This article was originally published in the February 2026 print edition of The Bark, distributed at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus.

With casual clothing and limited camera gear, Erica Dischino goes bar to bar in Superior, Wisconsin to find a group of interesting people who are willing to be photographed.

“I dress really intentionally… casual and approachable,” says Dischino, “I keep my gear really limited, I don’t have huge cameras, I am trying to be lowkey.”

Dischino walks into each bar with an open mind, and the acknowledgement that she could be there for just 30 minutes or she could be there for five hours, it just depends on the day and the people she finds to photograph.

“Not everyone wants to be photographed when you’re at a bar, and some people love it,” Dischino said.

Dischino’s day starts early, talking to the bartenders and owners of the bar to ensure they are all on the same page and know what she is up to. Sometimes Dischino will text bar owners to let them know she is coming with most bar owners being on board with this project — they understand why bars are important and why it is fun to photograph them.

“Being in a bar is super moody a lot of the time, just because I’m typically there at night,” says Dischino.

Dischino is just starting this project, and will go at all hours of the day because different things happen at different times of the day in these bars.

“I didn’t grow up with the idea of a neighborhood bar,” says Dishchino, originally from New Jersey.

Dishchino feels like when she came to Northern Minnesota that bars were more than just a place to drink and socialize, because they were foundational to the culture.

“I also am a bartender one night a week for fun, and I found that it’s a really interesting experience to serve people,” Dishchino said, “people are going up to you looking for something, they want a drink or they want to talk to someone… a lot of the time it turns into something more than just serving a drink.”

When photographing in a dive bar, Dishchino is always a little nervous and shy, because asking random strangers to collaborate can be intimidating. Dishchino believes that taking a photo is more than just the photo, but about the moment.

“They’re giving me an image with their presence or how they’re acting or what they’re doing with their friends and allowing me to be there,” says Dishchino, “allowing me to be there and photograph it is a gift.”

“I’m always on my toes, scanning the room and making sure that I’m aware of my surroundings, because I am a young woman,” says Dishchino, suggesting that she is never totally comfortable in these situations. “It’s just like no matter how low key I dress, it’s always going to be something that I’m cognizant of.”

When Dishchino feels like she has had enough for the days, she doesn’t push herself. She understands the territory, stating, “I am used to being denied.”

“When I am working in the photo journalism space, I am operating under National Press Photographers Association, Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics,” says Dishchino, noting that she does photojournalism, not documentary.

“I’m not going to photograph these dive bars to remain objective,” says Dishchino, “I’m there as an artist and I’m there as a photographer, and the intention is for my perspective to be my own way I see things to be shared with the world,” Dishchino says, hoping that someone can relate to that.

Dishchino has to do an enormous amount of research for any project beforehand, and she is still conducting research on the Superior project.

Dishchino was drawn to freelance photojournalism because she saw that the first people to get cut from newsrooms were their photographers and visual art creators.

“I wanted to go to graduate school and pursue freelancing — becoming an independent photojournalist and documentary photographer — mainly because I saw the writing on the wall with the industry shifts and a lot of the times the visual storytellers… are the first to get cut in newspapers,” Dishchino said.

Dishchino studied journalism and photography at Ithaca College in upstate New York for her undergraduate degree, and then went to graduate school at Ohio University in their photojournalism program where she got her master’s degree in visual communication. She now does freelance work in the Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota region.

“I work multiple gigs and have different streams of income,” Dishchino said. Not one of Dishchino’s days looks the same. She does commercial work, as well as real estate photography, in addition to media and news work.
Dishchino is also Project Optimist's Visual Storyteller, meaning she monitors their Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and also selects art for the newsletter and website. This project on Superior Dive Bars is currently unnamed and is set to be released this spring! Keep an eye out on her Instagram @ericamdischino.

Inside the Superior Dive Bar Photography Project with Erica Dischino