“The ability to capture a spirit of spontaneity and nuance provided by a realistic moment will never really age,” muses industry vanguard and maverick creative director Pascal Dangin. “Whether you’re looking at street photography today on Instagram, or 50 years ago in the form of a Polaroid found on the subway, the measure of its success to convey human connection, will always be the same.” For Brooklyn-based photographer and social media aficionado Daniel Arnold, poised imagery takes advantage of the inclusive platform to create democratic art. “When Instagram happened I went off the deep end,” says the Wisconsin native. “I had to quit my job because I always needed to be taking pictures.” With over 56k followers and 1.5k photos, the emerging image-maker’s influential social-media feed has resulted in subsequent media attention—from Forbes to BBC News—as a modern cultural phenomenon. “I don't mean to give the impression that I go around specifically looking for stories. It happens to be that stories are what I'm attracted to. Or at least characters,” says Arnold. In keeping with themes of immediacy, the images in this bespoke series for NOWNESS were all captured over the past couple of weeks in Manhattan (apart from the Easter bunny family). “I think my only real tie to the lineage of street photography is obsession. Addiction,” he adds. “The connection is having your eyes peeled open a bit wider and working to try to keep them that way. Or better yet, to rip them a little further.”

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