Finding Beauty Where It Shouldn’t Be: The Work of Photographer Dom Ducote

At 16 years old, Dom Ducote found himself in a dark and dangerous place. Experiencing bouts of suicidal ideation, he tried to change his focus by exploring the streets of St. George with the family film camera. But while photography started as a simple evasion, it quickly became a life-saving escape. “Photography got me out of bed, out of the house. I just felt like I needed to see as much beauty as possible,” Ducote says. “[Photography] gave me a chance to go and find [it].” 

Ducote stalked the back alleys of St. George, “drawn to a combination of light and subject matter that looked like it didn’t belong.” Perhaps looking for his own analog in the content, he was drawn to “anything that was out of place.” It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. One day, Ducote was snapping photos of “this beautiful, blood-red vintage car under a cover,” when “this black Nissan pulled up and four dudes hopped out.” Ducote tried to diffuse the situation, but things weren’t going well.

“Photography got me out of bed, out of the house. I just felt like I needed to see as much beauty as possible.”

“I’m pretty sure they would have beaten the shit out of me, but I pulled out my camera, and it was a film camera, and they settled down. I think if it had been a digital camera, they would have jumped me.” Ducote also credits his appearance for getting him out of the jam. “I’m lucky I look homeless and a little stoned all the time,” he says. 

While exploring his craft, and avoiding beatings, Ducote took deep dives into any online content he could find to learn the fundamentals of lighting and composition. This eventually led to studying graphic design and working on print and textiles at Dixie State, now Utah Tech University. There was just one problem: “I was spending all day long behind a computer and it was soul sucking. So, I talked to my academic advisor and told them to put me only into fun photo classes,” says Ducote.

This expanded focus pushed Ducote to explore artistically. In 2019, he took a solo trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. What he found would become the basis of his first photo book, Clarity and Fog. This was also when he also took one of his favorite photos. “I took a double exposure photo of a dead plant in front of an acidic hot pot,” says Ducote. “Something about that dead plant in such a vibrant landscape felt in some way like me, and that’s one of my favorite photos.”

“If you don’t have good light, you don’t have a good photo. It’s just not compelling.”

During the pandemic, Ducote was laid off. Putting his unemployment money to good use, he funded a move to Salt Lake City. He found work as a product photographer at Walker Edison and was able to merge his interest in contrasts even in his product work. “I build images around light,” he says. “If you don’t have good light, you don’t have a good photo. It’s just not compelling.”

For Ducote though, photography may have become his job, but it isn’t just a job.  He describes himself as a photographic artist and not just a photographer. “A lot of photographers view photography as a job, a way to make easy and fast money,” claims Ducote. “I approach it in a different way as art and not that. I try to give it all I’ve got.” 

Perhaps connecting back to the original reason he started taking pictures, this distinction, as much as anything, seems to form the basis of Ducote’s philosophy on his work: “Caring about beauty and finding it in your photographs shows when someone gives a shit. And I give a shit.” 

To see examples of his work, check out Dom Ducote’s online portfolio at dcdphotography.squarespace.com or on Instagram at @dom_ducote.

Read more features on local photographers:
Russel Albert Daniels’ “Wild Roses” Brings Visibility to Indigenous Communities
Carlos Guzman: Kicking Ass and Taking Frames