Louis Mendes
The New York Photographer
Grand Central Station
January 2026
In January, I travelled to New York with the intention of photographing mainly architectural buildings using a medium-format camera and slide film. New York is a wonderful city for photography, but in truth, the idea and concept of street photography are well covered. This is why buildings and architecture were the focal point. Initially, the idea was to take my Hasselblad and 60mm f4.0 Distagon. However, I decided to take the much lighter Rolleicord. And this will be the subject of another post.
The idea of photographing buildings is also well covered. However, the way we photograph them and the way we look at buildings can often produce different pictures of the same subject. And of course, the way that each of us looks at a building is different from any other. With this in mind, I decided to photograph some of New York’s most well-known buildings and architectural attractions.
Grand Central Station is a fabulous building, and the interior must’ve been photographed millions of times. And rightly so, it is an impressive and cavernous building. I would imagine that there have been tens of hundreds of well-known people who have started their journey in life from this station, perhaps leaving New York for Los Angeles to become a film star, or leaving Los Angeles to travel to New York to become a jazz musician. Even this brief idea of people travelling from the building to different parts of America is just mind-blowing.
When I entered the building in January, it was swarming with thousands of people, and the opportunity for architectural imagery was somewhat limited. There are plenty of other photographs of this historic train station available. I took a few pictures using my iPhone of the well-known ticket sales and information area, and there was a large area that had been blocked off, which made for good pictures. So I wasn’t in the building for too long. But on my way out, I noticed a man leaning against the wall, watching the world.
I knew who he was. I’d seen him online many times and read about him on many occasions. I was looking at Louis Mendes. I walked over to him with a big smile, and he just looked at me with his deadpan face. It was great, truly a magical moment. I didn’t speak to him. I just pointed at my iPhone and asked if it was okay to take a photograph. He nodded and smiled. I took one picture with my iPhone. I didn’t want to take up too much time or waste his valuable time. He then said, “Let’s have a look,” and showed him the picture. He didn’t make any comment. It wasn’t a very good composition, but it didn’t matter. I’ve got the shot. He actually said it was okay, but I think he was being considerate and kind. Here is the picture I took of Louis.
The Amazing Louis Mendes
And below is the picture he took of Liz and me with his Graflex 4×5 camera. A few of you will be interested to know how much I paid for this Fuji instant picture. I paid $50. You may think that’s very expensive, but I think it was worth it. It’s a wonderful memory I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. And don’t forget, if you want to buy a pack of Fuji 100 instant peel-apart, it will cost $199, which is $19 per shot, so really $30 on top of the actual frame is not a great deal. The real point is that the picture was taken by a photographic Ikon. Very few, if any, photographers who read this will attain his status, earned through absolute dedication to his life journey.
We then started talking about photography, and Louis asked me how long I’d been taking pictures. I told him I’d been taking pictures since about 1970, using film. He became very interested. I told him about my photographic journey, from using my great Pentax S1a to owning my photographic processing business and being a professional photographer. He was really interested in everything, and it was great to hear his opinion. He said something very interesting. He said, “It’s the hardest job to earn any money with a camera, and many people think that taking a picture is success. It is only a small part; dedication and often years without money are the reality. I’m really pleased that the niche that I formed for myself has kept me in a living.”
I thought it was so generous of him to be so open and kind. He then asked me whether I had been to the B&H photo store, and I told him I wanted to go every day. However, the store was closed for the holiday, and I also told him I was disappointed because I wanted to buy some film, which was much cheaper in New York than in England. He asked me what film I was looking for, and I told him it was Kodak Ektachrome in 120 format. He smiled, put his hand in his pocket, and handed me a roll of Lomo 120-colour negative film. “Make every frame work,” he said. I smiled and said I would.
Louis Mendes Gift ~ Use or Keep?
I don’t think I can use that film because the man who gave it to me is a photographic icon. And owning the film is far better than using it. There’s plenty of information available about Louis Mendes, so I won’t add much to this article. Here is a brief synopsis of his work, along with a couple of links to the many YouTube videos available online.
Louis Mendes (born June 15, 1940) is a photographer from New York City who is known for his signature dapper style, press camera, and street portraits.
Louis was born in a working-class family in Jamaica, Queens, New York, in 1940. He was a young child when his elder sister handed him a camera to begin documenting family events. He bought his first Graflex Speed Graphic camera in the nineteen-fifties, while working as a stock clerk in Macy’s and studying electronics.
Louis uses a Speed Graphic with modified backs that allow for the use of various film types, including instant Polaroid film. He has photographed Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, Gordon Parks, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys, and Colin Kaepernick.
Liz and I love New York, and it is full of sights, thoughts, and memories. I don’t think anyone could, in a lifetime of visiting the city, fully capture the spectrum of great memories this truly tremendous city offers. But for me, this break in New York has been made by meeting the icon, the fantastic, kind and generous Louis Mendes.
The Heart of the Mind 