July 2016
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Interview

Jessie Dinan p1

By Simon Sandall ⋅ July 2, 2016 ⋅ Post a comment

READERSVOICE.COM aims to collect a few interesting reading tips. Jessie Dinan is a Brooklyn-based street photographer who rides the subway to places like the West Village and Union Square, and walks around Coney Island and Williamsburg, taking film photographs. The black and white photos capture the emotions in people's faces: pensive, happy, surprised or angry. A woman in pearls yells out as she enters the cold sea on Coney Island; on a winter’s day in Midtown, a man in a coat looks around, his eyes in the shadows of his hat; a long haired man focuses as he feeds pigeons in Washington Square Park. See jessiedinan.com.

READERSVOICE.COM: What started your project to photograph the lives of people on the steets, particularly of New York people?

JESSIE DINAN: I moved from Australia to New York almost 3 years ago, I had planned on only staying 2 years so I spent a lot of time taking photographs just to document my time here to look back on. Looking through old photographs of New York I discovered the works of Bruce Davidson, Robert Frank, Gary Winogrand and really got drawn into street and documentary photography. I started to study it more and more and found myself shooting the people in the city rather than just buildings and streets.

RV: Was the light very different in New York from Australia, and did it take some adjusting to this in your photography?

JD: I only became interested in Street Photography after I had moved to New York. I haven’t been back since but I imagine it being quite a bit brighter out shooting compared to New York City.

RV: Do you still live in Brooklyn, New York, and how did you find a place to live there?

JD: Yes I still live in Brooklyn. We used a Broker to find an apartment, something I find crazy a big chuck of cash goes to them it really sucks. But now after living here a while I know how things work a bit better so probably wouldn’t use a broker again.

RV: Roughly where do you live in Brooklyn and do you have favorite places you go to photograph people and scenes there?

JD: I live in the Williamsburg/Bushwick area. I really enjoy shooting in South Williamsburg and love shooting down at Coney Island, it’s always a great atmosphere in summer down there.

RV: I like the picture of the guy with the old camera . Did you get to talk to him and where did you walk on that day?

JD: This guy is quite a well-known photographer in New York; his name is Louis Mendes. I was at B and H Photo getting some film and darkroom supplies and noticed him there. We didn’t speak: I don’t usually interact with many of the people I photograph as I prefer candid shots.

– continued next page
– see jessiedinan.com
– copyright Simon Sandall.

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