the 80's--not mine

lizzard_nyc

So I stumbled on this guy and his NYC 80's work.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensiegel/sets/72157626376913418/with/6363881781/

I love the nostalgia here, I KNOW this NYC. Reminds me of 4th grade in PS89, I can practically smell the cleaning solution in the school. It reminds me of going to Times square with my dad and going into a shop to buy postcards only to turn around and see my little sister put a wind up toy on the counter to watch it walk/bounce only to realize it was a wind up penis--couldn't find that these days.

So are these really great street shots--or is it the nostalgia that I'm attracted to, the orangey color, the faded look, the hair:)
It's the same feeling I get when looking at much older street photographs. Sometimes I often wonder if they are in fact so good, or is it purely nostalgic (nostalgic for a place I don't really even know except in movies and books).

I mean who is this photographer, likely a nobody, but I'm impressed with his work. Yet I can't help but think , if I took these same shots today, in particular the posed ones, it would not be considered good work.

Any thoughts.

I hope you look at them, it's a fun trip down memory lane and it makes me want to kick Giuliani in the shings for Disneyfying Times Square, though I suppose I don't really miss the hookers and drugs, perhaps because I was too young to appreciat them :rofl.

richardman

Oh wow, I went to Stuyvesant, graduating in 1980 and never looked back. These are nice snap shots. As times pass by, snapshot like these hold more (emotional) values than others. If you like an Ansel Adams in the 80s, then chances are that it holds the same impact today. Street snap shots, OTOH, can become much more impactful.

Back then, I went to the Times Square once, I think. Although I really loved the Washington Square area.

Nmahooch

Thanks for the link. There were some cool shots there. I like what he was trying to do. I do a lot of the same stuff.

It is amazing what time will do for the composition in pictures. I hope someone looks at my pics in 30 years and enjoys them the same way.

lizzard_nyc wrote: »

I can practically smell the cleaning solution in the school.

It's funny you say this. I walked into an establishment the other day and that same smell sent me back to grade school. I mentioned it to my partner and agreed. I haven't smelt that in years.