Dan Ginn

Different Faces In Different Places

I created this series of portraits across seven countries and four continents. All of the images are impromptu street portraits of local people that I meet while traveling through their home nation.

The motivation for the series was to help bridge the gap between cultural and linguist differences, and build a form of communication through the language of photography. I believe that photographic communication is something that almost everyone understands, and the relationship between the photographer and the subject is something that is extremely bonding.

On a more simplistic level, my motivation to pick people at random was due to my desire to give them a highlight within their day. While it would be wrong to suggest that everybody’s life is monotonous, I do believe it’s fair to say that everyone in life experiences monotony. Having a person, a stranger, a photographer, stop them in their tracks and validate them through the request of a photograph is something they can take with them and hold in their minds. Then, of course, there is the aspect of having the photograph - a reminder of our interaction and that somebody chose them.

From a personal perspective, taking street portraits has dramatically improved my confidence. While never a shy individual, the process of stopping strangers, engaging with them, and convincing them to allow me to photograph them has taken me to another level of communication skills and given me a confidence that has opened up doors and broken down social barriers.

I’m extremely proud of this on-going body of work. In a time where humanity feels more divided than ever, it fills me with joy when I look at this series of short, but meaningful, human connections.