“BEAUTIFUL POINT” Photography by Mike Ritter

“I want to say something beautiful about Dorchester with your portraits.”

That’s the simple but beautiful sentiment behind Mike Ritter’s “Beautiful Point” photo project, which he installed at six Boston Public Library branches in the neighborhood in the fall.

Ritter, 42, lives in the San Marco area of ​​Dorchester with his wife and children and has been a freelance photographer for 18 years. His trade has been hit hard by the pandemic – he booked just one job in 2020 after Covid restrictions began on March 20. As life began to return to normal in 2021, Ritter – like most people – was eager to return to full speed. In autumn 2021, he is organizing a one-day ‘Get Close’ portrait shoot in Dorchester Park. It turned out to be a great success, with several dozen families and individuals posing for his lens.

Michelle Dent, Ayanna Mack, Tristan Mack at Codman Square. Library.

The Hashimoto-Martel family — Erin, Christopher, Ayumo (10), Emiko (8) — at Codman Square. Library.

“After all these months of being told to stay apart, I wanted them to get closer,” he said.

But, Ritter says, he found the one-day location concept lacking in some ways. So this year, he sought and secured a $10,000 City of Boston Arts and Culture grant to subsidize what became “Beautiful Point.”

The project, supported in part by BPL and the Dorchester Reporter, involved people from all over the city’s biggest borough arriving for their moment in the spotlight at branches in Lower Mills, Fields Corner, Codman Square, Adams Street, Grove Hall and Uphams Corner.
The city is letting me go wild, he says.

“I feel like there’s a different energy from celebrating the community and how we’ve all weathered the storm in one way or another. With the six dates and six different venues spread throughout the season, I really feel like we’ve brought so many people together from all different parts of Dorchester , which we covered the entire neighborhood much better.”

The proof of Ritter’s success is in the evidence of the photos themselves – and in quotes he recorded from willing participants talking about why they love Dorchester.

Pierre and Liliam Doriscat and their daughter Mia at Fields Corner.

Hans Bastien of Dorchester and his daughter Ilani, 4, at Fields Corner.

Rachel, Solomon and Andrew McDonnell at Fields Corner during Open Streets Dorchester on 24th September.

And, he says, the feedback from subjects includes “some of the best compliments I’ve ever received personally or professionally. People really went out of their way to tell me what the photos meant to them.”

For some of the people captured by Ritter’s trained lens, it was their first opportunity to take a professional photo of their family or themselves. It was all done free of charge for participants, who can use the photos for personal or professional use, with credit to Ritter and his company, Ritterbin.com.

All of the library events were well attended, but the biggest draw was when Ritter set up his equipment on Dot Ave in front of the Fields Corner branch for the Open Streets Dorchester event in September. “It was great to get away from the open streets and it felt like all of Dorchester was there for the day,” he said.

What next? All the people he has photographed have received their free images. Ritter is planning an exhibition for next spring to showcase the portrait collection, ideally at a location in Boston.

“I would like to get this out to people who could benefit from exposure to this side of Dorchester. I’m still trying to figure out where it will be.

Zelda, Amelie and Lincoln Pang at the Adams Street Library.

Josh and Alison Wilson with their daughter Ava Jubilee Wilson, pictured at the Adams Street Library.

A couple hug and kiss during the Open Streets Dorchester event outside Fields Corner branch library on September 24.

Jen McAuliffe at Fields Corner.

Jacqueline Cetina and her fiancé Danielle Verlak at the Adams Street branch library.

A grandfather holds his granddaughter during a Dorchester the Beautiful photo shoot at Codman Square Library.

Darris Garraway with her daughters Isabella and Delilah at the Open Streets event in Fields Corner.

Linda Phan and Dave Tran with their identical twin daughters Jasmine and Josie at Fields Corner.

Jennifer Chams photographed at Uphams Corner Library. She loves the diversity of Dorchester. “It reminds me of New York, but a little less chaotic.”

Reflections on “Beautiful Point”
By Mike Ritter The Photographer

“In most of these portraits, I just see myself reacting to what was in front of me. They are candid, more real than a simple pose. Something happened within the confines of the pose where, to my eyes, something real was happening between the people in the portrait, or one person giving up trying to present some version of themselves and just being themselves. These are things I can’t ask for, or if I do, they can’t just do it on command. They do it naturally and if I’m quick I can catch it.

“Looking back at the images, they cover a good cross-section of Dorchester, from people who have recently moved from South to lifelong residents going back to at least the 1960s. Race, sexual orientation, income, immigration. They’re all there. I feel they capture the diversity that is Dorchester. At least half the time in interviews, diversity is mentioned as a reason why people find Dorchester beautiful. They mentioned the food, the architecture, and offered some really nice comments about the community.

“Here are some responses that I felt were most moving from the personal interviews.

• Leonardo Paul, Lower Mills: “I love Dorchester. I have lived here all my life and I want to buy my house in Dorchester.

• George Deveny Sr., Lower Mills: “It’s a cliché, but it’s a beautiful tapestry of people. Dorchester represents the real Boston – not just a neighborhood – Dorchester is a way of life!”

• Harir Oriahail, Adams Village: “My mom means the world to me. When I was 4 years old, my family and I immigrated from Afghanistan to the United States. We have been living in Dorchester for 6 years now. My school, the libraries, the playgrounds where I play with my friends and the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester where I can learn new things – they make Dorchester beautiful to me.”

• Jennifer Chams, Uphams Corner: “The diversity! It reminds me of New York, but a little less chaotic. (It kind of pisses me off when Juanita Cox calls the driving “crazy” in the online response. – MR )

• Richard Rivera, Uphams Corner: He and his wife, after buying their house in Dorchester, were “extremely happy to know that our children could grow up in a town like ours. The best part about Dorchester is its diversity. It was one of the deciding factors for us in choosing where to raise our family.”

• D. Vanessa Wilson, fitness instructor, Uphams Corner: “Residents are taking better care of themselves.”