Joie de Vivre, Zuccotti Park, New York 2011

"I was waiting for a university photography class to gather for a photo walk around lower Manhattan. As I was chatting with the first arrivals, I noticed the soldier in the background pacing, looking at his watch and clearly agitated. He then sat down by this sculpture ironically named "Joie de Vivre." He closed himself up into this position and just sat there. The intense emotion radiating from him was practically palpable, as red as the sculpture itself. A couple of people walked by and he took no notice. I said 'excuse me' to the students, walked around quietly, made two frames and returned. The students and I then talked about what and why I made the photo which turned into an interesting pre-walk discussion. Whether photographing or not, one thing I'm very aware of is body language, posture, and gesture. This is what can make the difference between a passive or an active photograph. This man is wound up like a clock spring, and the observer can feel it here."
(Richard Bram)

Red Jacket, Herald Square, New York 2014

"I was walking through New York's Herald Square on a bright Spring day and stopped at a crowded intersection waiting for the pedestrian signal. The women in front of me were very animated, talking and gesturing. The bright red leather jacket immediately in front of me grabbed my eye and I quickly made a photograph. As often happens, I didn't think about it very much at the time. It was only when I got back home and looked at it that saw the dynamic image I had made, All the bright reds in the many scarves tied it together along with the strong expression of the woman in the center. Our eyes always notice red first - it is the color of blood and triggers an instinctive response. Thus in a color photograph red must be handled carefully. It can be a problem, especially if it is a distracting detail in the background that has nothing to do with the subject. This time, though, it all worked and in many ways the color red may be the ultimate subject." (Richard Bram)

Standing up at the Downs, Louisville, 1991

"It was a very warm Kentucky Derby Day in 1991, and I was walking through the Paddock area. This woman was standing above the people looking for someone in the crowd. She was wearing a very bright pink/red dress, but in black and white you are not distracted by the strong colour. What you see is her tough stance, the cold look, and the mint drooping in her julep glass. The track character - the man in the sunglasses with greasy hair - in the front grounds the image and gives it further depth. I actually met this woman a year or so later but did not show her this photo. I do not think she would like it for it may show parts of her inner self she would not like to be seen."
(Richard Bram)

Torn Poster, Broadway-Lafayette Street Station, New York, 2014

"Posters on the walls of the New York Subway are regularly abused by people. This often creates fine subjects in their own right. One summer day in 2014, I noticed that a clothing brand used a 'torn poster' motif and pasted them up, and passers-by tore them up in turn. The resulting multi-layered, almost abstract expressionist image speaks of time and transience as well as causing the viewer to spend a bit of time trying to puzzle out what was going on."
(Richard Bram)

Baby, Mainz, Germany, 1999

"I was in Mainz in September of 1999 visiting friends. There was a small local festival happening so of course I went down to see what was going on. Working in a crowd is a difficult thing to do if you are not used to it. There is so much stimulation from everything on top of you it is hard to see the possibilities. However, it is also the very best place to practice working in public in close proximity to people. The look on this baby's face just made me laugh. A friend of mine saw this photo a couple of months later and said "That is the oldest baby in the world!" (Richard Bram)

Pink Crocs, Los Angeles, 2013

"I was in Los Angeles for the opening of the group exhibition "Common Ground: New American Street Photography" in which I had several photographs. Whilst there, I spent time an afternoon in the Museum of Contemporary Art until closing time. As I was leaving, I noticed this pair of pink Crocs all by themselves just outside the door, as if the wearer had suddenly vanished, leaving their shoes behind. A man walked by as I clicked the shutter. Sometimes the smallest things can have a large impact and create a short story in the mind." (Richard Bram)

Couple, Orvieto, 2010

"When on a proper vacation, there should only be one truly important question for the day: 'Where shall we have lunch?' From the answer to that question the entire day can unfold. On this particular day in 2010 the answer to the to the question was the beautiful Umbrian city of Orvieto. Up a small alleyway was a tiny courtyard with a delightful little restaurant. As we were waiting for our meal to arrive, I was watching the couple at the next table. As in Mainz 14 years earlier, there was a tangible electricity in the air." (Richard Bram)

The Look, Mainz, 1996

"This was my first trip to Germany, attending an art exchange festival between Mainz and Louisville, Kentucky, where I was then living. There were awards ceremonies and speeches going on inside so I went out for a some air. I noticed this couple having an intense moment. I know nothing about them or what may or may not have been happening, but I think it is obvious. There was an electricity between them when I made the photo much strong than if they were actually touching; as if a spark was about to 'zzzap' between them."

"This photo is an example of the difference between color and black and white in photography, and why I often say that color is more difficult to do well because there are so many more variables to deal with. In black and white, you don't pay attention to the out-of-focus little girl in the background. But she was wearing an intensely bright yellow/purple/red patterned jacket, and in color,your eye would go directly to it, unable to keep away, and taking you away from the main subjects and ruining the photograph."
(Richard Bram)

Havana Fog, 2016

"In early March of 2016 we were in Havana for a photographic sojourn. In a moment reminiscent of today, it was the time of the ZIKA virus, spread by mosquitoes. Early one morning I was out walking around when I heard trucks moving through the streets and a thick fog seemed to fill the streets. It was insecticide being sprayed openly into the air to keep the mosquito population and thus the disease at bay. In the dawn light it was both beautiful and eerie. Just after I made the photo I fled up the street away from the airborne fumigant." (Richard Bram)

Muhammad Ali, Louisville, 1986

"I've never been one to chase celebrities around like one of the paparazzi, though I have photographed many in the course of my career. I was walking around downtown Louisville one summer day in 1986 when I noticed a truck stopped and people gathered around it. There in the open back was Muhammad Ali himself signing Korans and handing them out as well as chatting with well-wishers. It struck me as amusing that he was doing so on the renamed Muhammad Ali Boulevard in his home city where in segregated times he wasn't allowed to sit at a lunch counter."
(Richard Bram)

Dominican Day Parade, New York, 2005

"It was a very hot August Day in New York in 2005. I had gone out for a walk and came upon the Dominican Day Parade on Sixth Avenue. There are parades all the time (in normal circumstances) for nearly anything and they are fun events to shoot. In particular it is the spectators that have always interested me more than the parade itself. Anyway, I was walking up the street and I saw these young men standing in the window frames. I made a couple of photos of them when the one man put his arm up to wipe the sweat from his brow. Thus he completed the virtual arch between the two sour older women on the edges and made. Only one frame worked and this was it. Only a few months before I had bought my first digital SLR and therefore was working in color, unusual for me in my personal at the time. This photograph has gone on to be published many times, most notably in Joel Meyerowitz and Colin Westerbeck's seminal Bystander: A History of Street Photography."
(Richard Bram)

Wall Street Fall, New York, 2008

"I was walking back from the Post Office to our home in lower Manhattan. Suddenly a strong summer rainstorm hit so i was waiting for it to pass beneath a marquee. I always have a camera with me. To pass the time, I was making photos of people rushing past through the rain. The Leica M6 manual camera was set to the right exposure, the focus distance was ready at the correct distance. Suddenly this man slipped and fell. 'Click' - I made the photo almost automatically. He wasn't hurt, just wet and unhappy. As my wife often says, 'Chance favours the prepared mind.'"
(Richard Bram)