Unseen Photos from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
A photo post for Labor Day and my favorite playlist of all time.
Welcome to In the Flash, a weekly, behind-the-lens dialogue on photography. To join the conversation
In 2010, I went through a crisis. I was graduating from my SVA MFA program, and the controversial street photographer Bruce Gilden was my thesis advisor. In one of our portfolio reviews, he noted that all my street photography consisted of people photographed from the back or from a great distance. My excuse was social phobia. That wasn’t good enough for Bruce. He told me to either get rid of it or get out of the business. I went home and cried, thinking my nascent photo career was over before it started. After the self-pitying fit was over, I picked up my digital Nikon and went to Brighton Beach, the scariest place I could think where I could photograph lots of people up close. These photos were an exercise in fighting my phobia (that took about a decade) and shooting with intention instead of fear.
I wrote more about shooting/overcoming social phobia in a previous post
An Introvert's Guide to Street Photography - Photographing Strangers, Part 1
I am also sharing a Spotify playlist that I’ve been building for years. It’s my Goldilocks playlist in which I throw all my favorite tracks, no matter the year or genre, that have the right beat, are neither too fast, too harsh or too slow. There is everything from Roxy Music, to Tyler the Creator, Beach Boys and Beach House, James Blake, Lana del Rey and Broadcast. Put it on shuffle and enjoy.
Happy Labor Day everyone!
Find me on Instagram @dina_litovsky
I like the guy sitting awkwardly staring at the ground as if in prayer or deep contemplation. Your rules for street photography are great. Over time I’ve come to follow those same rules. And I cannot resist saying that good street photography doesn’t require getting as close as Gilden does. It is not true as Robert Capa said that “[i[f your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” How close you get depends on what you are trying to do. And simply getting closer does not guarantee better results.
Bruce Gilden strikes me as the perfect guy to help someone get over photographic timidity.
I used to teach portraiture and every year in the first meeting I’d ask what students hoped to learn. By far the #1 answer was “how do I photograph strangers.” It’s daunting until you get the hang of it. And even then can remain so.
Unless you’re Bruce Gilden!