Photo by Alon Goldsmith

ABOUT THE L.A. PROJECT

JULIA DEAN, PROJECT DIRECTOR

Julia Dean is a photographer, educator, writer, and founder and former executive director of the Los Angeles Center of Photography. Before her departure in 2021, she led JDPW/LACP for more than 22 years. She is currently the director of The L.A. Project, which is an umbrella organization for everything she creates and offers, which currently includes a street photography collective called Street L.A., documentary and street photography classes, and a large outdoor event called Projecting L.A..

Collaborative projects with talented photographers are Julia’s passion. In the 1990s, she raised money to send six photographers around the world to document stories about child labor. This work resulted in two trips to the Capitol and a lot of press. Her current collaboration — Projecting L.A. — pulls together talented L.A. photographers who are covering stories on the people who make up L.A..

Julia began her career as an apprentice to pioneering photographer Berenice Abbott. Later, Julia was a photo editor for the Associated Press in New York. She has traveled to more than 45 countries while freelancing for numerous relief groups and magazines. Her extensive teaching experience includes 42 years at various colleges, universities, and educational institutions including the University of Nebraska, Los Angeles Valley College, Los Angeles Southwest College, the Santa Fe Workshops, the Maine Photographic Workshops, Oxford University, The Julia Dean Photo Workshops, the Los Angeles Center of Photography. Besides her own classes, through The L.A. Project, Julia is currently teaching at Santa Monica College and the Leica Akademie L.A..

For two decades, Julia concentrated on street photographer around the world. For the past 14 years, street shooting in downtown Los Angeles has been her primary focus. Julia’s work has been published in many magazines, blogs, and books.

Julia received a Bachelor of Science degree in photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska, and is the author/photographer of the award-winning children’s book, A Year on Monhegan Island, published by Houghton Mifflin Co..

Take a class with Julia Dean

THE TEAM

DANIEL SACKHEIM | PRODUCER

Daniel Sackheim is an Emmy Award-winning, Film & Television director and producer best known for his work on such critically acclaimed series as HBO’s True Detective Season 3, Game of Thrones, Ozark, and The Americans.

A list of partial credits includes the Apple TV+ series Servant, Better Call Saul, Jack Ryan, The Leftovers, The Man in the High Castle, The Walking Dead, and HBO’s acclaimed Lovecraft Country. Sackheim directed the Sony feature film The Glass House, starring Leelee Sobieski, Diane Lane, and Stellan Skarsgard, and produced The X-Files Feature: Fight the Future for 20th Century Fox.

Dan is a co-founder of Bedrock Entertainment, which produces prestige content for Streamers and premium cable platforms.

Dan developed a passion for movies at an early age.  An obsession with the genre of Film Noir, continues to influence not only his directorial work, but his photography as well. His project “Slow Kiss” is an homage to the classic Noir films of the fifties, but with a contemporary Neo-Noir esthetic.  UNSEEN is a black and white series which explores life in the shadows.

JOSHUA STERN | PRODUCER

Joshua Stern grew up in the entertainment business in New York and Los Angeles. He appeared in his first commercial at the age of five and had his own sports radio show at the age of twelve. He graduated with a degree in English from U.C.L.A. Upon graduating he immediately went to work at Universal Studios and sold a story to Law and Order in its freshman year. He went on to write numerous episodes and since then has written for such successful shows as Chicago Hope and Judging Amy. His biggest break came with the landmark show Resurrection Blvd. on Showtime; the first television show to feature an all Latino cast. While on staff he won several awards, including two GLAAD awards for writing.

Joshua wrote, produced and directed two short films which combined to appear in over 30 festivals worldwide. He has written plays, features, TV pilots, developed a digital series for Rosario Dawson and published a non-fiction book 365 Ways to Teach Your Children How to Love Themselves. Recently he has turned his focus into producing full time and has an expansive slate of projects in varying stages of development for the U.S. and international marketplace. He’s an original member of the photography collective Street L.A. run by Julia Dean and he produced Projecting LA 22.

ALON GOLDSMITH | WEBSITE DESIGNER

Dubbed “LA’s iPhoneography Wizard” by Forbes magazine, Alon Goldsmith is an award-winning photographer who has been featured extensively across media and exhibited in galleries around the globe. Alon’s achievements include overall winner of the MIRA Mobile Prize in 2022, 3rd place in the Los Angeles Center of Photography’s Street Photography Around the World Competition, and runner up in the journalism category in the prestigious MPAs. Alon was a jury member for the 2018 and 2019 MPAs. His work has also been published in the Los Angeles Times, Reader's Digest, the Forward, the Argonaut and the App Whisperer, and has been extensively featured in Snap and Mobiography magazines. Alon is also a seasoned ad-industry professional with more than 20 years of experience as a copywriter and creative director.

KEITH SKRETCH | EDITOR/PROJECTIONIST

Keith Skretch is a Los Angeles-based media artist and video designer. His video designs have been seen on stages across the U.S. and internationally, earning Bessie, Ovation, and Henry Hewes design awards, while his installations have been presented at such venues as San Diego International Airport, Bohemian National Hall in NYC, Occidental College, and Studio Teatrgaleria in Warsaw. Skretch is a creative director and core team member at LA-based interactive media company NightLight Labs. He holds degrees from CalArts and the University of Chicago..

LISA BEVIS | PRODUCTION MANAGER

Lisa Bevis is a filmmaker/photographer living in Los Angeles. A world traveler and polyglot who speaks four languages, Lisa has shot, produced, cast and directed projects in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Lisa is excited to be working with Julia Dean and The L.A. Project team to co-ordinate the public exhibition of photographic images, created by L.A. photographers, of our beloved Los Angeles that mirrors its vibrant, multicultural community.

ANDY COMINS | PRODUCTION MANAGER

Andy Comins is an award-winning photographer whose compelling images capture the beauty in the world around us, from the wonders of modern science to the character of a human face.

Collaborating with esteemed natural science writers, Andy has been privileged to work with and help renowned scientists illustrate their technical, ground-breaking research through fascinating visual imagery.

He is a two-time co-recipient, with science journalist Pamela S. Turner, of the American Academy for the Advancement of the Sciences Prize for Excellence in Science Books.  Both Houghton Mifflin Harcourt titles, The Frog Scientist (2010) and CROW SMARTS – Inside the Brain of the World’s Brightest Bird (2017), make sophisticated scientific concepts accessible for young scientists.

A feature film location manager for over three decades, Andy was recognized by A list-directors and production designers for his aesthetic sensibility and eye for design which culminated in his creative contributions to the 1990 Academy Award winning film, Driving Miss Daisy.

Andy has always been an advocate for children, and as an early childhood educator he worked with the families of migrant farm workers and their children. His passion and dedication enabled many to improve, hopefully and in some small measure, the quality of their children’s difficult lives.

MARTA EVRY

Marta Evry is an Emmy Award-nominated, Film & Television editor and producer best known for her work on The X-Files, HBO’s The Pacific and Lovecraft Country, Amazon Prime’s The Man in the High Castle, Hunters, as well as Snowpiercer, House MD, and Castle.

Daniel Sackheim, Julia Dean and Joshua Stern | October 2022 | Photo by Keith Skretch