New York Park Bench Series
Simon and Garfunkel’s lyrics went through my head as I took these years ago in New York Central Park on a Sunday afternoon.
“Old friends. Old friends. Sat on their park bench like bookends.”God, I loved that album.
Some of these photos are sad and raise the issue of the ethics of photography. Are we sometimes exploiting our unknowing subjects for personal gain? That question may well be the reason I’ve waited three decades to publish them, guaranteeing that the subjects have long passed. I don’t know. But I do know that the litmus test is your own compassion for the lot of the people you portray. Is it real or is it opportunistic? The wheelchair photo seems to be about the burden of life. Dread. Dissatisfaction. I trust that, even in the saddest of images, we are able to reflect from a place of humanity.
