A Chat with Gregory & Lesa Daniels
Indialantic is full of extremely talented and accomplished people. The joy of conversation with someone new is the discovery and surprise in learning their about their journey—where did they start and how did they get where they are. Indialantic Living had the pleasure of chatting with Gregory Daniels and his wife, Lesa. Greg, a notable portrait artist, with two photography studios, on Fifth Avenue and in Titusville. Although I chatted with Lesa and Greg separately, their bond came through; it was as if they were talking to me together.
As the yearbook staff photographer at Astronaut high school, Greg was assigned to capture club images and the popular kids. His wife, Lesa, was one of those popular kids whom he photographed many times but was too shy to start a conversation. The Gregory Daniel Portrait Artist business began the same day Greg started working bonding tiles at the space center for Rockwell International, a contractor to NASA. Lesa was hired to the team during a summer break from Florida State. Two weeks later, they were engaged! Their two daughters, Ashley (and Ryan) and Kyla (and Bobby) were married and blessed the family with grandchildren. They are a close family that truly “does life together,” says Greg. Now with a grandson and granddaughter, Greg and Lesa have become Popster and Lolli—together they are LolliPop—whose home is called Camp LolliPop.
Here's Greg on the hot seat:
IL: Describe the moment when you knew you went from good to the next level?
GD: In 1983, I won Florida Professional Photographer of the year along with the first Kodak best overall award. This event drew attention from major influencers which changed everything.
IL: When have you been surprised (and by what) in a photo shoot?
GD: Many years ago, we were commissioned to create a beach portrait for a family living in Orlando. The weather, on this particular day, appeared to be cancelation worthy but the client, a high-profile weatherman, said everything was going to be fine, so off we went to the beach. A gigantic storm was looming, but we all ran to the beach where I captured one image before the lighting hit. Lesa ran back to the safety of the car and the family and headed back as well. My surprise was that the image we captured was stunning and—not only did it look amazing in their beautiful home—it went on to win significant national awards.
IL: What kind of photo have you never taken that you’d like to?
GD: Personal artist projects are what fuel my creative tank. These projects keep my passion for this beautiful art alive. They provide energy and creativity that roll into creating the best for our commissioned clients. You can see some of the artist project creations on our website. Whatever artist project I am working on is my passion.
Greg both ran the studio and worked at Rockwell International until his retirement in 2007. For the last 43 years, he and Lesa have built a business, raised a family, worked and traveled the world together, and still run Camp LolliPop. While this article doesn’t cover much about Lesa, it was clear she is the epitome of the axiom, behind every great man is a great woman.
