New York 1963

Charles Pratt made this photograph of New York sometime before 1976, with a camera, of course. It's all about seeing, isn't it? And Pratt is interested in how light shapes what we see. The greyscale palette here is really about how light and shadow define form and space. Look how the light rakes across the stone facade, making some surfaces pop out while others recede into darkness. That play of light and shadow isn't just descriptive; it's emotional. It gives the building a kind of weight, a presence. Then there's the composition. The way Pratt crops the frame, cutting off the tops of the buildings and the faces of the passersby, creates this feeling of being in the midst of things. It's like a snapshot, but one that's carefully considered. It reminds me a bit of Berenice Abbott’s photographs of New York, but Pratt’s has a more personal, almost intimate feel.