Alan Pakaln

The Feast of San Gennaro, Little Italy, New York, 1971 Alan Pakaln

It was perhaps 5:30 in the afternoon when I came upon the Feast of San Gennaro in lower Manhattan. I was living nearby at the time and would often wander the streets with my camera, a Nikkormat with Plus-x, black and white film, set at ASA 200. I realized I had little light remaining in the day with which to shoot. I saw many wonderful scenes and began taking pictures, starting at one end of the festival and finishing at the other. Some people thought I was from the press; one person asked if I was from the Village Voice - remember, this was before the festival's extreme popularity and long before everyone carried a camera in their phone! All photographs were taken in about 45 minutes, which for me was an extraordinary experience. All photographs are shown exactly as they were taken: full-frame, no manipulation. 80 black and white photographs, includes 15 of Mulberry Street taken in 2017.