Dustin Aksland brings sincerity and sophistication to all of his subjects, from rodeo riders and race-car drivers to chefs, fine artists, and business execs. His portraits and documentary style of storytelling immerse us in the emotional world of his subjects and vividly illustrate their environments. Texture, energy, and connection are key to Dustin’s work and bring us closer to everyone who comes before his lens.
The adrenaline and bucolic vistas of Dustin’s early days are important influences in his work. He grew up in California’s Central Valley, where he spent his days racing BMX, riding dirt bikes, and skateboarding. As a teen, he worked summers driving box trucks along the highways for his father’s delivery business. You can see traces of those youthful thrill-seeking days in his work for streetwear brand HUF, while his fondness for his long-haul days shines through in his series “Forecast for Today,” a collection of images exhibited in Brussels and Copenhagen and published subsequently in his first monograph. The immediacy and honesty of his imagery and motion work has also attracted the attention of clients like Netflix, Facebook, Adidas, Whole Foods Market, Apple, Airbnb, Chase, Rivian, Nest, Squarespace, ServiceNow, ChowNow, Airtable, Amica, T Magazine, W, and Wired, among many others.
Dustin’s work has been widely exhibited in the U.S. and abroad and published in numerous books. In 2008, he was nominated for the prestigious SFMOMA SECA Award.
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