Photographer Finds Inspiration in Everyday Encounters

Street photographer Dijon Bowden may have started as a filmmaker, but when he began the photography project titled Souls of San Francisco, he quickly knew he had found his true calling. Although pictures are his medium, Dijon primarily sees himself forging connections with people that his camera simply makes possible.

Extreme photos at extreme heights

For seven years, Emily Ibarra has traveled the world photographing the death-defying adventures of professional parkour and freerunning athletes. Captured at sites ranging from the Grand Canyon to the Far East, her photos reveal their fearless exploits as they scale skyscrapers, fly across rooftops, and banish fear in precarious poses. Emily loves her job. “It’s exciting. It’s terrifying, and it’s dangerous, and I get to capture that,” she gushes.

Three mothers transform a photographer’s prejudices

“My perception of ballerinas, as a feminist, was that they were starving themselves for their job, that they were doing what they did for a man that was telling them what to do, that they didn’t want to grow up,” says Lucy Gray. “But,” she adds, “as a photographer, your job is to hunt down your prejudices and get rid of them.”

Painful Past Fuels Photographer’s Passion

“Living with cerebral palsy has been my biggest curse and my biggest blessing,” San Francisco street photographer Jason Lee says. “I don’t claim to be the best photographer, or even a good photographer, but if I can make my dreams come true… then I think that anybody else can.”