If you grew up in a city, this scene was pretty common. A store owner defends his turf against some thugs with a baseball bat or other club. I just found this while searching negatives from over twenty years ago. Even though the picture depicts something fairly common, I was totally psyched to find this because it’s something which I never thought I’d photographed. For reasons unknown to me, I found this image to be unworthy of printing when I took it. If I was shooting with a digital camera, would I delete it? It is amazing how time itself makes a picture seem better, even though the very concept is absurd.
I’d advise young photographers to keep ALL of your pictures on a hard drive somewhere other than your house. Terabytes are now affordable and you will be very happy that you kept some of your outtakes twenty years from now…
Street Photography © Matt Weber
Black and White Street Photographs of New York City by Matt Weber 
A keeper for sure!
this is an amazing photo! it literally shows different emotion and reaction of what is going on at the time you took this picture! i will definitely save all my photos!
I’ve found the same thing. You can be too close to an image, and it either seems better or worse than it does with some perspective. I think images, when we take them, come with emotional baggage. “It should look like so-and-so’s work.” “This type of shot wasn’t on the agenda for today.” “I should have been closer.” “The light sucked.” “I spent five hours waiting for pigeons to be in the right spot, so it has to be a good image.” Etc.
Years later, we forget all that crap and just see the image with no expectations.
That’s also true for other art. As a former musician, I would listen to my old stuff and think “why did I ever release that? It’s crap!” Or (but not as often), “wow I was really onto something there. How did I ever come up with that particular idea?”
I’m glad you stumbled across this one.
Powerful image. Thanks for sharing it.
Matt, it’s true that we put too much pride in the way of accepting good work when we take it because we want all of our work to be great. Music must be similar, because so much
of what I hear these days seems manipulated by computers and some of the older tunes which I thought were just average, kick ass when I hear them today…We are much too hard on ourselves!
you were fortunate to have these to rediscover. like coming upon the archive of vivian maier.
In looking through your work— I cant help but wonder–what I would have capture if i could have afforded a camera in my youth.
sooooo many of your photos bring me back in time, when being a 1% wasn’t the same as the current eras 1%ers.
It was different and in some ways much better, and in other ways more dangerous which may have beeen exciting to the younger people, but was very hard to live in for the older folk…
Matt, is great street phootography here, u catched the right moment,,…real-time. I wonder if u were a bit afraid in taking this one: everyone i have situation like this in front of me I am always afraid that a thug got pissed off with me because i shoot. nevermind..usually i (almost) shoot with my camera ! bye
It was too may years ago to remember how I felt…Sometimes I miss the moment and other times I just do it and keep my fingers crossed that I don’t end up in a bad way…
Looking at your pic is a constant reminder to keep each and every pic. I found older shot that I’ve have taken(disliked) years ago and now are my prized keepers..
That’s the corner of 22nd st and 8th avenue – I grew up a block away. I recognize the New London Pharmacy and in the near left the Merit Florist. Shopkeeper was probably from the smoke shop/deli that’s still next door to Merit, under different ownership but it is 25 years later. What’s not still in the immediate environment is the welfare hotel that was across the street from the Merit (to the right) – now it’s a boutique hotel with a gourmet food shoppe on the ground floor, where the pizza joint use to be.
Good update! Thanks…