Stephen Salmieri

Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in the mid-1940s, Stephen Salmieri was inspired to become a photographer after seeing the "Family of Man" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts, he began photographing Coney Island starting in 1964, when he went there weekly, through 1970. He carried a 4x5 field camera, a Rolleiflex, and a 35mm camera. "I have a solid 65 prints from that collection, and I'm now in the process of making a book of it," says Salmieri. "I probably have another, 1500, 2000 frames, unprinted, they're all in contact sheets. I think I will go back and look through them and start printing again. I will enjoy that." In his interview, Salmieri shares memories of what Coney Island was like in the mid-1960s and how much it had changed by the time he went back with his camera in the 1980s.

Stephen Salmieri's photographs are in the collections of MoMa NY, Brooklyn Museum, and Getty Museum, among others. His website is salmieriphotographs.com.