Bruce Gilden
Born: 1946, New York
Bruce Gilden is a street photographer I greatly admire, though I doubt I could emulate his style—though I wish I could.
If you want to find Bruce Gilden, you’ll most likely encounter him on the streets. He’s just as comfortable photographing people in the UK, France, and Japan as he is in his native New York.
The one word that best describes Bruce Gilden’s work is: “close.” Closeness is his trademark. While many have tried to imitate his aggressive nature and use of flash, there is more to his work than simply the method.
Gilden has been influenced by the likes of Diane Arbus and William Klein, which is evident in his early work, Coney Island (view it here accessed 6th August 2015).
Coney Island isn’t a beautiful body of work (much like Martin Parr’s New Brighton), but it’s incredibly realistic, capturing the raw essence of life there in the 1970s. It reminds me of my own experience just a few weeks ago at Copacabana Beach in Rio. I expected to see models everywhere, but instead, I was confronted by overweight families exposing more flesh than I was comfortable with.
Looking at Gilden’s work, I see that he’s more than just an aggressive New Yorker with a flash. 
There’s a sense of engagement and animation in his photographs—when I view them, I feel as though I’m right there, experiencing the moment he has captured. His low-angle shots immerse the viewer into the scene, enhancing this feeling.
David Gibson, in his book The Street Photographer’s Manual, sums Gilden up perfectly by describing one of his photographs:
“It’s not beautiful, but it’s real.” This encapsulates Gilden’s approach and philosophy toward street photography.
References:
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZS6V#/CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZS6V&POPUPIID=2K7O3R20RE8&POPUPPN=16 accessed 6th August 2015
