the Thomas Ager Portfolio

NYC STREETS and Beyond: 1975 - 1980

4x5 & 2-1/4

BeautyWare (Brooklyn, 1976)

BeautyWare (Brooklyn, 1976)

Brooklyn Kids (Avenue Q, 1976)

Brooklyn Kids (Avenue Q, 1976)

Gowanus Canal Wall (Brooklyn, 1976)

Gowanus Canal Wall (Brooklyn, 1976)

The Villager, Licensed Purveyor (Staten Island, 1976)

The Villager, Licensed Purveyor (Staten Island, 1976)

Tomato Panes (Staten Island, 1976)

Tomato Panes (Staten Island, 1976)

The Villager, Duo (Staten Island, 1976)

The Villager, Duo (Staten Island, 1976)

Jobs or Income Now! (Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 1976)

Jobs or Income Now! (Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 1976)

Spiderman (Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 1976)

Spiderman (Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 1976)

Sandwiches (Flatbush, Brooklyn, 1976)

Sandwiches (Flatbush, Brooklyn, 1976)

Barbershop (Park Slope, Brooklyn, 1976)

Barbershop (Park Slope, Brooklyn, 1976)

Christina Reading (Owl's Head Park, Brooklyn, 1976)

Christina Reading (Owl's Head Park, Brooklyn, 1976)

Her Book: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Our Brooklyn Apartment, Kitchen Table (1975)

Our Brooklyn Apartment, Kitchen Table (1975)

Staten Island Afternoon (1976)

Staten Island Afternoon (1976)

All My Life (Staten Island, 1976)

All My Life (Staten Island, 1976)

Sunday Morning (Staten Island, 1976)

Sunday Morning (Staten Island, 1976)

Porch (Staten Island, 1976)

Porch (Staten Island, 1976)

Billboard (Staten Island, 1976)

Billboard (Staten Island, 1976)

Fruit Truck (Staten Island, 1976)

Fruit Truck (Staten Island, 1976)

Railroad Car (Hackensack, NJ, 1976)

Railroad Car (Hackensack, NJ, 1976)

Train Tunnel (Hackensack, NJ, 1977)

Train Tunnel (Hackensack, NJ, 1977)

Apartment Building (Staten Island, 1976)

Apartment Building (Staten Island, 1976)

Brooklyn Bridge (1976)

Brooklyn Bridge (1976)

Sunshine '74 to the Foxy Chicks (Under Brooklyn Bridge, NYC, 1976)

Sunshine '74 to the Foxy Chicks (Under Brooklyn Bridge, NYC, 1976)

Building under the Brooklyn Bridge (NYC, 1976)

Building under the Brooklyn Bridge (NYC, 1976)

Tall Ships Bi-Centennial, C.I.T.Y. (Lower Manhattan, 4th of July 1976)

Tall Ships Bi-Centennial, C.I.T.Y. (Lower Manhattan, 4th of July 1976)

Wooden Window, Staten Island (1975)

Wooden Window, Staten Island (1975)

Sculpture, Metropolitan Museum (NYC, 1975)

Sculpture, Metropolitan Museum (NYC, 1975)

Our Brooklyn Apartment (1975)

Our Brooklyn Apartment (1975)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Park Slope, 1976)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Park Slope, 1976)

Dom's (Avenue Q, 1976)

Dom's (Avenue Q, 1976)

Holding Court (Brooklyn, 1976)

Holding Court (Brooklyn, 1976)

These guys managed to trap me inside this fenced-in court and I was nervous. Not knowing quite what to do to get out (with all my gear), I suggested that I do a group portrait. When they left, I quickly packed up but discovered that my light meter had been whisked away — with amazing sleight of hand. A minute later one of them came back and returned it to me; they had agreed I was “cool”. I sent them a print….

Bike with Bricks (Hackensack, NJ, 1976)

Bike with Bricks (Hackensack, NJ, 1976)

Urchin with Chocolate Ice Cream Cone (Staten Island, 1976)

Urchin with Chocolate Ice Cream Cone (Staten Island, 1976)

Mother (Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, 1976)

Mother (Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, 1976)

Painting the Fence (Staten Island, 1976)

Painting the Fence (Staten Island, 1976)

1955 Jaguar Roadster (City Island, 1976)

1955 Jaguar Roadster (City Island, 1976)

What (Staten Island, 1976)

What (Staten Island, 1976)

BeautyWare (Brooklyn, 1976)

Brooklyn Kids (Avenue Q, 1976)

Gowanus Canal Wall (Brooklyn, 1976)

The Villager, Licensed Purveyor (Staten Island, 1976)

Tomato Panes (Staten Island, 1976)

The Villager, Duo (Staten Island, 1976)

Jobs or Income Now! (Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 1976)

Spiderman (Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 1976)

Sandwiches (Flatbush, Brooklyn, 1976)

Barbershop (Park Slope, Brooklyn, 1976)

Christina Reading (Owl's Head Park, Brooklyn, 1976)

Our Brooklyn Apartment, Kitchen Table (1975)

Staten Island Afternoon (1976)

All My Life (Staten Island, 1976)

Sunday Morning (Staten Island, 1976)

Porch (Staten Island, 1976)

Apartment Building (Staten Island, 1976)

Building under the Brooklyn Bridge (NYC, 1976)

Tall Ships Bi-Centennial, C.I.T.Y. (Lower Manhattan, 4th of July 1976)

Sculpture, Metropolitan Museum (NYC, 1975)

Our Brooklyn Apartment (1975)

Dom's (Avenue Q, 1976)

Holding Court (Brooklyn, 1976)

Bike with Bricks (Hackensack, NJ, 1976)

1955 Jaguar Roadster (City Island, 1976)

What (Staten Island, 1976)

These photographs were made on the streets of New York City (all five boroughs), City Island, upstate New York, New Jersey, and Boston from 1975 to 1980. Some of them helped me win the competition for a Ford Foundation Grant while I was studying with Paul McDonough, Bill Gedney, Phil Perkis and Todd Papageorge at Pratt Institute. I graduated from Pratt on the President’s List and went on to a career in medical photography, film and video production. (I created the first, NY state-accredited medical photography program at Pratt while I was there.) These are scans of my original 11x14 gelatin-silver prints. All were printed on either Kodak Polycontrast or Agfa Brovira papers (hence the variety in tonality to the photographs). All film was developed using the Edwal FG7, 2-bath process for the maximum in contrast ratio. Please note that the title of each image appears or disappears in the lower left corner as you “hover” over the image with your cursor.