Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

I've been photographing my hometown, New York City, for many, many years. To put things in perspective, the Beatles were still making music when I bought my first "serious" camera.

Magazine

Our printed editions, circulating throughout various galleries, festivals and agencies are dipped in creativity.

The spirit of DODHO’s printed edition is first and foremost an opportunity to connect with a photographic audience that values the beauty of print and those photographers exhibited within the pages of this magazine.

We invite professional and amateur photographers from all around the world to share their work in our printed edition.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ban25e32.jpg

I’ve been photographing my hometown, New York City, for many, many years. To put things in perspective, the Beatles were still making music when I bought my first “serious” camera. I was mainly shooting sports at the beginning, but soon started hitting the streets in earnest.

When I’m out shooting, I try to catch a particular moment in time before it’s gone for good. There’s always the chance that something can happen at any time, so I’m alert for anything that catches my eye. I love the rhythm of the streets and the randomness of it all. Besides candid shots of people, I shoot the urban environment – structures, walls, posters, ads, architectural details. I generally don’t like to define myself, but, if pressed, maybe street/urban landscape will do.

My main love has been b&w film, though I did shoot many color chromes in the past. To me, b&w is a bit more mysterious and abstract. It has more of a timeless feel. It’s more about the subject and composition because there’s no color to help the image. I still shoot b&w film almost exclusively. A friend once gave me a cheap digital compact and I use that for my color observations. I like the tactile, tangible aspect of film. I’m just more comfortable working with it. Perhaps I’m just stuck in the past. Personally, a digital image is a little too perfect. A bit sterile. I kind of dig the imperfections of film. Grain is good. Noise is bad. When putting together my photobook, Today’s Special, New York City Images 1969-2006, I made sure that the photos, the majority of which were shot in the 70s, 80s and 90s, actually looked like they were taken then. Just very minimal post processing of the files. I didn’t want them to look like they were taken by a high-res dslr.

It’s still a thrill to look at a contact sheet. And my main backup are my negatives. They’ll outlive me. As I’ve gotten older, I try not to have many high expectations when I’m out on the streets. Shooting candids of people is mostly about failure anyway. Too many variables can ruin the shot. I try to be as unobtrusive as possible. Most of the images in this article were shot with slrs, but for the past few years I’ve been shooting a lot with compacts and ignoring the viewfinder.

When I started out in photography, very few people were walking around with cameras. People are now more suspicious of cameras because of social media, especially if kids are involved. I have some strong shots of kids playing back in the day. I don’t even attempt to shoot kids now. I don’t think Helen Levitt would have had a career if she was around today. I also find it harder to shoot on the streets compared with the past because everyone is now staring at their phones. Hard to capture a good expression when someone’s head is down.

The city’s  really changed over the decades. It’s a much kinder and gentler place to live. The trade-off for a photographer is that it used to be more interesting to shoot in a grittier city. I’m really not complaining.  The excitement and vibrancy is definitely still there. If you’re shooting the streets, you couldn’t be in a better place than NYC. [Official Website]

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

BUY BOOK
My photobook, Today’s Special, New York City Images 1969-2006, was published last summer by Coral Press Arts . It contains 48 black-and-white images, many evocative of a city that has all but disappeared. The book also  includes an introduction by the art critic Robert C. Morgan. My most recent show was my book launch/exhibit at H.P.F. Christopher in NYC.

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Jeff Rothstein ; Street photographer – New York City Images 1969-2006

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Do you have an idea or something you'd like to share? Please use the form provided, or contact us at contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.