I'll Seem Cooler When I'm Gone
A few weeks ago, I posted this thread on Threads:
It was funny-ish—not like forward to your group chat funny, but like “Oh, yeah, that’s kinda true” funny.
Anyway, some people related to it, and also because I put it on the internet, one guy lectured me on the terrible economics of the time.
Why do I love photographs from New York City in the ’60s-’80s? There are a few obvious reasons. It was a golden era—or the beginning—of so many things I love: punk rock, graffiti culture, jazz, the Beats, and some of the best street photography. New York is the city I’ve spent most of my life in, but all of that happened before I got here. I feel like I missed this important part of its history, so I’m a little obsessed with it.
The appeal of shooting here now is thinking about how my photos fit into New York’s larger timeline. How will they hold up? Could there come a day when someone looks at my images of New York in the 2000s and romanticizes them the same way I do with the city's past? Will they seem more significant simply because of the time and place they capture? Will someone wonder, “Is it good, or was it just taken in 2013?”.
I think many photographers can relate to this feeling—whether it's about New York, like it is for me, or somewhere else. Maybe you dream of being in a London studio with David Bailey or wandering the streets of Paris at night with Brassaï. While many people feel a deep connection to a specific time and place, as photographers, it’s different. We don’t just imagine living in those moments—we think about how we’d photograph them.
So I’m wondering where and when you would go? Is there a time and place you think about photographing all the time, or is it just me?
More Roberta Bayley: When I lived on 14th Street, I came across a photo she took of Joe Strummer standing on 14th Street right outside of my apartment. In a matter of seconds, I had my son standing out there, a little confused, in that same spot as my hero Joe.
Thanks,
Travis
While writing this, I was listening to:
I'm already nostalgic for NYC in the aughts or whatever.... I say keep shooting and the layers of nostalgia for today will only accumulate with time - however, I think nostalgia for photographs taken in the pre-phone camera era will be the greatest simply because there will be less photographs to look at and fawn over. Love that smooch with the subway blazing past.
Is there a time and a place? Everywhere, and it changes by the minute. I just saw Fragile Beauty - the Elton John and David Furnish photography collection at the V & A - and as you walk around you are inspired by many of the best and wish you were there, even if to serve drinks. Great post and I love the Joe Strummer/son shot.