Recently I had a great conversation with culture & photography writer, Miss Sara Rosen. We sent her a full preview of the book, and to my shock and happiness, she read it cover to cover. Here's her article in i-D—it was the first item on the home page the day it was published! Thank you Sara for championing Ezy Ryders for years.
Visura Highlight: 36 Freelance Storytellers
About a year ago I went to Amarillo, Texas for the Washington Post to meet this young couple. Quincy & Staja had lost their 5 year old, Tagan, to Covid a few months prior, and the US was just reaching 500,000 deaths due to the virus. The parents were still so raw from the loss but dedicated to commemorating Tagan through this article. We've been in touch a few times since last year--Quincy likes to make poems from landscape photos, which I send him from New Mexico sometimes, and Staja just likes to hear that someone is remembering her daughter. I still think about them and am so grateful to have had the chance to make these photos with them.
Thanks to Visura and Laura Oliverio for highlighting this story in their feature of 36 freelancers worldwide. I'm in such good company: @donnaferrato @mhammed_kilito @josealvarado @gray_sanmartin - you can see their great work in the Visura article.
My Ride's Best of 2021
Leonard Erdman and his custom purple lowrider Ford for the Wall Street Journal's car and motorcycle column, "My Ride." This shoot from summer 2021 made their list of the year's best! Read here.
Ezy Ryders Book Announcement
I'm thrilled to announce that The Artist Edition will be publishing my first monograph, Ezy Ryders, in Spring 2022.
Ezy Ryders follows the trials and triumphs of New York City's black motorcycle clubs, as they denounce respectability, defy stereotypes, and find freedom within their community and on their bikes. The book spans five years of photographing, and includes personal interviews with ten riders.
Journalist and advocate Jimmie Briggs contributes a foreword, and rider in the scene Imir Leveque clarifies the culture’s terminology and traditions with his “Biker’s Glossary.”
From November 17-December 17, 2021, we raised funds for the book’s design and printing via a Kickstarter pre-order. The book will be designed by Martin Farran-Lee, and it will be printed in Denmark at Narayana Press. We completed the Kickstarter 110% funded! Now, we get to work to finish the book’s design, get it proofed & printed, and shipped to all the folks who already pre-ordered. I can’t wait!
American Photography 36
My photograph from the New Mexico/Mexico border will be included in AP36, launching in November, of 2019's best photographs.
The Washington Post: Love & Loneliness in the Time of the Coronavirus
To be given an assignment with absolute creative freedom, especially during this confining period, was a gift. I took out my 4x5 camera and expired instant film and spent two days making these images. Take time to dig into all the artists' work, beautiful diverse views of love and the pandemic from around the world. Read here
My tiny apartment is filled with objects that remind me of people I care about and memories of different places and times. Using these objects and my limited space, I created scenes dedicated to them and the confusing emotions we’re feeling under quarantine.
As an introvert and someone who’s been relatively calm during this period of isolation, the process of photographing confronted me with my deep longing for these loved ones and my anxiety for their well-being.
My Ride: The Wall Street Journal column becomes a book
Two stories I photographed in 2018 are included in the compendium: motorcycle designer Jeffrey Scales with his custom Harley-Davidson and artist Kurt Stocker (my grandfather!) with his 1954 International Harvester pickup truck.
From Rizzoli: "New York Times best-selling author and popular Wall Street Journal 'My Ride' columnist A.J. Baime selects the one hundred cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles to fill the dream garage. Stunning photography and Baime's engaging essays celebrate everything drivers love about their cars--from technical specifications to satisfy gearheads to intangibles like a driver's relationship with his or her car--making it truly 'my ride.'"
Find the book online (Rizzoli/Amazon) and in stores beginning today, September 17th.
Girl Under Glass artist book now available
In 2014 & 2015, I photographed inside Times Square’s last live peep show. My nostalgia for gritty midtown New York, derived from watching 1970s classics like Midnight Cowboy, was tempered after spending countless nights on the third floor of the porn shop where the cubicle booths entertained a wide variety of customers. The sleaze and hustle still exist in a few corners of the Disneyfied Deuce.
Four years after photographing I decided to make a small book. Disguised behind an old pulp fiction cover, “Girl Under Glass” is a signed and numbered edition of 50, and it includes 23 photographs and accompanying text. To protect the privacy of the women photographed, this intimate book format is the only way the full series can be viewed. If you’re interested, find instructions to purchase one of the limited edition here.
Ezy Ryders cover story in HOG Magazine
Thrilled to share my first cover story, Ezy Ryders in Harley-Davidson's HOG Magazine. I've been photographing Ezy Ryders since 2014, and working on a book, so it was great to give this new audience a preview. With a circulation of over 600,000, Harley riders around the country will see what New York’s black bikers are all about!
To read, find the hard copy at a dealership or download for free from the HOG Magazine app.
My Ride: Chevy Impala Lowrider
Online today/in print tomorrow in The Wall Street Journal: awesome lowrider couple Jeff Quintana and fiancée Yvonne Romero with their 1960 Chevy Impala, which they’ve restored to perfection. Even the engine and hydraulics are gold- and chrome-plated ✨ these two have some serious skills. And in the world’s low rider capital, too! Read here