New Yorker and photographer Jeff Rothstein has been chronicling his city's streets with 35mm cameras for over four decades.
His photobook, Today's Special, New York City Images 1969-2006 (published in 2017), celebrates his work and features 48 black and white photos of people going about their daily lives, including a few famous faces.
"I first became interested in photography during my college years," he says. "At first, primarily to shoot sporting events (baseball, American football). I took the few photo classes my university offered, but mainly taught myself by devouring all the photo magazines and books I could get my hands on. Shooting for the student newspaper helped a lot, and I eventually realised there was a whole world to shoot outside of the ball fields."
On his decision to shoot in black and white, he explains, "Although I've shot a lot of colour over the years (first 35mm slides, now with an inexpensive digital compact camera), my first love is black and white film. To me, black and white is more mysterious and timeless. It's more about the subject because there's no colour involved to help the image. As far as shooting film, I feel it has more character than a digital file, which seems too sharp and perfect. Life is imperfect, isn't it?"
Rothstein also says that street photographer has become trickier over the years, with people too preoccupied with their phones or worried about having their picture taken by a stranger.
"As a street photographer, I'm fortunate to have NYC as my studio," he says. "Much of the grittiness of the 70s and 80s are long gone, but it's still a fascinating place to photograph. I find the biggest difference in shooting today versus back then is that now everyone is staring down at their phones. It's much harder to catch interesting expressions. Also, due to social media, people are more wary of being photographed, especially when kids are involved."
Click through the gallery for a selection of photos from Rothstein's Today's Special, New York City Images 1969-2006 ($30)
