DeborahShapiroPhotos

2nd Avenue Deli

1992. The Soviet Union had fallen, and Mikhail Gorbachev was visiting New York as a private citizen on the lecture circuit. He was more popular here than back in the separate parts of his former country, as evidenced by the sign on the awning of the famous 2nd Avenue Deli in the East Village. Note the depiction of his birthmark, so carefully airbrushed out of Soviet-era photos and posters.

For blog readers not familiar with New York, the 2nd Avenue Deli was a beloved landmark for many years until the murder of its longtime owner, who was shot in a robbery attempt while taking the day’s receipts to the bank.

One of my favorite shots of all time. Thanks to Photoshop, after over 20 years I was finally able to eliminate a distracting street lamp from the background with a couple of clicks. In the darkroom era, I labored over it for a very long time and it was still there.

Big Apple Circus

I no longer enjoy seeing animals performing in circuses, except domesticated animals like dogs or horses; I find the use of wild animals a sad form of exploitation that we could do without. But when I shot this photograph 20 years ago I was only thinking of getting a good shot without using flash, which is of course not permitted in the circus. I used Fuji Neopan 1600 film and shot at around 1/60 sec at f4, using the bright circus floods and waiting until the performers struck a pose.

This being New York, the helpful passerby didn’t dare to let go of his bicycle while pushing the stalled car.

These Moroccan girls spotted my camera while I was walking on the beach and they flocked around me, begging me to take their picture. The uncle of one of them spoke French and translated. Apart from their openness and charm, what really fascinated me was the behavior of the little girl in the right foreground, who quickly removed her blouse and carefully pulled her undershirt down to reveal one nipple before I took the picture. In a society where no woman appears on the street without a head covering and ankle-length coat, where did she learn this? The Mediterranean sea is in the background of this picture and Spain is visible on the other side, its television signal easily picked up in Morocco. It’s not necessarily a good influence. What do we teach our girls?