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| Photographer: Stephen Shames |
These are pictures of friends I met as children who became my family,
as well as, people who stepped in front of my camera once and
disappeared forever. I watched my friends grow up, fall in love, have
children of their own. The boys in the original “crews” are now in their
forties—their children are becoming adults. A few, including my two
Godsons, have made it; many others are dead or in jail.
Often I am terrified of The Bronx. Other times it feels like home. My
images reflect the feral vitality and hope of these young men. The
interplay between good and evil; violence and love; chaos and family are
the themes—but this is not a documentation. There is no “story line”.
There is only a feeling.
