Lens Is More

Category: Color

  • Moving day, New York

    C. Thompson

    From W. 56th to W. 57th. (1995)

  • Passing years, Stone Harbor, N.J.

    C. Thompson

    (ca. 1984)

    Same place as…

    (2020)

    …here, the pavilion at 101st St. If I had had a camera when I was 5, this post could have been a triptych.

  • Herosim, Jersey City, N.J.

    C. Thompson
    Unsung, not forgotten.

    (1996)

  • Sidewalk fashion, Philadelphia

    C. Thompson
    Good choice

    My first real girlfriend. Michele and I lived together from summer of 1982 until spring of 1985. Here she’s trying on a pair of sunglasses from a street vendor. (She bought them.) (1984)

  • Tiniest redwood, near Eureka, Calif.

    C. Thompson
    She kept up the pace.

    (1997)

  • Gabriele, Philadelphia

    C. Thompson
    Same orbit, different trajectory

    (1984)

  • Kids in spring, Philadelphia

    C. Thompson
    IMG_20180520_0019
    Hold on tight.

    There’s a great photo by Robert Doisneau of little children about this age, Les Tabliers de la rue de Rivoli (1978), that came up the other day and reminded me of this one, taken six years later. His subjects were a different demographic. These little faces above are probably around 40 years old now. At least I hope they are. These days you never know. (1984)

  • South Street, Philadelphia

    C. Thompson
    Near its bottom

    The 1500 block, where only the façade of the once-mighty Royal Theater remained. (ca. 1984)

  • Back alley, Erie, Pa.

    C. Thompson
    Perhaps the most colorful space in the city.

    I loaded up the Leica M4, the Nikkormat FTn and the Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 521/16 for a six-day tour of Pennsylvania, my home state. I had dozens of rolls of film — 35 mm, 120 rollfilm, color, B&W (which got most of the work), you name it. But sometimes a shot is just a shot; this was taken on my phone. (2019)

  • Saviors, Philadelphia

    C. Thompson
    What a charmer.

    You never know who people truly are until maybe you do. I didn’t fit in with this neighborhood in the buffer zone between West Philadelphia and bordering Delaware County. It was the late 1980s. I kept to myself until my neighbors pressed the issue. This is Phil, short for Philomena, I guess. She was everything you imagine from this frame.

    I loved them both.

    I don’t remember this woman’s name. She lived next door to Phil. (They were sitting adjacent to each other on their respective porches as these shots were taken.) Specifically, we’re talking about the 6400 block of Carlton Street. Both women had an alarming sense of humor, a tendency to razz each other and to cook. Having few left to cook for, and seizing upon our new acquaintance, the food rolled in. At the time I was almost penniless. These women helped keep me alive. (1991)