Jeff Mermelstein
The art of street photography is tricky business. Fortunately, Jeffrey Mermelstein has mastered that art. He came in to speak to the Arts in New York City class at Baruch College. Mr. Mermelstein came prepared with hundreds of his pictures. During the slideshow, he told us all about his techniques and his passions for photography.
For Jeffrey Mermelstein, a street photographer is someone who goes out to the real world and scopes out slices of life that are real and un-staged, and tries to grab those moments. He particularly enjoys the style of documentary, which is a form of straight-forward photography. It fascinates him to make a picture from the real world. He always walks around with his camera and takes pictures from where he stands, not paying attention to the angle. He used to use the flash during the early ‘80s but ceased to use it because it hinders the degree of realism in the picture. His mastery in the art came early in his life.
Mermelstein was exposed to street photography at a young age, which makes the art feel instinctual for him. The fact that he enjoyed taking photographs made the work even easier. He is not only interested in people but also in things on the ground, walls, etc. Many of his pictures feature a simple item lying on the street. In one of his pictures, he photographed a half-eaten pretzel leaning on a wall. Mermelstein has published several books, one of which is titled Sidewalk (in ’99.) Along with the work that is his lifestyle, just transferring something real into the camera and producing a picture gives him his greatest satisfaction.