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

NYC 1989

The Amsterdam projects were among NYC’s first. I’m pretty sure Robert Moses had a hand in their coming about. Built in 1947 they were a partial answer to all the troops that had come home after the war and needed affordable housing. I think they may have been better off leaving the tenements alone, because the projects eventually became isolated neighborhoods within a neighborhood. To this day, you have people who barely leave the projects to shop and it creates a weird type of personality disorder. Just knowing that your entire existence is based on government handouts could make the people feel a bit depressed as the affluent flutter about the perimeter. Rich people walking their kids to private school, pass the projects full of welfare recipients and crack dealers, who glare back unhappily. I know that some people will use the cheap rent to launch a better life for themselves, but most will spend all their days in these experiments from the laboratory of Moses and his minions…

One last gripe about NYC’s housing projects…If they had just put in larger windows, these buildings wouldn’t resemble the virtual prisons which they are. A little more light could have made a difference…

All Photos © Matt Weber

Matt Weber Kids & Teens, Subway

NYC 2010

Hey who am I to judge this kid’s style. If he wants his pants to fall down so we can see his boxer’s or wear his sneakers without laces it’s cool. 18 karat gold mouth, probably not the best thing in the long run, but once again, I’ll reserve judgement for the time being, cause I remember when letting one’s hair grow past his shoulder was radical. The only thing that sucks, is the gang shit which has these teens choosing Blood vs. Crip  when they’re still in junior high. I think the wrong color bandanna can get a kid killed these days. When we were kids we just listened to the Grateful Dead, instead of feeling Grateful not to be dead!

All Photos © Matt Weber

Matt Weber (Street photography), Kids & Teens, Urban Landscape

Amsterdam Ave. 1988

I’m happy to post all of my pictures on the internet, knowing that some will be stolen. I can’t worry about what I don’t know about or can’t control. I refuse to become paranoid and only post tiny watermarked images. I don’t care if you use thirty of my pictures in a collage. I actually think it might make me happy to see the results. What you should NOT do is steal the images for a commercial project. My images can be purchased for very reasonable prices, and it would make sense to spend a small amount up front. I am being sued for every penny I don’t have in a divorce, and I will litigate to protect my work…I’m bringing this up because this image has been made into T-shirts in the past and is an example of one of my most commercially viable pictures…

All Photos © Matt Weber

Matt Weber (Street photography), Kiss Kiss, The Urban Prisoner

“Perfect Kiss” 2003

Andre Kertesz the great Hungarian photographer once said he waited his whole life to take a picture of a pigeon flying in front of a tenement. (It was an amazing photo) I felt that way about this image. I could easily have gone a hundred years without being this lucky again…

This picture is NOT in my book, “The Urban Prisoner” but is used to decorate the back of the dust jacket. I have a few copies of the book which I will sell to anyone interested for $60 signed or inscribed. I will pay for the shipping as well. Paypal me and the book will appear in just three days. You can’t beat that with a stick! (A silly saying that I never liked)

All Photos © Matt Weber