Outside the Image

Outside
the Image

Documentary Photography — Dave Parry

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Photography that looks beyond the frame

I make images that explore community, civic action, and social change. I document people and movements struggling to craft a better future — pipeline resisters, electoral campaigns, community schools, and more.

I say making images, because I don't think images are merely "taken." They are crafted both by me and the communities I document.

Treaty People Gathering
Treaty People Gathering

Treaty People Gathering

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Protect the Vote

Protect the Vote

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Unceeded Land

Unceeded Land

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Pipeline vs Appalachian Trail

Pipeline vs Appalachian Trail

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Days of Distancing

Days of Distancing

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Louisiana SPCA

Louisiana SPCA

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No More Pipelines

No More Pipelines

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Fe y Alegria

Fe y Alegria (Bolivia)

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Ruined Water

Ruined Water

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Dave Parry

Dave Parry

Photographer & Media Studies Professor

I am a media studies professor who researches media, power, and social change. I find images to be a powerful storytelling medium, perhaps one of the most powerful. I am interested in using photography to shape how we perceive the world.

As a photographer, I document community and civic actions that resist injustice and pursue social change. I have spent time with pipeline resisters, community schools, and electoral campaigns. Whether working with a nonprofit or civic organization, I enjoy making images that capture people and communities struggling to craft a better future.

I say making images, because I don't think images are "shot" or "taken" as we often say, rather they are crafted. Photographers make choices about what to put in the image, what to put outside, where to point the camera, what photos to show, which to delete. I think this is the power of the photograph: to capture moments, point attention towards something, and craft a different frame for understanding the world.

I currently reside in Pennsylvania, where in addition to making photographs I am an academic who studies digital media.