Larry's Lens

Blog about photography, travel, life, New Orleans, and everything in between

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Today’s Black History Pic. Jamel Shabazz, 1980 in Brooklyn, NYC. African American photographer Jamel Shabazz’s name is synonymous with street photography. Shabazz is responsible for providing hundreds of images taken on the streets of New York during the birth of hip hop culture. There have been several homages to him in popular culture including season one of Netflix’s Luke Cage. This particular photo was taken in Brownsville, Brooklyn on a Canon AE-1. He later named this picture “Flyin High” and was used as a album cover for The Roots’ conceptual album “undun”. 

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Today's Black History pic. Huey Newton by legendary African American photographer, Howard Bingham in 1967. This portrait was taken during the Black Panther trial in Oakland, California. Bingham's most noted work was portraits and candids of Muhammad Ali. He served as Ali's personal photographer for a good portion of his career, including his trip to Zaire, Africa to face George Foreman. Bingham was portrayed by Jeffery Wright in the Hollywood film "Ali".

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Today’s Black History pic, Dorothy Counts photographed by Don Sturkey in 1957. Counts was one of first black students admitted to the Harry Harding High School, in Charlotte, North Carolina. After four days of harassment that threatened her safety, her parents forced her to withdraw from the school. This photo would influence writer and scholar James Baldwin to come back to America after leaving for Paris, France in the late 1940s.

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Today’s Black History Picture. This morning I had the opportunity to witness the grand opening for the “Find Our Roots African American Museum” in downtown Houma, Louisiana. It was very cool to see that one of my ancestors is featured in there. He was real instrumental in the largest sugar cane labor strike in Louisiana and it took place during the Reconstruction era. An estimated 10,000 workers took part in the strike during a critical harvest season which led to the “Thibodaux Massacre” where countless blacks were murdered including women, elders, and children. I also found out today this story was adapted into the 2008 film “Man Who Came Back” starring Eric Braeden and Billy Zane.

sidebar: from what I’ve read the film doesn’t go into detail and furthers the narrative (no pun) that representation is heavily needed in storytelling and filmmaking.

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"A Great Day In Harlem", 1958 by Art Kane. My choice for today is "A Great Day In Harlem." This photograph is highly regarded as one of the best music pictures ever taken. This piece was feature in the January 1959 issue of Esquire. There are many Jazz giants such as Charles Mingus, Art Farmer, Thelounius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakley. As of today, February 3rd, 2017, there are only two artists alive, one of which is saxophonist Sonny Rollins.

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"American Gothic" by Gordon Parks, 1942. Parks took this infamous photo on his first day on the job at the Farm Security Administration in the nation's capital. The woman captured, Ella Watson, was a charwoman for the FSA and raised 3 grandkids and one adopted daughter on a $1,000 per year salary (roughly $15,000 today.) Watson was just as qualified as one white woman whom's office she cleaned but was forced to be a charwoman due to her race. This portrait serves as a parody of Grant Wood's historic oil painting of the same name. Gordon Parks is definitely one of my biggest inspirations.

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My Black History Month photo of the day, 2/1/17

“There’s no way like the American Way” taken by Margaret Bourke-White in 1937 Ohio. I do believe that the best pictures tell a story and this one most certainly does. This photo was also used decades later as an album cover for Curtis Mayfield. 

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Celebrating Black History Through Photos

Throughout this month I will be sharing some of my favorite photographs pertaining to the African American experience. All of the photos have impacted and/or influenced me in some kind of way. 

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I Love Sunsets

Always looking for a new perspective on sunsets. Here is one I captured at Fountainbleu State Park Beach in Mandeville, Louisiana. 

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Latest Photoshoot

This past Monday evening I got a message from a friend inquiring about a photoshoot. She was near-deadline for her soon to be published book on New Orleans snoballs and needed some pictures. The pictures came out great and I was able to deliver them before her deadline! Check out her IG page : @crescentcitysnow  for more updates on the book. Here’s a couple of images 

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Really loving the colors I am getting out of my Fuji X-T1! The camera coupled with my newly purchased 35mm prime lens makes it great for street photography and capturing portraits with great bokeh.