What Leon Levinstein Means To Me

Leon Levinstein is something of a tragic figure. He was criminally underrated in his time and has become something of a Van Gogh-cliche. During my research of him, Leon comes across as a reserved and almost reclusive man. This is at odds with his art. He got into people's personal space and highlighted their most intimate moments. Some critics have said that his work is stereotypical of all street photographers. In my opinion, that's not correct. The reason some of his work seems that way is because the genre was being formed by him and others throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. In fact, the 1970s saw an explosion in street photography - unfortunately, Levinstein wasn't overly active at this point.

His compassion for real people and social commentary is something I'd like to emulate in my own work. I love how unpretentious he was - all he cared about was photography. About looking, seeing and photographing.