A Man Studied Photography In Prison. These Are The Photos He Took When He Got Out.

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

It was 2014 when New Yorker Donato Di Camillo could finally roam the city he knew and loved, camera in tow, documenting the unfamiliar faces and eccentric individuals that passed him by. This pastime, however, had long been kept from him. Di Camillo first became interested in photography eight years prior, while serving time in prison for a federal crime. Locked behind bars, Di Camillo obsessively pored over the glossy pages of National Geographic, Time, and Smithsonian magazines, enchanted by the images of the outside world beyond his reach.

More info: Donato Di Camillo, Instagram (h/t: huffingtonpost, upworthy)

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

“It allowed me time to learn about the world outside my mind,” Brooklyn-born Di Camilo, 47, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. “I read a lot about human behavior and psychology and realized that I had already acquired most of this knowledge unknowingly on the streets. These tools I acquired taught me to navigate around the diverse characteristics and personalities which came in handy when making photographs later on.”

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo

Photo © by Donato Di Camillo