on the streets in downtown los angeles, 2010 - 2023

ON BECOMING A STREET PHOTOGRAPHER

I announced myself a photojournalist 40 years ago, got a graduate degree in journalism so I could learn how to write well, then set out on a freelance career that would take me around the world. I traveled frugally and made very little money from these assignments from nonprofits and relief agencies, but they were guided by my desire to make a difference in whatever way I could. I was a college teacher during this time too, so would travel during holiday breaks, and summers. Everyone who crossed my path knew me as a documentary photographer doing socially-concerned work.

When I moved to Los Angeles in 1994, my travels came to an end when I started what was then called The Julia Dean Photo Workshops (now called Los Angeles Center of Photography). I had to redefine myself as a photographer. I started taking people on travel workshops to famous cities around the world so that I could shoot on the streets. Then one day, it dawned on me that I should be photographing on the streets of Los Angeles. That was in 2010. I now declare myself both a street and documentary photographer.

Being on the street is as exhilarating as riding my motor scooter. Both come with a challenge and a thrill.

The idea of capturing an image that no one else will get, solely because that moment happens only in that instant, on that day, on that street, in front of you, is simply exhilarating.