One of the original "Comeback Artists" , David Oppenheim is feeling his "second wind" in his 70's. At age 17, David's work was featured in Popular Photography, and subsequently at age 21 , in 35mm Photography and Rolling Stone. Popular Photography, in a four page spread of his black and white photography, wrote that at 22 years of age, "David's pictures clearly show he has broken through the surface of everyday reality."

With his unique eye, David's captured the soul of New York City through the free-spirited time of the late 60's, the turbulent 70's, the "new wave" 80's, and the "clean, modern" city of the 90's and early 21st century. David believes his love of cityscapes comes from "wanting viewers to question reality, and see reality as a fluid thing that can always be defined by them re-seeing the world they live in, in a different light."

As a lifelong practitioner of the craft, David continues to explore the boundaries of the medium, often adding modern digital elements to his older darkroom work. He credits studying under Mel Bochner and Vito Acconci at SVA in the early '70's for the inspiration."Color was always very important to me," David notes. "Digital tools afford me the ability to manipulate images into colorful shapes, concepts and designs."

Although the technology has changed dramatically over the decades, David's philosophy and style has always remained the same.

"I call my work environmental portraits," he said. "Meaning that people are in situations that reveal their personality (and mine) through the combination of the highly-stylized and the photorealistic. "

Member of American Society of Media Photographers


 

See David's work in Gothamist  (WNYC)

http://gothamist.com/2015/01/09/1970s_nyc_street_photos.php#photo-1



Join David on YouTube as he discusses his passion for photography!