#52: Exploring New York City and Classic Photography with Ray Simone
Ray Simone is a photographer and lifelong New Yorker, and he learned pretty early on the power of being curious and exploring your surroundings. In the 1970s and 80s, Ray often found himself at flea markets, garage sales, street fairs, and more all across New York City, buying all the negatives he could find.
As a result, he’s now the owner of tens of thousands of photos of old New York. Ray has brought these classic photographs into the modern day by digitizing each one, painstakingly retouching them pixel by pixel. The end result is a glorious display of some incredible moments.
Check out selects from Ray’s collection here and listen to the full conversation to learn the backstories behind some of these pieces, the strangest ways he’s found photos, and his top places to stop by in New York City.
Frank Sinatra circa 1955 (photo via Ray Simone)
Highlights of our conversation include:
How Ray discovered photography, collecting negatives and the photograph he saw at 10 years old that opened his eyes up to this whole world. (2:13)
What Ray is looking for when he’s on the hunt for new negatives to work with, and why it’s an area people have overlooked at garage sales, flea markets, and more. (7:45)
We explore Ray’s process and the amount of work that goes into restoring one of these negatives into a print — but the end product is always worth it. (11:28)
One of the most unusual meetings Ray ever had with someone, plus some of the coolest pieces he’s added to his collection over the years. (15:17)
Some of the other cities that Ray has photographed, and where he’d like to explore even more. (21:45)
A photo that Ray is currently on that is taking a meticulous amount of retouching but isn’t quite there yet, plus a great way to clear your mind when you’re feeling stressed or overworked. (23:07)
The super weird thing Ray recently saw while on a walk, plus his top three spots to visit in New York City. (26:00)
Where to find Ray Simone and his work:
Check out a huge portion of Ray’s collection at photogallerynyc.com and be sure to follow him on Instagram at @nyc.classicshots.
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