Dirty Dublin photographer capturing Dublin streets in style

Dirty Dublin, also known as Jim, is an Irish photographer currently living in Dublin 8, capturing the day-to-day life of the many secret and overlooked scenes of Dublin streets. His poignant and lively photography highlights small city moments, as captivating stills of Dublin city in the here and now.  

Jim grew up with a colourful background in graffiti, art and street photography which drew him towards some very interesting locations and situations in life.  As time went by, Jim’s growing interest in photography blossomed from a simple need to shoot everyday life, into a real passion. He started pursuing photography on a full-time basis and it has been his job for many years, with Dublin being the main focus of his works. 

“Dublin is a very interesting city for me. Travelling is always fun but there is something very special and unique about walking the streets of your hometown,” said Jim. “I feel like as I progressed with my photography work, I became more and more interested in storytelling and documentary photography, as I could see so much of what made Dublin unique disappearing,” he added. 

Jim expressed concern over old communities, meeting places, pubs, and cultural hubs that make Dublin what it is, being sold and bulldozed. He told me he felt compelled to document his version of Dublin and express the way the city is for him and many of his friends. “There is a huge amount of character and beauty, but also a lot of sorrow and misfortune on the streets of Dublin that is equally important to document” Jim said.  

With an unprecedented pandemic and a city devoid of people for safety reasons, what could lockdown be like for a photographer like Jim?  

“Lockdown was fantastic and interesting for me. After the initial shock of the situation I found it very beneficial to slow down a bit and look at my process,” he said. The limits on movement in his area allowed Jim to look closer at places he would usually just walk past and photograoh subjects that he was not normally used to. 

“The city was completely empty at some points, which made for really interesting compositions and it was an exciting new challenge to photograph.” 

I went on to ask Jim what his favourite areas of his home in Dublin 8 were to explore and photograph. “I love the Oliver Bond area of Dublin 8, there are so many great people and interesting structures to photograph. I am a big fan of heading out to shoot photographs with no direction in mind and luckily Dublin 7 and 8 always seem to provide the goods. They are some of the most interesting parts of Dublin for me and I still have loads to discover.” 

You can find Jim at Dirty Dublin on Instagram or have a look at his photography on his website www.dirtydublinphotography.com.