These are some documentary photos taken in New York in 1983. Documentary photography can be defined as style of photography that provides a straightforward and accurate representation of people, places, objects and events, and is often used in reportage. It can be both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life.
For me, documentary photos are ones that are taken without manipulation, or staging. My urban photographs from the 1980s, taken in Toronto, New York, Japan, and Asia are largely street photographs, but are also documentary in that they capture life as it is. And the passage of time makes them more interesting, and valuable, as documents of another era. The above photo, for example, shows a man sitting at the entrance to B. Altman and Company on 5th Avenue. It was the flagship store of a luxury department store chain that opened in 1906 and closed for good in 1989. It’s nice to have a record of this iconic store.
A recent article by Authur Lubow in the New York Times titled, Life As It’s Seen, Not Staged makes the point that documentary photography, which fell out of favor with the rise of manipulated images, is making a comeback. An exhibition at the International Centre of Photography highlights young photographers share “a commitment to portray life as they discover it in the world at large, without staging or manipulation; and by so doing, find and express themselves.” Lubow also makes the point that “nothing is weirder than a straight photograph of an uncanny subject.” In short, truth is stranger than fiction.
In my early sixties, I sill find everyday life endlessly fascinating, and continue to capture it with my documentary photos. They help me make sense of the world we live in, and also help me remember the places I’ve been, and people and things I’ve seen.
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Really enjoyed these images. Around the time I was in Photo Arts I shot at a lot of music concerts in Toronto and am particularly drawn to the Zoot Sims photo. I gotta ask, did you ever have the urge to erase the white shirt tail?
Thank you, Hugh. That room was very dim; it’s surprising I got anything at all. I know that the white bit could be easily removed, but basically I only remove dust spots. I liked the moon shape and it reminded me of a line the Tom Waits version of Phantom 309 – “but every now and then, when the moon’s holding water…”
Did you photograph jazz shows?
A few that come to mind were Sonny Greenwich at the Riverboat, Cannonball Adderly at the Colonial, Duke Ellington at the Imperial Room. Fun days.
You saw some great shows!