Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A Photographer's Files - The New York Times > The City > Slide Show > Slide 13 of 15

A Photographer's Files - The New York Times > The City > Slide Show > Slide 13 of 15

VINTAGE CAMERAS from 1915 to the 1940s, in the collection of Mr. Abolafia. "In my own mind, I've always called the photographers from the turn of the century magic men," he says. "In the digital world, everything is sharp and crisp, but there's a softness to old photography. It's not artificial, it's real." For his celebrity photos, he used a Leica, but switched to a panoramic Russian camera for his current work, capturing Coney Island's amusement park before it disappears, which he hopes to turn into a book. Mr. Abolafia still prints all of his own images and says it's hard to find good fiber printing paper.

Photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

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