Black & White

To the great Roy DeCarava, who passed away last week, whose photography captured the essence of life of the man in the streets, the Civil Rights Movement and jazz music:

A couple of months back, I came across the works of Roy DeCarava and I was captivated immediately. For those not in the know, Roy Decarava is a legend in the field of black & white photography and also, regarded by many, as one of the pioneers in what we know now as street photography. In the 1950s, portrait and landscape photography were the main subjects for photographers and anything less than that, would have been brushed off as 'unprofessional'. Roy DeCarava, however, chose to capture the essence of people in his neighbourhood, in black and white.

In 1952, he was the first African-American to receive the Guggenheim Fellowship grant, which he then used to photograph the streets of his birthplace, Harlem. The book, The Sweet Flypaper of Life, was a collaboration between Roy DeCarava and Harlem Renaissance writer, Langston Hughes. The book portrayed the positive side of Harlem through photographs and dialogues and was, in a way, an insider's view of Harlem.

Roy DeCarava's great works also extended to jazz, specifically the New York jazz scene. His shots of jazz greats, such as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Billie Holiday, showed his ability to encapsulate the notes of jazz music into photographs. His penchant for jazz reflected his improvisational style and also, his active role as an outspoken crusader of the Civil Rights Movement. His belief was that everyone deserves a photograph, regardless of race or social status.

A few of Roy DeCarava's great works:

"Graduation" (1949)


"Girl On Stairs" (1953)


"Duke Ellington" (1967)


"Double Bassist"


"John Coltrane" (1963)