Guggenheim Museum, NYC, 1972 © Steven Willard

I loved (love) Ezra Stolller’s architectural photographs, but on my first trip to New York City I had no illusions about the likelihood of coming anywhere close to his images of this famous Frank Lloyd Wright structure. All I had with me was the Pentax Spotmatic I had bought at the PX while I was in the Army, a cheap Soligar 28mm lens and a couple of rolls of Tri-X. How was I going to get anything with that combination on a bright contasty day with people milling around in the foreground? But as I walked, just like in the movies, I heard the voice of Robert Capa, “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t close enough”. So, with the camera to my eye, I walked closer and closer, reframing every few steps until I had zeroed in on the “fold” of the façade where the “M”s come together. If you know the building those letters, and the sweeping arches above are enough.

It’s no Ezra Stoller, but I still like it.

Scanned from a gelatin print and reworked in Photoshop to more nearly match the original.

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