Over the past 40 years, Jeff Mermelstein has been documenting the streets of New York with his distinctive blend of humor, verve, and tenderness. His finely attuned ability to see and preserve the compelling yet nonsensical qualities of existence have made him what can be best described as an “anthropologist of the absurd.”
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Mermelstein’s inimitable gift to discern the unlikely and unusual amidst the sea of humanity is the result of an impressive work ethic that borders on obsession. A humble man, he shies away from using the word “master” to describe his prowess with the 35mm camera honed over decades. Yet his command of the medium he loved was simply not enough. Although Mermelstein had resisted digital photography in 2011, he made the switch when New York magazine commissioned him to photograph Fashion Week in New York, Milan, and Paris.
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In 2016, Mermelstein made the leap to cell phone photography and now works exclusively with the iPhone 8. “I’m looking at a Leica that’s right next to me and I haven’t touched it in four years,” he says from his Brooklyn home. “I’ll never say, ‘No, I’m not going back,’ but it’s definitely not calling me right now.”
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