I was on assignment for The City covering the cabbies at a protest outside of City Hall and there was one man I noticed who looked zen, like he was maybe meditating. He’d had his eyes closed for a good minute or two, very peaceful and serene while all this commotion was going on around him. And then I see this bus coming down with an ads for a movie with two people screaming, and the light was right on this person who’s meditating. Then as the bus came, the light was also right on these figures on the bus. It was this incredible moment. I was just — and all photographers do this — praying: “Please, just keep doing that for another second. Please, I need to get this photograph.” And luckily, he kept meditating for another minute and I was able to take that shot.
There are those almost absurd, tense moments that happen all the time that are wonderful. These moments that you never think would happen in a million years but seem like they’re perfectly aligned. I took a photograph that looks like I had it staged but it’s not. It was just the kismet of New York City that happens when there’s so many people and things going on around you all the time.
Ben Fractenberg, visuals editor for THE CITY, joins LIT NYC hosts Harry Siegel and Amy Sohn for a wide-ranging conversation about street photography, photo journalism and much more.The interview comes just before the opening reception for Ben’s solo show, In Tension, this Friday evening from 6-9 at Gallery 198, at 198 24th St. in Brooklyn, with his work then on display there through November.
A Times Square worker waits for tourists to pass signs of bad economic news, May 11, 2022. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
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