Artist statement

From the very beginning, I’ve always made abstract photographs. That is something that was somehow instinctive to me, right from the very beginning. I am also drawn to common, everyday objects that most people walk by without ever noticing them. It is amazing how beautiful and dignified some of these subjects can be when captured in the right way. I’m captivated by lines, light, symmetry, and I work hard to compose my shots so that they have balance. The secret is in the lines, and where they take the eye of the observer.

I like shooting both in color and black & white. Each of these mediums pose unique challenges and render great rewards. My goal is to capture something exactly the way that I see it, with the hope that others will see it as I do. It’s really that simple. Making photographs that are pleasing to the eye, and catch your attention. What could be better?

My next step is to begin taking candid street shots, capturing people as they go about their day as well as all that the streets entail. Add to that portraiture and some still life, and I will be very busy indeed.
I look forward to the challenge of a new style!

Biography

Sean Burns is a self-taught photographer currently living in Bayonne. Many moons ago in 1992, a co-worker purchased a Canon SLR, and asked if Sean might want his old Ricoh camera. He jumped at the chance, and immediately began to shoot in a style that would still be comparable to his work today. He did his homework on his own, and found a film processing shop near his job. The store owner became a mentor, and eventually he had a month-long show of his prints in that shop in 1993. Some of those images are on his website to this day. 

Sean is also a musician and a very busy one, so much so that photography was on hold for some time. But with the beginning of a new job in 2015, right across from the newly forming Hudson Yards, he started noticing some interesting prospects to shoot. He gave his new Iphone a try, and was amazed at the results. He’d been bitten by the bug again, and it wasn’t long before he bought a Nikon SLR so that he could make photographs as he had in the past. Besides, it turned out he really missed using a viewfinder! 

In 2020, he reunited after 30 years with the woman who was to become his fiancé.  She is a Parsons graduate, and is a brilliant artist and photographer in her own right. Her encouragement and support led him to begin submitting his work to open calls, and to eventually have his work hang in galleries. Sean’s influences include a wide range of photographers. Particular favorites are Berenice Abbott, Ted Croner, Saul Leiter, Edward Burtynsky, and Man Ray.

……. Especially Man Ray!

@s.burns_photography

seanb863@verizon.net