Berlin is a city that where you hear thousands of stories a day. Some of them are so interesting that you can’t stop listening to them. Meeting this story tellers keeps you informed and aware that some of us still care about the community. I got the chance to meet Daniel Mora, an expath from the US living in Berlin. He’s a supporter of the LGBT community and has something to tell us…

Daniel, please tell us when you decided to start supporting the LGBT community.

My project on equal rights came about during the 2012 USA presidential election. There was so much hate speech from the conservatives regarding all aspects of their political positions and I was frustrated hearing their rhetoric all the time. Specifically the issue of preventing marriage rights for all people in the US due to their sexual preferences and identities. In the USA, the right of marriage also has legal benefits such as tax incentives, adoption opportunities, and visitation rights for ill and injured spouses.

The emotion of love is an equally similar experience across all peoples of the earth. And to say that a couple in love is not allowed to be married because it would violate the “sanctity of marriage” was maddening. Especially considering that the divorce rate in the USA is now over 60% across the country.

I wanted to meet a diverse group of couples who were in love and attempt to capture their emotion and love toward one and other. I felt this would be a very complex project because real intimate love is a tremendously private experience and being able to visually express it with a stranger watching and snapping photos is not a comfortable experience. I put an advertisement on craigslist looking for volunteers and also asked my friends to see if they knew anyone who would be interested in participating. Thankfully I had a number of volunteers from all ages, races, and persuasions.

Being able to witness people express their love towards one and other, as well as share their stories with me was very emotionally fulfilling. Especially for me when in my own personal life I have not had the opportunity to experience love of this depth.

I wish to continue working for equal rights and showing that humans are all the same no matter where we come from, how we look, and who we love. I hope that being able to share these stories and emotions with others through photography can encourage people to speak up about these issues, and also hopefully change opinions of those who disagree with these sentiments.

To see more of Daniel’s photography work, click HERE