, that is not the goal of the show. "It would be nice if a national deal came through, but if not, I wouldn't be heartbroken either.

 

 A national deal woud not make me a happier person, it would just help pay for the show," says Hawk, who seems genuinely happy with his life as it is, as long as he has his Nikon camera nearby.

For those interested in perusing the galleries of Daryl Hawk, his Web site is at www.darylhawk.com where prints and calenders can be purchased. His program, the "Unconventional Traveler" is seen every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on Channel 77 in Fairfield, Connecticut. Hawk can also be reached at his studio at 834-9595 or by email at hawkphoto@optonline.net.

-Rich Mintzer

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