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Where I Was

A personal collection of enigmatic black and white images taken by photojournalist Erich Hartmann over the course of his illustrious career

Erich Hartmann

Erich Hartmann Woman reflected in window of moving train. Near Geneva, Switzerland. 1980. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Man running for train. Narbonne, France. 1979. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Girl in bus and figures in street during snowstorm. New York City, USA. 1967. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Tide coming in. Pemaquid Point, Maine, USA. 1960. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Boy on rocks in surf. USA. Pemaquid Point, Maine. 1972. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Pair of shoes on deck. Caribbean. 1984. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Shadows on sea and sand. Santa Monica, California, USA. 1979. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Man in street under the Brooklyn Bridge. New York City, USA. 1955. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Laser light on wall above sleeping woman. New York City, USA. 1977. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Lower East Side. New York City, USA. 1948. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann People waiting on train station platform. Chambery, France. 1979. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Laser light writing on wall of empty room. New York City, USA. 1977. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Train in mountainous landscape in southwestern France, between La Tour de Carol and Foix. France. 1979. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Mannequin factory. Long Island City, New York City, USA. 1969. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos
Erich Hartmann Financial District. Worker in money market office. New York City, USA. 1974. © Erich Hartmann | Magnum Photos

Where I Was, by Erich Hartmann, contains the personal black-and-white pictures of a busy working photojournalist travelling all the time, only to be home briefly in between.

Although much of his assigned work was in color, Hartmann was never without a camera loaded with black-and-white film and a small box of extra rolls, which he used to capture what intrigued and fascinated him.

With images from Maine to Austria and Italy to Santa Monica, Hartmann’s signature style is enigmatic, unfinished and ambiguous. It is life in progress.

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