Random Excellence: Matt Weber

Matt Weber, $1.15 Taxi Driver, 1988

The subject of Checker cabs (no, this isn't one) came up on Sunday, and reader Matt Weber mentioned that he had a number of pictures of Checkers in the "Cars and Buses" section of his website. As indeed he does.

I don't know how I've managed to miss Matt's site for so long. There's a lot of quiet but sensitive street photography from thirty years or so, and I'm finding a lot there that's good to look at. See if you can spot all the Checkers (not just the familiar shape as a burnt-out hulk), but don't make the mistake of neglecting to explore the rest of Matt's site.

I notice that with most photography, but especially with street photography, I tend to pick and choose—edit in my mind, you might say. There are always some pictures I dismiss, and that's as true of Matt's site as any other. But as long as there are also gems there to find that I really enjoy, I'm happy.

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Mike Peters: "Matt has one of the deepest archives of classic NYC B&W street photographs ever. He's the real deal, a pure street shooter who lives a life dedicated to his passion for the city that he lives in, and the images he makes chronicling his time. More people should know of his work, and I'm sure they will in years to come."

Comments

[Karl]

I don't want to come off here like some fussy know-it-all, or a Leica collector, but with Checkers "Marathon" means that it was manufactured and sold as a private car.

At one time there were a handful of dealers across the U.S., most notably in D/FW Texas,and you could purchase directly from the factory in Kalamazoo.

These bear "A-12"codes, while cars built for fleet service are "A-11." But make no mistake, except for a few doo-dads like power locks and stone shields, and primitive color selection, they're pretty much the same car.

I've owned two, and still have one that's been sitting for a while following a minor engine fire. It was my daily driver for 6-7 years and I loved it for its primitive functionality and reliability, ease of maintenance, gargantuan interior space and
retro curb appeal. I've met owners with more than a million miles on their cars..try that with a Hyundai.

In fact I was looking my Checker over the other day and I've decided to put her back in service and drive her again. I love being the antichrist to fussy, pretentious engineering.

I see that Maisel is back in the news. Personally, he's a distant third for me to Haas and Turner, but he has a couple of superb checker shots, one of a green station wagon in falling snow:

http://studio.jaymaisel.com/collections/portfolio#first-snow-elizabeth-street

[mwg]

I'm always curious to see what else you think works. I have my own opinion, of course, but I'm curious nonetheless.

[Matt Weber]

Thanks for the bump Mike...I had just been talking to Mike Peters, a photographer who many of your readers probably know. He suggested that I do a top 50 images and I agreed that my site could benefit from some serious editing. The problem is that I post a new picture every morning as a feeble attempt to get enough traffic to improve my "Googleness" "The google" as George Bush referred to it, is a very complicated creature. There are people making a living off of S.E.O. I can't figure out how to get Google's artificial intelligence to recognize me, so I use the daily post...I could clean up some of the lesser images I suppose, but since people often are interested in purchasing images I'd deem less worthy, I might not be smart deleting them...This online world is a hard one to master. I'm still in love with film and my darkroom, so I'm further behind the times than most...

[Matt Weber]

Hey Mike...Don't post this one.

If you give me your mailing address I'd be very happy to send you a copy of my monograph. It covers my early years as a cabbie and ends shortly after 9/11...I designed it from cover to cover and I'm very pleased with the way it came out. The book cost a fortune to print as we had it done at Meridian in Rhode Island. They do all of Lee Friedlander's book and always do a great job...

I appreciate your post about my work and this is the least I can do to thank you!

Matt

[Michael]

To get a vivid sense of how differently two photographers may see the same city, you might look at Dave Beckerman's site: also superb, also B&W, also street, also an online pro (http://www.beckermanphoto.com/). He and Matt sometimes photograph each other. But what different styles!

[Sean]

Matt's a fine street photographer & one that Ive' followed for some time. It's good to see his work on top. It was another very good NYC street photographer, Markus Hartel that put me on to him

http://www.markushartel.com/

[Chris Bertram]

I happened across Matt's flickr stream 4 years ago, when I spotted one of his images in their general "recently posted" stream - so a complete stroke of luck. I was captivated then and have been a fan ever since.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanphotos/