Black and white photos: check! Beautiful street photography moments that look timeless: check! Leica: check! A printed set of photographs with no advertising interruptions: checkmate! Photographer Phil Penman is no stranger to being featured in our online magazine and sharing compelling tales. His latest book, entitled New York Street Diaries, is a deep dive into the work that he’s done over the years. In many ways, this book is soul food for the street photographer.
To understand how this book is soul food, you must dive into who Phil is. Phil Penman is originally from Britain and came to America many years ago. He’s a former press photographer, and these days is mainly known in the world for his street photography work. Browse through his website, and you’ll see that he’s created several beautiful photos. But it’s in this book that you truly start to see where and how he stands out from several others. And for $50, this book is a worthwhile investment into your growth as a photographer.
“I wanted to do a truthful portrayal of a time in our history that I hope we never have to see again,” says Phil to the Phoblographer when asked about his inspiration for the book. “From the shadowy underbelly of the homelessness and grittier NYC to the beautiful serenity of walking through the snow at night. We all have our own vision of New York, and this is mine.” He continues to state that while some think that the graffiti streets are an eyesore, it’s part of what makes the city so beautiful and unique to him. This vision is holistically seen throughout the book.
To truly savor this book, I sat down and enjoyed two glasses of nice whiskey. It’s similar to what you’d experience when you go to hang out at a meetup of photographers geeking out about their prints or something. You typically hang out, and then you get into the mode of looking at the images. These rituals are often much more fun together with someone else.
All of Phil’s photographs are black and white — and in this way, one can see him as a modern archetype for the genre of street photography or black and white work. Page through the book, and you’ll spot incredible photographs that will satisfy several camps of photographers. Fine art photographers will appreciate how Phil plays with light and contrast in his photographs. Street photographers will adore how he captures people through a lens that doesn’t at all seem like a colonial eye to the people of New York — but as a sincere admirer. And most importantly, most of the photographs aren’t split down the middle of the page break. Instead, the images are placed in a way that we can clearly see them, or they’re just vertical images that you want to stare lovingly at.
Truly, looking through the book shows you that Phil is in love with New York for what it was and what it is. I mean, isn’t this the kind of love story that we want to know about and that we yearn for? Wouldn’t you want to be holistically loved for what you are? And more importantly, wouldn’t you want to have that expressed about you? We think of New York in a way that is sometimes scoffed at. And I admit that even as a native New Yorker, I’ll scoff at parts of the city that bring me sadness for various reasons. But I also accept that those parts have also, at one time, brought me happiness. Through Phil’s book, you see nothing but admiration portrayed in a classic retelling of the modern landscape of the city and its people.
While I adore the fine art images that Phil makes, I don’t think that they’ll be the most riveting ones to people who buy this book. Phil’s best work arguably showcases people and moments that we otherwise just don’t see.
Do yourself a giant favor and get your hands on this book. And more importantly, read the text inside. It’s big enough that even someone with failing eyesight can read it easily.
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