Capturing Communities in Words and Images:

Portraits of Main Street, Flushing

The streets of Main Street, Flushing on an unseasonably warm Fall day, these are the faces of a neighborhood.

The morning paper handed to you as you rush through the crowds on your way down the escalators into the iron rooster that is the number 7 train.

Andy, the realtor – Has been in Flushing since coming from China in 1989. “First it was the Koreans, then came the Chinese and now we have the Indians and Pakistani, I have seen all the changes that have come to settle on Main Street”

Tang, the seeker – Sits down waiting for the “Luck Doctor” to prescribe what year will be lucky for her daughter to marry her boyfriend. “You give him the month and year of your birth and the rest is up to the “doctor” and his pencil to tell you what year will be lucky for you – to love, to marry and get money.”

He swirls amid the crowds pushing into your hands a flyer for a cell phone company right down in the heart of Main Street. He utters not a sound and his determined and calm gaze is all that lingers.

The shy Muslim girl outside of Kabul Kabab Restaurant did not want her picture taken but in an instant click click and it was done.

Yang, the vendor – Came to New York from China six years ago. Sells newspapers, caps, phone cards and lotto tickets from his small vending square. He speaks little English but was more than eager to have his picture taken. He smiled at me as I asked permission and then retreated into his space.

Haries, the student – I saw him walking down Main Street and Maple dressed in a kurta and knew I had to take his picture; he reminded me of my trip to India. It turned out he is from from Lahore, Pakistan and is a 32 year old Queens College student studying to be a lawyer. On the side he has a construction business in NJ in which he flips houses for a profit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 thoughts on “Portraits of Main Street, Flushing”

  2. Hi Yaphet,

    Thank you for your kind comment on my images.

    I used a Pentax SLR and TRI-X Pan film. To transfer the images to digital, the negatives were scanned and put on a CD.

  3. I loved your images,especially the fact that you chose to focus the lens on 1-2 subjects at a time. The photos are both personal and revealing at the same time, they really seem to be telling a story. Great job!

  4. First of all let me say that I am a huge fan of Black-and-White film photographs and that alone makes your project one of my favorite.

    But I also think that it is great in it’s essence, in the expressions and unusual angles you captured, and in the interesting and revealing stories you were able to tell us. I think the lower angle in the first two shots is very effective. I can also see that you are very aware of the environment of your subjects in the framing of your images.
    Very interesting group.

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