Matt Weber (Street photography), Fights & Playfights, Men of New York, Old New York

The Shopkeeper 1988

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

Matt Weber (Street photography), Kids & Teens, Old New York

“My Stoop” 1989

I get nostalgic for my old stoop. Stoops are great for chilling and swilling cold brews during the summer. (Guiliani did put a dent in that activity by putting the cops on “Zero Tolerance”)

In the morning this stoop was great for people watching. All the suits and secretaries would run with such serious expressions on their mugs, as they tried to catch the 8:55 crosstown bus.

Late at night, I could smoke a nice Cubano and not have to worry about yuppy neighbors squalking constantly about the stench.

Yes, stoops were also perfect for the great American past time of girl watching.

The stoop was also a place where every now and then, I’d take a photograph worth printing. This one always pleased me…

 

© Matt Weber

Matt Weber (Street photography), Color, Men of New York, Portraits

“Bobby Long” 2010

I saw Bobby the other day and he’s not doing very well. I can tell you he’s had a rough life without exaggerating. He told me he was a photographer too once upon a time. He did recognize my M6 so I think he may have been telling me the truth. Something went terribly wrong when he was much younger. Not that I know all the details, but he was incarcerated  forty years ago. It was the one of the last prisons you would want to be in 1971…He was in Attica when the shit hit the fan!

© Matt Weber