Drake O’Konski

Hi, I’m Drake! This is the story of how I became a photographer:

I was born and raised in North County San Diego. Growing up, cars weren’t really my soul passion. I was raised in a military family and that came with an obsession for guns and everything military oriented. It wasn’t until I was about 11 years old that I realized how special cars were to me.

Through video games and friends, I grew an interest for the automotive world. I remember the exhilaration that came to me when playing Need For Speed Most Wanted, driving a Bugatti Veyron Vitesse at 250mph down a freeway. These were small stepping stones for my passion.

For the first decade of my life, I didn’t realize how massive the automotive world was in Southern California. Having learned later on that I lived in the epicenter of fancy sports cars, I begged my mom to drive me around to look for them.

At the age of 12, I decided to make an Instagram solely dedicated to car spotting. In my eyes, it was a public archive of all the cars I was seeing. You can still find that page @oski_spot on instagram.

When I was 15 years old, I found out about supercar shows. I was captivated by the cars and people involved in the Southern California car scene. Through instagram, I became more familiar with the big names of the industry. The more involved I became, the more my feed reflected it.

However, there was something wrong. The simple photos I was posting seemed too dull. Seeing other photographer’s photos from the same shows I was going to got me thinking. I noticed huge differences in photo quality opposed to my iPhone 6. I realized very quickly that iPhone photos weren’t the industry standard for photography.

I decided to take a leap into using a DSLR in early 2018. I shot with a Canon 40d that my mom used when I was a kid. This was new and exciting territory for me. The possibilities were infinite. I created a new instagram @dco.photography. I wanted this page to focus on true automotive photography. I got the hang of being behind a camera very quickly.

Attending the University of Youtube, the eye for photography quickly crept up behind me. Ultimately, it was supposed to be a hobby and past time until 2019, when my work was discovered by O’Gara Coach. They saw potential in my work and wanted me to cover their San Diego Gran Turismo car show. They loved the photos. From then on, I knew I was sealed in the profession. I am constantly learning and improving as the days go on, and am grateful for every opportunity that has come my way.

Companies and rallys I’ve had the privilege shooting for: