2019 Straight Pride Parade Boston, Massachusetts

Independent Photography Project

Street Photography

David R. Sullivan

September 11, 2019

"It is always the instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph." Robert Frank

My goal last semester was to expand my photography in a new direction.  I’ve always believed that photography was an art form, a way of expressing who I am and what I like.  My photographs mostly included those memorable moments with family and friends.  However, I also enjoyed capturing those places I visited during my many travels around the country. I was never really interested in, nor was I comfortable photographing strangers.   I usually waited patiently until those distracting strangers moved out of the frame so I could capture the image I wanted, be it a friend, a lighthouse, building or landscape scene. 

So, I decided last semester that I was going to expand my subject matter portfolio by photographing strangers.  I started timidly at Jenness Beach in Rye, NH photographing surfers.  It was a foggy day.  Great! I could hide in the fog! I returned to the beach the next day.  The fog had lifted.  However, I was a little more comfortable the second day taking photographs of the surfers.  I spent a total of five days returning to the beach with my camera seeking to capture that decisive moment.  During my time on the beach I talked to many people and learned a lot about surfers and their passion for surfing.  I spoke with families from Quebec who came down each year during their kid’s vacation to surf with their children.  I also talked to a group of college kids who belonged to an outing club at Dartmouth College.   They all had a wonderful story and a love for surfing.  The more I chatted with these strangers, the more comfortable I was taking their photograph while they became more comfortable with me. 

That experience inspired me to photograph strangers for my final photography project titled “Emulation”.  My quest was to find a photographer who captured images of strangers which told a story at the same time.  I finally chose Robert Frank to emulate, based upon some of his photographs and the quote stated above.  I also learned that Robert Frank took 28,000 pictures before choosing 83 pictures for his book, The Americans.  

My immediate goal for my independent photography project is to further expand my photography in this new and exciting direction of street photography.  However, I do not plan to emulate any particular photographer.  Instead, I will allow myself to be influenced by many different photographers whose passion is photographing strangers in hopes that their photographs and philosophy will provide me the necessary incite to capture the essence of strangers whom I photograph living in the present moment, their present moment.  I hope the viewer of my photographs find a story to be told upon viewing my photographs.

I started my quest by recently by taking over 100 photographs on a train ride to Boston a few weeks ago.  Boston is an exciting and vibrant city with many diverse and fascinating stories to be told.  My initial trip to Boston gave me many more ideas of where to go and what to think about while walking the streets of Boston seeking to capture those decisive present moments.