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65 years of photographing

Remembering Mary Ellen Mark (1940-2015) - by Harold Feinstein

I was deeply saddened to hear the news yesterday about the passing of Mary Ellen Mark at 75 years of age. Her deeply empathic and insightful photographs of people from all walks of life and many parts of the world will serve as a lasting legacy. As one of the greats within the social humanist… Continue reading

Fifty-eight years ago today: The photography market before there was one! - by Harold Feinstein

It’s a brave new world out there in the art market I can’t keep up with it. Last November I had the pleasure of a week-end visit from Ted Forbes, the creator of The Art of Photography podcast. He is in the process of producing a documentary style piece about my work and I couldn’t… Continue reading

Belated thanks to John Szarkowski: Reflections on the joy of teaching - by Harold Feinstein

A few weeks ago I published a post entitled Remembering Edward Steichen. My recollections were mainly about the important role of encouragement (his) on the one hand, and the folly of rigid ideas about art (mine) on the other! I received a lot of nice feedback and am grateful it was published in The Eye… Continue reading

Passover, Easter and the promise of new life! - by Harold Feinstein

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Or, I could say Happy Spring! Even though it’s been the longest winter I can remember and outside my window there’s still way too much snow on the ground, the promise of new life is there. And that seems to be the message of these two… Continue reading

Recently discovered photographs: A lifetime of editing (part two!) - by Harold Feinstein

Last year I published a post entitled Old “new” photographs: A lifetime of editing where I looked at the entire journey of photography as a series of creative choices. Each choice involves editing. So, photography is all about editing. It’s the moment you choose, the focus you choose, the camera and lens you choose, and… Continue reading

Remembering Edward Steichen - by Harold Feinstein

If I were to name the five most important people in my photography career, Edward Steichen would have to be on that list. I was only sixteen in 1947 when Steichen, then 68, became the Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art. Three years later, in 1950, I walked into the museum unannounced… Continue reading

A grateful heart on Valentine’s Day 2015 - by Harold Feinstein

We are all born gifted. The gift is life itself! The truth of these words, which I have often said to my students, has never been clearer to me than during this past year. A year ago on Valentine’s Day I was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. A few weeks later I… Continue reading

1957 Greenwich Village: Barney Rosset, Evergreen Press and The Cedar Tavern - by Harold Feinstein

Two films recently got me thinking about Barney Rosset, the firebrand publisher of Grove Press and Evergreen Review. First, An American Journey: Revisiting Robert Frank’s The Americans by Philippe Séclier. I was not enamored of the film, which did not, in my opinion, do justice to Frank‘s photographic genius or the seminal book that forms… Continue reading

Thoughts of war on Veteran’s Day - by Harold Feinstein

If some things don’t make you crazy, then you aren’t very sane to begin with” Steven Bentley, Vietnam Veterans of America Today is Veteran’s Day and I salute all those men and women who have risked their lives in the various military pursuits throughout our country’s history. I am one of them. I was drafted… Continue reading

Up close and personal: Consistency and innovation in your work - by Harold Feinstein

Hardening of the categories causes art disease… W. Eugene Smith Coney Island. Flowers. City streets. Shells. Rodin sculptures. Abstract architecture. Draftees. Butterflies. Over the years I have allowed my creative appetite to taste many different subjects in both black and white and color and have employed diverse tools and methods in shooting and printing. I… Continue reading

Remembering Sid Grossman: Provincetown, 1955 - by Harold Feinstein

I don’t remember the very first time I met Sid Grossman, but it had to be at Photo League meetings, which I began attending when I was 17, in 1948. He was twice my age at that point and was about to get embroiled in the FBI’s investigation of him, which shadowed him for the… Continue reading

You can’t take Brooklyn out of the boy: Remembering the summer of ’49 - by Harold Feinstein

I’m not sure who came up with the expression: You can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can’t take Brooklyn out of the boy. but it’s one I often use. My wife cringes whenever she here’s me say this since I’m generally about to make some excuse for some old habit that is… Continue reading

The gift that keeps on giving: The Coney Island boardwalk - by Harold Feinstein

I’ve never heard of a Cannes Lion before. I guess its the equivalent of an Oscar in the world of creative communications. According to Ergin Binyildiz, the chief creative officer for Havas Worldwide‘s Turkish office, “Cannes is the peak of creative competition, and any success recognized there is a success recognized by the whole world.”… Continue reading

On Fathers and Fatherhood 2014 - by Harold Feinstein

This was one of the first photographs I ever took. I was 15 and still living at home in Brooklyn, though I would shortly move out on my own. I was the youngest of five, born when my mother was 43. My eldest sibling was 20 and the one just above me was already 11.… Continue reading

Memorial Day Memories: My first show, Army Days and Coney Island - by Harold Feinstein

Fifty-nine years ago, my first one-man show was about to be taken down. It hung during May 1955 at the Little Gallery of the New York Public Library and came down on Memorial Day of that year. (My very first show was as part of a group show at the Whitney in 1954). I was… Continue reading

Happy Birthday Blue Note Records: 75 Years Young! - by Harold Feinstein

It’s the 75th anniversary of Blue Note and celebrations abound. I’ve decided to re-post a blog I wrote almost two years ago sharing my time living in the “Jazz Loft” and designing record jackets for Blue Note. I’ve added a more complete gallery of my own album covers and additional links to let you know… Continue reading

Available Light: Times Square at Night - by Harold Feinstein

As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, my first exposure to Times Square was during the day. While Coney Island was my first location of choice, I loved playing hooky from school and heading uptown to Times Square to catch the first run movies complete with live stage show and organ music at intermission and… Continue reading

All you need is love: Belated Valentine’s Day to my friends - by Harold Feinstein

The last time you heard from me was over a month ago. I was watching the Olympics and musing on Coney Island Muscle Man (a picture of me in my former body perhaps?). And I was getting ready for a Valentine’s Day blog — waxing eloquent on love (as always) and beginning to choose from… Continue reading