Photographing NYC for 25 years in mostly black & white and for six of those years I was driving a New York City taxicab. I never stage photos, so what you see here actually happened.
Urban Photos was my website for the past ten years and it was badly designed. Hopefully the various categories will make surfing this site easy and pleasurable.
I am also a close confidant of the “immortal” Dave Beckerman, owner of the first photography blog in the known universe. (who suggested that I build this site and donated many hours)
My book the Urban Prisoner is still in print and if you want to purchase a copy please contact Sanctuary Books
Black and White Street Photographs of New York City by Matt Weber 
you are the man!
Yes, as far as anyone can determine, I am the first one with a photo blog in the known universe. There was one other guy – named James – wish I could remember his last name. He died a few years ago, but I think his site is still live.
Well, I, for one, am glad to be able to see more of your work, Matt.
Thanks Chris, I hope to avoid throwing up too many second rate images like we all do on Flickr.
Only time will tell, but I can always pare down this archive later if necessary…
It made me really happy to look at the pictures that you’ve added to this website.
Your pictures are a joy to look at. Even when they are difficult to look at.
It makes me real happy to have you feel that way!
hey man, love everything. thanks for taking the for all this shit. i found a similartiy between a photo you took and one i took. check it out if you have the time
your photos are great! they made me realize that i love street photography and should do more of it. thanks! all the best…
Happy…I’m happy you feel that way!
Matt,
I’m a friend of Ron Goldstein, I’m starting a gallery in Woodstock, NY. I was wondering if you would like to exhibit some of your prints at my place.
Please email me or call for more details.
Cheers,
Norm Baugher
917.208.9997
Great site. Very inspiring – especially to a total amateur like me. I have bookmarked you and will be back to visit regularly.
Well thank you Ziyaad!
Hi Matt,
My name is Bwian and I’m a mate of Beckerman’s!
I put a link to your site on my blog! If this is a problem let me know mate!
Cheers! (-;
Thanks very much!!!
It’s wild to see how NYC has changed so much…I’m bookmarking your site-I love it!
Matt,
Allow me to say that I see some of Levinstein’s influence in some of your work. Most notably “The City Game ’05”, “The Summer Of ’88” and probably a few others. How was the show?
A bit sad, when one considers that this huge honor was bestowed upon Leon 22 years after his death. That always bothers me and is one of my pet peeves…
Hi Matt,
Wonderful work, really. are you using a Leica camera ?
Best regards,
Luis, I used a Canon AE-1 for 14 years, and then switched to Leica M6s for the past 11 years…Thanks!
i just love all your photos, very real! i’m from the south, texas that is and I’ve been to NYC once and I love the city! I just can’t get how many people are looking directly into your lens but have you ever had the problem of them getting upset for being photographed??? just wondering…great pics again!
Thanks Tanya! Sometimes people are annoyed, but in general things are OK…
Hi Matt, seasons greetings. It is with great pleasure that I write to you, as I am a real admirer of your work.
I am Director of the London Street Photography Festival and we are VERY excited to be launching this festival in 2011.
Street Photography has been in the shadows for too long and we are going to help ensure the genre receives more exposure and recognition from now on 😉 and hopefully help support the great work you have been doing too!
I am contacting you about helping us spread the word about the festival, and hope you might be in London in July. It would be great to meet you.
The Festival launches in July but our first offering is our Street Photography Awards the first International Street Photography Award.
I hope you will consider entering the Award and sharing it with your network. If you could add us to your links page on your website or your blog too that would be amazing.
I know it’s odd timing with the end of the year but would this be possible in the new year perhaps?
More info can be found here: http://londonstreetphotographyfestival.org/competitions/street-photography-award/entry-information-open
First prize is a £1,000 cash plus an all expenses paid trip to London to receive the prize at an awards ceremony.
It costs £30 to enter but with that you receive a free Blurb book voucher to the value of £28.95, so really it only costs £1.05 😉
The deadline is 31 March 2011.
Please let me know if this is possible and if you require further info from me.
Hi Brett,
Will Matt’s work be shown at the festival? Sure would like to see that.
Dave
Hi Dave, as its the first festival in London, our focus in 2011 is “London” although we have launched an International Street Photography Award which is the only way International artists can be exhibited in 2011.
Matt’s definitely got some seriously good work, I’d be surprised if it didn’t feature in years to come 😉
I abhor contests where the artist must pay to enter, but since Street Photography needs all the help it can get, I’ll post a link to your site…
Hi Matt, thank you, and I can assure you, we are not for profit company and the fee goes towards the Awards and running the festival only…
Very nice blog, like it a lot,,,
micke
I really love your work.. i’m working on an essay where i’m looking how different lifestyles are used through the medium of photography, looking at you work i would love to use you.
i think your homeless project shows the emotion i need for my research. However i need to know a little bio on you. If you wouldn’t mind could you hit me back with just a few sentences on where and when you were born and what inspired you to get into this field of work.. i’d really appreciate it…
Abi
Abi, Email me and I’ll send you a short bio. I appreciate your interest very much!
Hello,
I came accross http://urbanphotos.com Thank you,
Matt, Your work is really impressive and will serve as a great source of inspiration. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Jens!
Hello,
I came across your website and found it alluring and exciting. I am a big fan of design and beauty. If you could e-mail me back that would be great. I just had a couple questions.
I look forward to hearing back from you soon! Have a great day.
Dear Matt,
I’m working on a documentary film and I’m interested in using some of your Harlem 1988 photographs. Please email me back so we can discuss. Thank you!
Best,
Sarah Burns
Dear Matt,
your work is straight and shows an intensiv subjective statement about peoples urban life. It inspires me every time i look at your photos. Keep prying and dont’t loose that creative energy.
Thanks Rainer!
nice website. who made it?
thank you!
I was able to create it without much skill on wordpress…They have many different designs and are fairly simple to work with…
Hi Matt
I love your work and your story. Its photographers like you that keep the motivation alive in me to head out onto the streets and persevere in my search for special images. I love that your photography is more about telling stories than about angles and gimmicks etc.
I photograph on the streets of Mumbai, India and on the streets of any city/country I travel to. After seeing some cool blogs on street photography I decided to start one of my own a couple of days ago. It can be found at http://kaushalpar.wordpress.com.
Would really appreciate it if you could take a quick look at my blog and email me what you think. The streets of Mumbai are very different from NY and so the images make for interesting viewing.
Hope to hear back from you.
Regards
Kaushal
You are great !Take care if you decide to shoot the upcoming Hurricane ! /Simon from sweden
I was lucky that the hurricane missed NYC
Hi Matt,
Im a ninth grader from Yonkers High School, in New York. I greatly admire your work and you are one of my inspirational and motivators in my photography and art. So for my art class we had to choose any kind of artist that we greatly admire, and do a big project on him/her. I was wondering if maybe i could ask you a few questions?
Thanks and best regards.
-Valentina
Hi Valentina, I recently did a very long interview on “Street Reverb” and I will give you a link to it. It gives a reader a great deal of what I feel about my work and photography in general.
http://streetreverbmagazine.com/2011/10/08/matt-weber-im-just-shooting-my-way-through-life/
Thanks Matt, I’ve read the interview and i just need a little bit more about you, like a little bio. Do you mind? 🙂
Thanks
Valentina
OK, email me
weber1@nyc.rr.com
Would you say that your photographs have changed in the direction of art? And thank you so much for that bio. 😀
Val, I don’t think I ever shoot with the expectation of making “Fine Art”, but often the end result could be considered art, loosely I suppose…Thanks!
I found your pictures while searching for the cousin I’ve never met. Seems to me uncle Will in MA said my cousin Matthew drove a cab in NYC. I enjoyed reading a long interview with you, admiring your pictures, and imagining that such an interesting and talented man might be my cousin. I’m the daughter of Katharine, Fritz and Kate’s oldest child, living currently in Seattle.
Katharine, Thanks for finding me…Maybe you could email me and I could learn more about my family’s history, which has never been told to me completely…I would like that very much!
Matt, I am so excited to have found you, and there is so much to tell you! In fact, I’ve been doing a lot of research on our ancestors lately, and you will be amazed at our history, which even includes some prominent New Yorkers. Don’t know how we do this, if you see my email address. So here’s my address at work: katharine.s.irvin@lmco.com.
I came across your blog by “accident” but I’m so glad I did. You truly see the poetry in motion and the Divine speaking through everyday life. I love your stuff and keep doing it! Your work is truly unique and beautiful. It speaks like no sermon ever could!
Legitfaith…Thanks for your kind words!
Dear Mr. Weber,
Thanks for this blog and all of your wonderful work. I’m a New York City kid, born in Harlem in the early-80s, and seeing these photos brings a lot back to me. That may sound crazy — I know I’m not old — but I think you’ll agree that the city has changed dramatically since then. Your photography is an amazing record of a very unique and tragic time in this city’s history, and this has easily become one of my favorite websites.
Coleman…Thank you very much! I appreciate my work having an audience…
Matt,
I am working on a documentary about Nathan’s Famous and wanted to connect with you to talk
about using your photograph (Nathan’s Times Square), and to ask if you might have others.
Thanks, Lloyd
I can spend hours looking at your work. Are you a fan of George Tice by any chance?
Yes, I love Tice! His book “Paterson” is one of my favorites…Thanks!!