Never stop learning. Never stop creating.
When I moved back to Chicago in 2020, a lot of people wondered why. The weather: the cold, the snow, the wind. The cost. The traffic. The politics. And the crime. Truth is, I didn’t just do it for me. There are so many people here that are underrepresented and misrepresented. And as emphasized by the events in 2020, there are so many stories to be told. That’s where I come in. My story is a collection of their stories. You may have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well for me, each story that I help tell, and each voice that I help amplify is worth a thousand pictures. That’s a million words. What do yours say?
What’s going on? My name is Antonio and I work in data engineering for a legal technology organization. Through experience rooted in mathematics, marketing, and sales support, I help architect data systems that help tell compelling stories through analysis and visualization. But that’s not what brought you here. Also being a lifelong artist, I’ve always strived to incorporate creativity into everything I do. The result is the intersection of art and analytics.
I was born and raised in Chicagoland. I bought my first camera (a Nikon D40 DSLR) in 2007 and that’s where I mark the official start of my photography journey. At the time majoring in engineering at a university in Chicago, I balanced my math courses in the day with my passion to create in the evenings. After moving to Georgia a year later, I began to focus more on my education and eventual career in technology.
I graduated from Columbus State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. After nearly a decade in Georgia and a year in New York City, I eventually made my way back to Chicago. Returning as a man with a world of new experiences, I decided to reestablish my love of visual storytelling. And now with 15+ years of experience and 80,000+ photos, I’d like to share my journey.
This is the Art of ADO.