Tuesday, August 14, 2007

New York in Pictures

For the last six months I've been learning to take pictures with a digital SLR camera. I even took a digital photography class at UC Berkeley, which really opened my eyes to all the variables and complexities involved in making good photographs. I have a friend who has been shooting for somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 years, and want to share with you some of his amazing work. If you scroll through the pages you will find some extraordinary pictures of New York City street art from the era of Haring and Basquiat, and scenes of protests that took place in various parts of the city in the 1980s. I found the Bensonhurst series particularly arresting. This is a New York that no longer exists, that people barely remember anymore, even those of us who were there, and I was moved to see it so vividly documented here. There is also a series of moody and dreamy atmospheric photos taken with a plastic toy camera called a Diana. You can view the work here; it is well worth exploring.

4 comments:

Mark said...

My favorite? The USA Today street corner paperbox with the word "LIES" scrawled across the front in black magic marker. Succinct and accurate. Remember when people cared?

bubbaryder said...

I had seen a few of Al's photos before, but seeing the depth and breadth of his work is really astounding. They are beautiful. The political photos are like looking at history. One of my favorites: "DUKAKIS TRIED TO LEGALIZE SEX WITH ANIMALS!"

Christine said...

What fascinated me most about looking at these pictures was the thought that, in relative chronological terms, they are really quite recent, yet they seem to depict a side of New York City that has all but vanished. I imagine these photographs will only gain power the further one moves away from them in time.

Anonymous said...

Black & White was a great choice for the Bensonhurst Photos. It reminds me of a New York I loved, tense, messy, ugly and cold.