It All Started with a Frog

How Recent Pitt Graduate & Award-Winning Photographer Devin DePamphilis Balances Life and Art

By Nicole Klemp

From becoming an Eagle Scout to winning a bronze medal in the Junior Olympics, Devin DePamphilis has accomplished more as a young adult than most people do in a lifetime. But it’s Devin’s award-winning photography that is really making a splash for this Spring ‘23 University of Pittsburgh graduate.

Devin’s work has already earned him several prestigious photography awards, including a 2021 gold prize for illustration in the College Photographer of the Year awards and photography category winner in the Taste Awards (which has been called “the Oscars of food, fashion, and lifestyle media”).

We recently sat down with Devin to discuss how his personal experiences, creative pursuits, and membership in Alpha Kappa Psi’s Delta Chapter have influenced his life and shaped his future career plans.

Seeing Green

Since he was a young child, Devin has always loved animals and nature. That love and appreciation deepened when he became a Boy Scout and spent countless hours outdoors. At age 11, Devin began taking nature photos to earn his photography merit badge. At 13, he met a bullfrog who would ignite a lifelong passion for photography.

Devin’s photo, “Seeing Green,” would become his personal favorite and his first photograph to win an award. “I remember walking through the park, just looking around and snapping photos, when suddenly I saw a bullfrog pop up out of the water,” Devin recalls. “He was hiding in the duckweed, just staring at me. I quickly and carefully laid down on the ground, focused on his eyes, and took several photos before the frog disappeared under the water. I love that photo so much because it jump started my love for photography.”

As his interest in photography grew, Devin’s parents enrolled him in creative summer camps and art classes where he honed his photography skills and learned about different mediums, including the use of miniatures, which are featured prominently in his work today.

“When I was starting out, I focused on capturing plants, landscapes, and wildlife,” Devin said. “Then I started experimenting with macro photography and became inspired. My work examines a minimalist approach, combining miniature figurines with everyday objects, foods, and beverages. This medium allows me to express my sense of humor and, hopefully, put a smile on people’s faces.”

Early Lessons in Perseverance and Leadership

Devin credits much of his personal and professional success to the strong work ethic and leadership skills he gained while pursuing the rank of Eagle Scout. Earning scouting’s highest honor takes significant time and effort and is something only about 6% of scouts achieve.

As part of the Eagle Rank Requirements, Eagle Scouts must organize and lead a service project to impact their communities. Devin devoted 156 service hours to an organization called Caitlin’s Smiles, which distributes books, toys, and craft kits to hospitalized pediatric patients throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding states. He developed the project plan and managed a team of 16 volunteers to design and assemble stockroom shelving for the organization. Devin continues to give to the organization today by donating his photographs for auction.

Devin joined another exclusive club at age 17 when he won a bronze medal in the 2018 Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs for sport pistol shooting. “I had to learn perseverance to keep practicing and working to improve while also balancing school and other sports. After four years of competing, it was nice to finally see my hard work pay off.”

Bringing Together Passion and Career

His ability to persevere served Devin well as a college student during the COVID-19 pandemic. He spent his entire sophomore year and part of his junior year attending virtual classes from his dorm room. “We went from doing everything in person to being 90% online. It’s one of the reasons I joined AKPsi. It was a really difficult time, and I wanted to make new connections and be part of a community on campus.”

As an economics major, most of Devin’s classes were outside the business school, but his growing interest in marketing influenced his decision to join the Fraternity. Since then, his Delta brothers have guided and supported his business interests and helped him as he pursued marketing internships. He has also begun working on projects that combine his passions for photography and marketing services, and hopes to continue that type of work post-graduation.

“In the long term, I plan to continue to expose more people to my passion for photography and participate in additional gallery exhibitions.”

See more of Devin’s work at devindepamphilis.com.

Devin DePamphilis Photography

@devin_depamphilis

Devin DePamphilis