Dan Dao Photo

At the end of 2016, I had the silly idea to start a photo documentary project in Austin. I lived on a street with multiple tattoo shops and walked by them every day to work. Tattoo shops were something I really didn't know anything about but always interested me. Great Wave was the first tattoo shop I ever stepped into and I still feel insanely lucky I chose them first. I nervously asked an artist if I could take pictures as I shuffled through a super rough portfolio. They all turned to the nearly naked man getting work on his full bodysuit to get his input. He gave me the OK. I spent the next hour figuring out where to stand, what angles worked and how things operated in a shop. The more time I spent in different shops the more I learned how special Great Wave was. They are known across the world for their take on traditional Japanese tattooing. At the time I went Jason Brooks , Ben Siebert , James Yocum and Matt Van Cura were working. Each artist had a different approach and s...

When I started out doing these storefront images there really wasn't any special rhyme or reason to the topic. Being Vietnamese you will be related or know someone who works in the nail industry. It's a profession that has allowed thousands of immigrants a chance to make it in the United States and elsewhere. I was surprised by the variety of the storefronts and how much the outside told of the inside.