As a student at Drexel University, Dominick Lewis thought he would graduate from the school’s Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program and become an officer in the Navy.
“I didn’t know what role I wanted to do in the Navy but I knew I wanted to serve this country,” Lewis tells CNBC Make It. “Upon entering the NROTC program, I quickly realized that it wasn’t for me, but I stuck through it for two years before I decided to leave.”
Around the same time Lewis started college, he discovered photography. While in Philadelphia for school, he’d explore the city and take pictures in his free time.
“I bought a camera at 18 right out of high school and quickly became obsessed with photography. I would spend all my spare time outside taking pictures, meeting other people who were into taking photos, exploring and just learning the craft through trial and error,” Lewis says.
“Being a photographer to me means responsibility to tell the truth and to tell your story. I feel like the camera historically has been used as a tool for colonization and I feel like reestablishing the means of that camera to show black joy. It’s your responsibility to document your own journey because no one will do it for you.”
