Early Book Review: Briefly Seen, New York Street Life by Harvey Stein

Briefly Seen, New York Street Life by Harvey Stein is a photography collection that is currently scheduled for release on November 28 2015. Harvey Stein documents the experience of walking down the street in the areas of Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. There are 172 beautiful black-and-white photographs that have been taken over 41 years, from 1974 through 2014. The photographs are intimate and personal. They document the close encounter between the photographer and his subjects while showing the mutuality between people. The black-and-white images enhance the sense of the past. To heighten the feeling of movement, anxiety, and vigor, blur, grain, low-angle flash, skewed perspectives, tight cropping, and wide-angle views are employed.

Briefly Seen, New York Street Life is a unique collection of photographs the come together to capture the unique feel and experience that can only be found in New York City. Stein has taken these photographs over more than four decades and show the personality of the city streets and the people that inhabit them. The focus on the people, and the blurred lines and motion around them do a remarkable job of the energy and emotion inherent in the city. I loved the contrast between the faces in focus and the activity evident in the blurred motion surrounding them.

Briefly Seen, New York Street Life is a wonderful book to pursue and enjoy. The images capture the life of the city streets and the people that anyone might pass by without normally noticing them. Perhaps taking a look at the book will make us all take a few extra moments to notice those we share the streets with.