Dan Genuario is on a mission to capture Philadelphia one frame at a time.

The senior Management Information Systems major at Temple University’s Fox School of Business is using his creativity to showcase the beauty in the abandoned. His photography hobby has turned into a passion, and is opening up doors to his potential future.

Three years ago, Genuario used his cell phone camera to start taking pictures of graffiti and architecture around the city. He noticed his father had a digital camera that he never used and, one day, decided to pick it up and start shooting.

“I’m self-taught, but I like to credit my abilities to my friends. I learn a lot from their feedback, everything from how to shoot to post-processing,” Genuario said.

Genuario has found a community while hunting for rundown and abandoned areas to photograph. His adventures have taken him to a variety of landscapes, including dilapidated warehouses and asylums that date back to the 19th century.

After sharing his work with the Saxby’s Coffee shop on Temple’s campus this summer, the shop decided to showcase a piece in its newly remodeled space. The photograph that hangs on the wall is the exquisitely captured interior of a deserted water treatment plant from the 1930s.

“It was so photogenic and such beautiful architecture,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that place.”

After exhausting most of the vacant properties in and around Philadelphia, Genuario decided it was time to expand his portfolio. This past summer, he combined his loves of travel and photography into several road trips with friends.

“We went to the Midwest, down south, and up to New England to branch out more,” he said.

Genuario’s work also has appeared in several shows throughout the city, at places like the Trocadero Theatre and Goldilocks Gallery. A dedicated student, he was offered other art shows, but declined due to his schoolwork. “I have to find the right balance between school and photography,” he explained. “I don’t want to give up my passion of photography for school, but at the same time I want to graduate.”

Genuario said he’s “still trying to figure it out,” with regard to his career choices, but said he’d ideally like to apply the information technology and business management skills he’s honed at the Fox School with the potential launch of a photography business.

“I can have a good career with my major and eventually retire to pursue photography,” Genuario said. “I would love to travel the world and take photos.”