1970s Summer Photoshoot

Summer break in the 70s captured by renowned street photographer

A nostalgic collection of black and white photographs has captured the essence of summer in the 1970s and early '80s across the United States.Photographer Paul McDonough left behind his usual stomping ground, the gritty streets of New York City, to document scenes of people at leisure, whether walking, playing, relaxing or flirting in small towns across America.

But, like his urban pictures, the series, called Sight Seeing, retains the aesthetic of street photography as he secretly snapped the images, in most cases, when his subjects were unaware.

Although the now-54-year-old barely stops moving when he presses down on the shutter. The beautiful pictures, which are showing until May 5, 2013 at the Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York City.

Despite their fleeting interaction, McDonough says he always developed a strong sense of affection for his subjects.

He said that the intimacy he could feel, if only for a second, was extremely seductive to him. And the sense that the subjects, simply enjoying their summer, are unsuspecting muses adds a certain intrigue, even today.

A stunningly nostalgic collection of black and white photographs has captured the essence of summer in '70s and early '80s across the United States

Photographer Paul McDonough left behind his usual stomping ground, the gritty streets of New York City, to travel the towns of America

The pictures document scenes of people at leisure, whether walking, playing, relaxing or flirting

Like his urban pictures, the series, called Sight Seeing, retain the aesthetic of street photography as he secretly snapped them when his subjects were unawares

The now-54-year-old barely stops moving when he presses down on the shutter

But McDonough sacrifices nothing in the way of composition in these beautiful pictures

The images are showing until May 5, 2013 at the Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York City

The pictures were taken in the height of summer in the 1970s and early '80s

Despite their fleeting interaction, McDonough says he always developed a strong sense of affection for his subjects

He said that the intimacy he could feel, if only for a second, was extremely seductive to him

And the sense that the subjects, simply enjoying their summer, are unsuspecting muses adds a certain intrigue, even today

The exhibition is Paul McDonough's third solo show at the Sasha Wolf Gallery

McDonough's work is in a number of public and private collections including, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library and the DeCordova Museum

The photographer escaped his usual stomping ground of New York City and heading for the beach

He sets out on the road, traveling throughout the United States during the summer months

Although the landscape he encounters is very different, McDonough's photographs are remarkably similar to his urban pictures

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