I’ve been a working photographer since 1984. The street photography I’m now known for began with the out-takes of the public relations and event work of my early photographic career. I’m curious, always looking for something a bit off, unusual in the everyday, something implied that may not actually be in the frame. This could be a significant gesture, a look, or some little thing that shows emotion and human feeling. The mood is often ambivalent, ambiguous, questioning. Most of these photographs are from my travels. As with most of my newer colour photographs, colour itself is a crucial element. Colour is harder to do well than black and white – there are so many more variables to deal with. That’s why I consciously switched to working this way in 2010 – I wanted to make my photography more difficult. I think I have achieved that goal. In the fall of 2011 we were living a block away from Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan when the Occupy Wall Street encampment began. At first, I was sympathetic to many of the causes being espoused but as time went on the day-to-day reality became more chaotic. For too many it seemed to become a party with street cred. It even became a tourist attraction. Lots of celebrities parachuted in to ‘show solidarity’ then left fast, as did Jesse Jackson one evening, playing to the crowd but not really looking comfortable. For me, recording the scene required the sharper, more critical look of black-and-white film and flash.
