'NYC's Maritime Park' -- Vintage, 1968 - Limited Edition 1 of 20 Photograph

Note: This image is vintage 1968 and among my first work. While a student reading a book a week for each of five courses at NYC's Columbia College, Columbia University, I turned my newly purchased, first-ever camera, within two months of its acquisition, toward this scene. By instinct, and without benefit of ever having studied or taken a course in photography, I breezily tried to challenge the best works I had seen in 'Life', 'Look', and other illustrated weekly nationwide magazines. In retrospect that seems like a foolhardy challenge. This is one result. Taking good photographs with a manual single lens reflex camera and a goal of equaling world best standards caused me intense mental work, physical pain, and headaches while framing. Sometimes I finished the task soaking in sweat, as I tried to figure out best angles, best subjects, and how to put a frame around subjects I found interesting ,then capture them in a style I felt would be competitive with world best. How foolish, youth. How wonderful! This photo of a man on a pier at NYC's Maritime Museum pier with a wooden lifeboat and an early steel steam ship together with the bench and sitter (an accent) to me epitomized the height of my early 'talent' involving 'still' subjects in what later became known as 'street' style. At that time and until far later, I had not heard the words 'street photography'. My highest aspiration in a world which paid little attention to such works was a hoped-for monograph in 'Aperture' some future date. In 1968, little such work was published, especially compared to the present with its surfeit of photographers, cameras, and images. This photo, taken first in a wonderfully color coordinated transparency since has been desaturated into the black and white which has become my beloved 'street photography' (The original transparency was lost, and this image was made from a 4x5 in.monochrome internegative.) This work and half a hundred best other early best works sat printed in exhibition format in closets while I practiced law for decades. These images survived several household moves but were not shown or acknowledged because of a disapproving spouse who 'didn't get' or 'understand' my photography. That which caused me long ago to abandon my photo efforts for decades at a time (now ended). My interest was finally allowed to resume in my early '40s when I briefly showed in an exhibition in Wetzlar, Germany, then abandoned the photo quest again until the mid 2000s, at about the time of Henri Cartier-Bresson's death. Cartier-Bresson, whom I met a year after this photo was taken. advised me against accepting a proffered Associated Press photo job starting in San Francisco and advised me 'shoot for yourself'. I did just that from then on. I quit that AP photo job the day I was to start, immediately after meeting Cartier-Bresson and viewing his wonderful work at San Francisco's De Young Museum. I had not known before the meeting who this 'Henry' guy' (Cartier-Bresson) was who met me by reference and arrangement of a mutual friend from Associated Press, or that Cartier-Bresson was one of photography's great luminaries -- a photographer's photographer. Even as I spoke to him before seeing his giant exhibition, I did not know his status THEN I viewed his great life's work in wonderment. HCB and I were introduced by AP colleague Jimmy White who said 'Henry' from France (Cartier-Bresson) was an 'Old China Hand' from the days after WWII when the Communists took over China. My colleague said my photos reminded him of friend Cartier-Bresson's which inspired the meeting, though 'le maitre' never saw my work. But since I have always followed HCB's advice: 'Shoot For Yourself' -- advice HCB had received from friend and Magnum colleague, Robert Capa, and passed on to future Magnum colleagues. john John (Crosley)

Photography:Black & White on Paper

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:1

Size:40 W x 26.9 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.