Photo District Blues

pun titles are the best titles

When I first started in photography I was just out of school and living in the same Brooklyn neighborhood I went to college. I worked part-time at a coffee shop (which later transitioned into a bar) that was far away, up near where the Upper West Side meets Morningside Heights (I had to travel that far because Brooklyn famously has no bars or coffee shops). About halfway between those neighborhoods was an area called The Photo District. I don’t think anyone outside of the photo industry called it that, but we did. It was scattered throughout a few neighborhoods like Chelsea and Hells Kitchen and Midtown West. I was starting to assist back then, trying to piece together enough jobs to pay the rent and buy egg and cheese sandwiches (The beer and coffee came from the other job). I was in the photo district almost every day. Up at dawn to get equipment from TREC or Photocare, renting vans at CC rentals (trying to find the one that smelled the least like depression and weed). Most of the photo studios are also over there. Before most everything went digital, the photo labs were there too. At the end of the day, I’d often drop off a giant Ziploc bag of 120 at LTI or Duggal, or wherever.

I’m not sure when it happened but it seems like the industry is far less concentrated on the west side of Manhattan now. A lot of labs and rental houses closed. Studios started popping up in Brooklyn and Queens where you could get more space for less money.

In the last few years, I’ve noticed my neighborhood, the Lower East Side has developed its own little photo district.

I’m writing this from the cafe at The International Center of Photography on Essex st. It’s a great place to work from. It’s quiet, as most people visiting ICP just pass through the cafe on their way to the galleries upstairs. The coffee is ok, not great, not even good really, but the cafe is adjacent to the bookstore, so the view is GREAT. The most difficult thing about writing here is not walking out with a new book(s) every time I come by. It’s a miracle I haven’t bought this Saul Leiter yet. I like to wait sometimes, just to trick myself into thinking that I’m in charge of my photo book habit. Also, if you’re going to tweet about ICP, don’t assume that they are @ICP on there. That is The Insane Clown Posse, I know this because I did it a few weeks ago (I’m good at the internet), and as a general rule, I try not to upset the Juggalos.

Right now ICP is showing Face to Face Portraits of Artists by Tacita Dean, Brigitte Lacombe, and Catherine Opie. It’s a good show. I’ve been a fan of Catherine Opie for a while so I was pretty familiar with her photos. They are great as always. I was surprised by how unfamiliar I was with the photos of Brigitte Lacombe. I recognized a few but I quickly realized I should be looking at her work more. It’s fun to find a blind spot like that. I especially liked her portraits of Maya Angelou, which I’m gathering by their prominence is not a unique take. They are so warm and comfortable and generous.

Maya by Brigitte

I live a few blocks from ICP. They moved to my neighborhood a few years ago and it’s nice to have them. As a high school student in Rhode Island I more than once “missed” school to come to New York and see photo shows. My buddy Brian was also a wanna-be photographer so we inevitably made our way to whatever was showing at ICP.

Nearby on Orchard street is Foley Gallery, a new gallery that I like. It doesn’t seem to be strictly photo, but it does seem to be photo heavy in its curation. The best part is that they recently opened a photo book store in the back called Launch Photo Books. It’s a smallish collection of books but it’s a great selection. I bought Dawoud Bey’s Street Portraits the other day.

Foley and Launch

Not long ago K&M moved to Orchard street. I remember a time when K&M was where you’d head if you needed something while you were shooting in Tribeca or around there. A few doors down a new film lab and print shop opened up. For years it felt like those places were only ever closing, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them appear next to my daughter’s school.

Cameras!

All of these things seemed to pop up quickly, which is of course how it feels when you’re not the one killing yourself to make them happen. I don’t get to the old photo district very often anymore and now that my neighborhood has its tiny district, I’ll go even less. I wouldn’t say I’ll miss it, I could head over to B&H anytime, but it was a place I spent a lot of time during some very formative years, so I will always think of those times and those places with a mixture of strong feelings, some bad, but most good.

Well this post is kind of all over the place, oh well. Anyway, while writing this I was listening to:

Travis