When photographer Gerald Cyrus began photographing New York City in the 1990s, he was drawn to the streets of Harlem, its neighborhoods, its people, and the vibrant music scene that filled its clubs and lounges. Over the course of a decade, he created a remarkable body of black-and-white photographs that capture everyday life with an intimacy and sense of connection that goes well beyond traditional documentary photography. Cyrus’s photographs are attentive to the people who give a place its character, finding beauty and energy in moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Those photographs are now collected in his new monograph, Uptown Odyssey, published by TBW Books. The book brings together images made during the 1990s, moving from Harlem’s streets and subway platforms to the jazz clubs and nighttime spaces where music and community came together. Many of the subway photographs had remained unseen for more than three decades. For Cyrus, the book represents the culmination of a body of work that has remained deeply personal while also providing an important record of Black life in New York during a transformative period.

RESOURCES

Gerald Cyrus
https://www.geraldcyrus.com/

Uptown Odyssey
https://charcoalbookclub.com/products/uptown-odyssey

Gioncarlo Valentine
https://gioncarlovalentine.com/

Altadena Photographers
https://www.altadenaphotographers.org/

WEBSITES

The Candid Frame Support Page
https://www.ibarionex.net/support