Photographer Takes a Person’s Portrait in all 50 States in a Single Day
A photographer has achieved the seemingly impossible task of photographing a person in all 50 American states in a single day.
British photographer Tim Dunk has never even set foot on American soil, let alone visited all 50 states in a day; so how did he do it?
“In a world-first, I remotely photographed one person in every U.S. state — in a single day,” he tells PetaPixel. “From the U.K., using the magic of the Shutter App.”
Dunk tapped into technology that turns the subject’s smartphone into the photographer’s camera. Dunk used his computer in the U.K. to shoot photos on the sitter’s smartphone, instructing them how to pose and where to point the lens.
“Every participant was a friend of a friend or a friend of a friend of a friend,” Dunk explains.
“In a gloriously frantic 13-hour period, I connected with these people, spent three to 10 minutes with them, and recorded our connection with a photograph,” he says.
“As someone who’s never set foot on American soil, I’m completely in awe of the fact I was able to spend time with someone in every single state in a day, and I’m so very grateful to all the wonderful people who gave me a few minutes of their Sunday.”
Dunk’s photos are beautifully crafted utilizing light in creative and aesthetically-pleasing ways, the fact he wasn’t physically present makes it all the more impressive.
“I wish I’d had more time with each person and time to make notes on them all, but it was real seat-of-the-pants stuff just trying to get every state booked in while also remotely photographing 53 people,” he says.
“Special thanks have to go to Hannah in Maine who stepped in as zero-notice cover for the one person who wasn’t contactable at the time of their session,” he continues.
“Also Zachary in New Hampshire, which was the one place I just couldn’t seem to find anyone for, all through the day until 23:30, when he popped into my inbox agreeing to take part.”
Dunk says that it was a great exercise in demonstrating the power and possibilities of remote photography.
“What an absolute ride it all was,” he adds. “Not in a hurry to do anything similar again, the logistics side of things was more than a little stressful!”
Dunk is offering personal virtual sessions here. More of his work can be found on his website and Facebook.
Image credits: All photos by Tim Dunk.
