About

Who, What, When, Where and Why…

I’ve been photographing the Bronx since 1979, when the neighborhood was in distress, an extension of economic difficulties throughout the city.  To generations growing up then, it was home.  People’s lives tell a different story than the headlines or the evening news.

For This Side of Paradise, I’ve set up my traveling portrait studio in Room 248 of the Freedman Home, making a record of this time, place and community.  A balancing act between posed and candid portraiture, the traveling studio catches the tension between things as we’d like them to be and things as they are.  It happens quickly, a performance of identity rather than a reflection on it.

The traveling portrait project began in the 80s at FASHION 時 裝 MODA МОДА, where I was the principal photographer. My studio can stay in place for a few weeks or a lifetime. It can be invitational or circumstantial, reflecting the reality of the subject or the point of view of the photographer, a conversation made visible.

Check back for new photographs throughout the run of the show, April 5 to June 5.