Shadow & Light Monthly #58

Shadow & Light is a list of curated photography stories, features, techniques, news and inspiration that I’ve come across this month.

In this edition we go inside Southern California’s street gang culture and view the abstract beauty of Iceland’s glacier rivers from above. We discover 1970s portraits from inside a women’s prison and look at the bohemian life inside The Chelsea Hotel in New York.

So, with no further ado, I give you this month’s Shadow & Light Monthly. Go grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy this month’s selections below. Please let me know in the comments what you think.

Pick of the month – Documenting Southern California’s Street Gang Culture Over 40 Years

Photographer Merrick Morton has spent 40 years documenting Southern California gang life. Morton, who is white, did not have a direct connection to these communities. He began calling probation officers after learning from a friend that they could be his way in. “I told them I was working on a documentary photography essay on Los Angeles street gangs,” he recalled. Eventually, he was assigned to Gerald Ivory, who introduced him to his parolees, mainly members of the Maravilla gang in East L.A. In 1981, Morton began photographing them at the Obregon Park recreation center, where he had set up a portable studio.

Morton says he and Ivory would “hit the streets,” recording interviews with various gangs throughout the ‘80s. Their work “was never sanctioned by the L.A. County Probation Department,” he said.

“My dad said this guy just showed up with a camera, wanting to document neighborhoods in L.A.,” said Breanna Quintero, who attended the show’s opening. Her father grew up in Carson and was photographed by Morton in the early ‘80s at Victoria Park.

“People have to realize that kids from the neighborhood, like my dad, didn’t have cameras because they couldn’t afford them. So, I’m thankful that Merrick got to photograph him; this is a piece of how I grew up,” added Quintero. “These pictures brought his stories to life.”

It didn’t take long for Morton to be known as “the guy” chronicling gang life, thanks in large part to his quiet demeanor and knowing when to not overstep.

To read the article in full and see more of Morton’s images visit the Los Angeles Times.

Additional reads

Stunning Aerial Photos Capture the Abstract Beauty of Iceland’s Glacier Rivers

Photographer Jan Erik Waider is known for his exploration of Iceland’s magnificent landscape. In his newest exploration of Iceland, he builds on his experience to produce a fresh look at the country’s glacial rivers.

According to Waider, Iceland’s winding waterways are called “braided river systems” due to the intricate patterns that they produce. The photographer’s Glacier River Blues is a look at the abstract patterns created by these waterways. At first glance, it’s not immediately clear what we’re looking at. The rivers almost appear as inky markings along a canvas. But as we learn more about Iceland’s rivers, their pathways become clear.

Visit My Modern Met to see more of Waider’s beautiful, abstract images.

‘My role was to be a truthful witness’: photographer Jack Lueders-Booth’s Polaroids of American female prisoners

In the 1970s, photographer Jack Lueders-Booth began teaching in a progressive US women’s prison and made moving portraits of many of the inmates. Looking back, he sees how many of them actually felt safer in prison.

The results are striking in their relaxed intimacy and ordinary domesticity. As Lueders-Booth points out, the cells often “look more like college dorms or apartments”. Barred windows have been artfully concealed by curtains or decorative blinds, steel doors covered by wood-veneer panelling and the interiors often feature bookshelves, armchairs and chests of drawers topped with family snapshots, ornaments and even hi-fi record decks and speakers. Only the drab, peeling painted brickwork of the corridors and communal rooms fracture the illusion of home.

Visit The Guardian to read more, and see more of Lueders-Booth’s images from this series.

And Finally – Tony Notarberardino’s Chelsea Hotel Portraits Preserve a Slice of Bygone New York Life

In the 1990s, New York hotel, The Chelsea, was a hub of bonhomie and bohemianism. An eclectic crowd gathered there, drawn both to the artistic environment it cultivated and for its reputation for setting in motion creative collaborations and avant-garde performances.

For photographer Tony Notarberardino, the hotel was a refuge when he arrived in New York City in 1994. Brought up in Melbourne, Australia, by Italian emigrant parents, Notarberardino – who still lives in the same apartment at The Chelsea Hotel today – was fascinated by the clientele. ‘As a photographer, I found the people who congregated at the hotel – and the hotel itself – to be so inspiring and visually striking,’ he says. ‘It was this magical, commingling of people from all walks of life that made life at the hotel so continuously compelling. It became and continues to be my home.’

The move marked the beginning of a series of portraits. ‘At 4am one night in September 1997, I was inside the Chelsea Hotel elevator, returning home, when a hand adorned with long, painted fingernails blocked it from closing. In walked an aged drag queen carrying more shopping bags than she could manage while holding the hand of a six-year-old boy. After four years of letting these moments pass by, I introduced myself and asked if I could photograph her. Without hesitation, she agreed.’

Header over to Wallpaper to read this article in full and see more of the incredible portraits from this series.

Until next time…

I hope you enjoy the articles above. Don’t forget you can follow my Shadow & Light magazine over on Flipboard if you’d like to see more of what I’m reading if you like what you’ve seen here.