Facing New York

One flick through this at one of my many Soho bookshop pitstops told me that this was a unique talent. Bruce is a master of what I dubbed 'Street Level' photography. It gives you the urge to grab your camera and just run out there, as anythings possible. Bruce gives us big slices of life. Better than any orchestrated setpiece, you just couldnt create these people, because they're real! This book has the elements that make NY such a haven for freaks, geeks, and showman streaks. My personal fave is the black guy standing on the corner with his huge 'Marriage councelling' plaquard. Read the plaquard and you will DIE laughing. You cant make this kind of thing up, its human nature.

It's hard to describe Bruce Gilden. He's the Randy Johnson of street photography; one hand on his Leica rangefinder, the other on a flash, waiting to pounce on his next subject like a peregrine falcon. "Facing New York" was the book which made his reputation as a hard-edge street photographer of New York City life. He's as tenacious as any paparazzi, yet his photographs are more profound, more mesmerizing, than those of any celebrity-stalking photographer. If you think of combining William Klein's early raw, stark 1950's New York City images with Garry Winogrand's classic 1960's photos, then you're quite close to describing Bruce Gilden's unique style. None of Gilden's images may look comforting enough to hang in your living room, but they are worth owning via this elegant book.