Small Business

For my ongoing photographic series Small Business, I depict independently owned shops in New York City to document local businesses on the brink of obsolescence due to new technologies, an international economy and local gentrification.

At four years old, I walked alone down my street in Manchester, Connecticut, to the corner store and spent my first nickel buying a few pieces of candy. Visiting my grandparents’ egg farm, I was captivated by the industrial-sized machinery rhythmically directing the eggs to form a line towards their medium, large or extra-large crates. Inside the house, Yiddish was spoken amongst the adults. However, as I grew up, these types of small family businesses became obsolete due to the rise of big-box stores.

When I moved to New York City, I was pleasantly surprised every time I walked into small businesses of similar ilk to those I remembered as a child. With my large format analog film camera, I set out to capture the materiality of neighborhood small businesses to document these vanishing spaces before they were gone.

My series includes a mixture of environmental portraiture and found still life imagery of artifacts. Using available light with long exposures, scenes include business and personal objects, outmoded furniture and machinery, describing an established order derived from the repetition of daily operations, and provide glimpses into the history of these cultural spaces. I create portraits of the owners and record their stories which offer details about the supportive role of local businesses and neighborhood communities. Together my photographs reflect on the uncertainties underlying an evolving American economic landscape by offering insight into a disappearing character of New York City.