Dan Fiege

Welcome to the first edition of the Beacon Portrait Project.

The Beacon Portrait Project began when I moved to Beacon, NY from San Francisco, CA in 2006.  My life, to date, had been spent in large cities, so the idea of moving to a smaller, more intimate place was extremely appealing to me.  As a photographer, it was natural to translate this interest into a photo-study.  I decided I would celebrate my new home by doing a portrait of every resident of Beacon.  I started shooting about a year ago and I have made around 40 portraits so far.

Beacon’s history is very interesting.  Once a thriving industrial town producing the nation’s hats, it suffered a deep economic downturn in the 1970’s.

Several factors have led to a sort of renaissance here, but perhaps the most transformative milestone was the opening of the contemporary art museum DIA:Beacon in 2003. While this art institution has attracted a new community of artists and young families, it has created a community of contrast: families who have lived and worked here for 3 generations living alongside new arrivals who bring with them the values that they developed after years in large cities.  As a result, there is racial, cultural and economic diversity here, yet it really feels integrated and intimate.

I want to record a cross-section of the citizens of Beacon, NY to give visual expression to this community and to illustrate it’s differences and similarities.  I photograph my subjects in their own environment because their surroundings further communicate who they are.

For more Beacon portraits, go to meredithheuer.com.