Melissa O’Shaughnessy is a late-blooming street photographer based in New York City who captures fleeting, humorous, and human-centered moments with a delicate visual sensibility. Her work brings compassion and poise to the urban chaos of Manhattan and beyond—framing moments with clarity and humanity. Background & Vision O’Shaughnessy didn’t pursue photography until her 40s. After building a darkroom in her home and developing black-and-white film landscapes, she discovered street photography under the guidance of Joel Meyerowitz during a workshop in her early 50s. His insights resonated with her, clarifying that street photography was a way to express the essence of photography through real human moments . Over time, she overcame her shyness and began embracing street shooting—the result: images with a strong current of humanism , narrative, and empathy. Her influences include legends such as Helen Levitt, Garry Winogrand, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank , and Sergio Larrain. ...
"The camera is an instrument that teaches people to see without a camera" - Dorothea Lange