Tonight: The BlowUp Hosts Live Storytelling Event in NYC

Stefan Ruiz, Michel, Monterrey, Mexico from The Cholombianos series, 2011

The tales behind the making of a photograph can be legendary, and these stories of intimate, insane, and oftentimes-unimaginable moments can be heard at New York’s newest photography event series, The Blow Up. Presented and produced by the photography blog Feature Shoot, The Blow Up brings together a curated selection of influential photographers each telling the story behind one of their favorite photographs they took. The themed events first started in April and are now held quarterly in New York City.

Tonight from 6:30pm to 9pm, ROOT Drive-In Studios, in Chelsea, will play host to the second installment, which focuses on photography that documents subcultures, featuring Larry Fink, Martha Cooper, Deidre Schoo, Andrew Hetherington, Gillian Laub, Chris Arnade, Stefan Ruiz, and Danny Ghitis. Fink has done iconic documentary work, from capturing the Beats of the 1950s to the blue-blooded society of 1970s Manhattan. Before Ruiz began work on his current series, Cholombianos (about a teenage Mexican countercultural group that styles itself to Cumbia music and culture), Aperture published his book of telenovela photographs, The Factory of Dreams in 2012.

Gillain Laub has spent her career giving voice to diverse and multifaceted communities through photography and filmmaking. Her critically acclaimed book, Testimony, was published by Aperture in 2007. Most recently, Laub has been documenting racially segregated proms of Montgomery County, Georgia in a book and documentary titled Southern Rites.

The first installment took music photography as its theme; as Janette Beckman, Michael Levine, Amy Lombard, and others spoke of photographing musicians and fans, from the early days of hip hop to juggalos. For five to seven minutes, each photographer presents one specific photograph and talks about the moment and story behind their shot.

For more information about the event and ticketing visit theblowupnyc.com.